When was the last time you went to the library? I go every once in a while but if I need to do some research I tend to go online. But if I want to sit down and check out one of the classics the library is my best bet. In most cases it’s free to join your local library and to take advantage of some of them tax dollars you’ve been shelling out over the years.

In the latest salvo in the internet content wars the major players of Yahoo, Microsoft and Google, along with Amazon are beginning to digitize entire books and in some cases entire libraries so that the everyone can access the world’s knowledge. Yahoo and MSN have teamed up with the Open Content Alliance in this effort. While there have been some legal challenges concerning copyright, Google in particular, the push is on to make what I liken to a virtual Library of Alexandria; all you will need is an internet connection. Will this put your local library out of business? I doubt it, but the mix of real books and virtual will only help to expand our knowledge and that in no way is a bad thing.

[tags]google,yahoo,amazon,msn,open content alliance,library of alexandria[/tags]