A digital library, but not that digital library

Robert Darton contributes a piece to the New York Times opinion pages today, arguing that even though we should see the rejection of the Google settlement as a victory for authors and everyone, we should still consider the idea of a universal public library:

We should not abandon Google’s dream of making all the books in the world available to everyone. Instead, we should build a digital public library, which would provide these digital copies free of charge to readers. Yes, many problems — legal, financial, technological, political — stand in the way. All can be solved.

He then proposes some ideas for ways to make it happen that would be more fair to authors and publishers than Google’s attempt. It’s refreshing to read a piece that doesn’t succumb to either techno-utopianism or techno-paranoia. Darton understands Google as the enemy, but also sees hope in the enemy’s ambition:

Through technological wizardry and sheer audacity, Google has shown how we can transform the intellectual riches of our libraries, books lying inert and underused on shelves. But only a digital public library will provide readers with what they require to face the challenges of the 21st century — a vast collection of resources that can be tapped, free of charge, by anyone, anywhere, at any time.