February 9, 2007
Google, the world's leading search engine, announced that Cite Publishing Holding Group has signed on to make electronic copies of Chinese language books accessible on Google Book Search, a service that will available soon to Taiwan users.
Users will also be able to directly access and purchase books published by Cite online. The move is viewed as potential competition to Taiwan's two major bookstores, Eslite and Kingstone.
The development of online sales of books has been ongoing, as vendors are overcoming obstacles involving managing payment systems and logistics.
Google's entrance into the market could represent a breakthrough, as the company is currently using its technology and engineering resources to help publishers scan and index their book catalogs.
As Rebecca Kuei, head of sales and business development at Google Taiwan, points out, Taiwan has 3,000 publishers that produce 40,000 new titles a year, while bookstores on the average can only stock 20,000 to 30,000 titles a year. For example, Eslite's flagship store on Xinyi Road has the capacity for only 70,000 titles, said Kuei.
Kuei also points out that readers are often hard-pressed to find books published more than a year ago, likening sales of new books to "the fresh fish market", where new books are taken off shelves quickly.
As Kuei explains, Google scans books to computers using its own optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which enables readers to find books or content through Google Book Search. In addition, links to publishers' sites or online bookstores are placed on the search results page, allowing users to purchase books.
Google will use its customary ads at the bottom of each page, which will serve as a revenue source. Google plans to bring more publishers into its Google Book Search Partner Program, and does not plan to engage in content creation, said Kuei.
Under the program, publishers not only are able to increase their book sales, they can also earn revenue through Google Ads, noted Ho Fei-peng, executive director and CEO of the group.
Sources also say that Taiwan's largest online bookstore, books.com.tw, which is owned by Uni-President Enterprises, will be announcing a partnership with Google at the end of the month.
A timetable has not been set for the launch of Google Book Search in Taiwan, as Google hopes to first ensure the best possible user experience, according to Kuei. Partnerships with other publishers will enrich the content of Google Book Search, she said.
(Economic Daily News, Taipei Times)
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