Google Books, Libraries, and Self-Respect: Information Justice beyond Distributions

Abstract

If Google Books has been successful in furthering the cause of social justice with regard to information, it is along narrowly distributive lines. Drawing on critics of distributive justice and emphasizing the value of self-respect, the author argues that Google’s massive digital scanning initiative—especially as compared to the liberal democratic institution of the public library—exposes and exacerbates injustices with regard to information, technology, and institutions that are not easily captured along distributive lines. In particular, attention is paid to three features of the project—the quality of Google’s book scans, the politics of online search, and Google’s conception of the value of information—as demonstrative of the too-slender foundation for self-respect the Google Books project offers its users.