A Great Day - the maturing of the promise of the Web

The endless blather about the life-changing wonders of the Web has pretty much worn out its welcome over the last couple of years. Today, however, we should take note of Google's announcement of the project to put much of the holdings of major public and university libraries on the Web is a clear sign that the promise of the Web as a transforming engine is still in the making. The notion that within a few years we will be able to search the texts of major research libraries from our own computers opens vast vistas. This is truly an exciting and propitious day.

Thor Swift photo from NYTimes without permission
A book is scanned at Stanford University. Google's plans for digital files include the University of Michigan and the New York Public Library.