You may have noticed that the links to Google Books in Mirlyn have a little more information lately. We have always provided links to online copies in both Google Book Search and MBooks. We're now using the Google API to provide links to any book in Mirlyn that is also in Google Book Search.
We provide a thumbnail image of the cover or title page (although there's been some controversy about this lately). In addition, we also tell you what level of access you can expect if you follow the link to Google Book Search. Google Books has three levels of access, while MBooks has only two:
Google Book Search terms
MBook terms
Snippet view
Search Only
Limited view
Full-text
Full Text
In Google Book Search, "Snippet view" means that you cannot view the full-text, but can see up to three text snippets; "Search Only" in MBooks means that you can search for keywords, and discover where all the matches occur, but can't view the pages. (See this previous post for more about "Search Only.") "Limited view" means that the book is part of Google's Publisher Partnership, and a limited number of pages is available for reading. You won't be able to see the entire book, but you will have access to a significant number of pages. "Full-text" in Google Book Search means that you can view the entire text, and get a PDF file of the entire text, while "Full Text" in MBooks means that you can view the page images using the MBooks pageturner, and get a 10-page PDF excerpt.
If you look at very many records for MBooks in Mirlyn, you will soon note that in some cases the access levels differ between MBooks and Google Book Search.
- We make US Federal documents freely available, while Google restricts access to "snippet view" in many cases: 2010 and beyond : preparing Medicare for the baby boomers : hearing before the Special Committee on Aging
- In this case, Google Book Search offers "limited view," which allows you access to many pages in the book, while MBooks offers "search only" access: 500 bracelets.
- In this case both Google Book Search and MBooks provides "full text" access: The £1,000,000 bank-note, and other new stories, by Mark Twain
In this last example you'll have full-text in either Google Books or MBooks, so you can decide which interface you prefer. Knowing how to read the Mirlyn record will help you find the best access for any given book. Happy reading!