Is Google Book Search A Danger To Printed Media?

This news about Google Book Search changes everything for US users. Seriously, being able to legally view 20% of a book from home, on Google is pretty cool. And in fairness to the copyright holders, the only way one can look at the entire thing on a computer is from the local library. Seems reasonable enough.

But despite this news, there are still those who feel strongly that any move to digitize books over keeping them in a printed format is nothing short of dangerous. Apparently the concern is over the “integrity” of the written word, among a few other related concerns. Most people however, appear to think this is nonsense. Speaking for myself, I really am not concerned about it one way or the other.

Is the printed word in jeopardy here? Is there a potential for a lack of quality overall if we continue migrating from the printed word to that of a digital format? Or instead, will digitizing the written word put everyone’s work on an even playing field? Only time will tell I guess.