By Manfred Dworschak, Spiegel Online International
The
German Digital Library wants to make millions of books, films, images
and audio recordings accessible online. More than 30,000 libraries,
museums and archives are expected to contribute their digitized
cultural artifacts. The idea, in part, is to compete with Google Books.
But will it work?
On a good day this reader gets through as many as 1,216 pages per
hour. Hissing quietly, devouring book after book. Now and then it says,
"Pffft."
This is a state-of-the-art robot at work. It automatically scans every
book placed open in front of it. A slender wedge drops down to the
fold, sucks in a page from left and right and lifts the goods. It's
photographed and with a gentle puff of air -- pffft -- the robot flips
the page..
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