Library 2.0 Gang on Google API

Library 2.0 Gang host Richard Wallis stayed up until 4 a.m. local time in Melbourne, Australia, to record the latest podcast installment while on the road in his official capacity as technology evangelist for UK-based Talis.

The theme of the April 8 show was the recently announced Google Book Search API (application programming interface); it featured Frances Haugen, a Google product manager who works on Book Search. Other Library 2.0 Gang regulars on the show included Oren Beit-Arie, chief strategy officer for Ex Libris; Tim Spalding, founder of LibraryThing; Warwick Cathro, assistant director-general at the National Library of Australia; John Blyberg, head of technology and digital initiatives at Darien Library, CT; and Carl Grant, founder of CARE Affiliates.

The Google API allows client-side JavaScript snippets to query Google Book Search using ISBNs, OCLC numbers, and LCCNs, which then return location-specific rights information and viewability status of the book being searched for, as well as thumbnail cover images.

While leaving room for future enhancements such as server-side scripting, Haugen was “diplomatically noncommittal” on Google's plans for the Book Search API, as Spalding wrote on his Thing-ology blog. But despite the lack of a definitive road map for future improvements, the gang regulars were generally positive in their view of the API as a means for libraries to improve their online offerings.