Public Index to Discuss Google Book Search Settlement

["Okerson, Ann" <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

**The Public Index**
**A Website to Study and Discuss the Google Book Search 
Settlement**
<http://thepublicindex.org>

The groundbreaking proposed settlement in the Google Book Search 
case is so complex that controversy has outpaced conversation and 
questions have outnumbered answers.  We aim to help close these 
gaps.  The Public Index is a website featuring a collection of 
tools and resources for those wishing to learn about the 
settlement or to express opinions about it.

The centerpiece of the site is an interactive version of the 
proposed settlement.  Users can search freely, browse by section, 
or read through it in a hierarchical view that retains the 
settlement's indentation structure.  Hyperlinks allow users to 
look up any defined term or cross-reference with a single click. 
A paragraph-by-paragraph commenting system allows them to 
annotate individual portions of the settlement with their own 
commentary.  To encourage further discussion, the site also 
provides a full set of bulletin-board forums.

In addition, the Public Index offers a reading room of essential 
settlement-related documents:

* a complete, categorized set of filings from the lawsuit
* Google's agreements with cooperating libraries
* scholarly and popular essays from all points of view
* a timeline with links to news about the lawsuits and settlement
* links to a wide range of commentary on blogs

The Public Index also includes an open-source version of the New 
York Law School amicus brief to the court.  The site includes a 
draft of the brief in a user-editable wiki; Public Index users 
are invited to mark it up with their corrections, criticisms, and 
suggestions. Changes from the Public Index will be incorporated 
into the brief before it is filed in September.  Visitors are 
also encouraged to use the wiki to collaborate on their own, 
alternative amicus briefs.

Join the conversation at <http://thepublicindex.org> and stay 
tuned for more information about D is for Digitize!