Google+Sony=500K free ebooks

If  you aren’t already receiving Publisher’s Lunch, then you may not know this.

On March 18th, 2009, Google and Sony agreed to distribute half a million titles, all public domain classics published before 1923. These titles will be distributed through the Sony Reader freely to the consumer. “We have focused our efforts on offering an open platform and making it easy to find as much content as possible – from our store or others – whether that content is purchased, borrowed or free,” said Steve Haber, president of the Digital Reading Business Division at Sony Electronics, in the accompanying release. “Working with Google, we can offer book lovers another avenue for free books while still providing a seamless experience from our store.”

Adam Smith, product management director said, “We founded Google Book Search on the premise that anyone, anywhere, anytime should have the tools to explore the great works of history and culture—and not just when they happen to be at a computer.”

Amen to that.

And, as support to help readers access ebooks, I’m working at putting a widget in this blog somewhere, so you can access free books from here, too. Wish me luck.

Happy Reading!

MobileRead reports you may find the Sony eBook Library software, on the main eBook Store page, to the right, halfway down, under ”Unearth a Classic.”
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