Millions of books at your fingertips.

All the books that you love. On the page or out loud. Anywhere you are.

 

The above marketing slogans used by Google Play Books perfectly capture the essence of just how Google has revolutionised the reading experience. Launched back in December 2010, Google Books aimed to revitalise the reading experience for the public; in fact, as early as 2009 bold claims were being made about the impact of Google’s proposed digitisation of books:

“We are doing this for the good of society. By making it possible to search the millions of books that exist today, we hope to expand the frontiers of human knowledge.” – Santiago de la Mora. [1]

However, improved searchability is just one of the many innovative ways that Google has enhanced our relationship with the book. In this article I will discuss how Google has transformed the reading experience in the following areas:

ACCESSIBILITY AND CUSTOMISATION:

The printed book seems pretty easy to use, right? You pick it up, turn the pages, and soak in all that lovely content. A simple and natural way to approach reading – that is, of course, until the digitalisation of text came about and made reading even more approachable.

Google Play Books is an excellent example of this newfound accessibility – with a few taps of a button you can customise everything from the font size to the transition setting for moving between pages – a personal favourite is the ‘3D page curl’, which gives the feel of reading a printed book, as opposed to other options such as the rather basic slide between pages. Google Play Books is undoubtedly respectful of our innate desire to feel like we’re reading an “actual book” and even offers users the chance to revert back to ‘original pages’, which is exactly what it says on the tin: the original scanned pages of the printed book relayed on a digital device. However, for those who embrace the diversity which digital reading offers, a multitude of innovative options await:

The Night Light: “Night Light gradually filters blue light from your screen, replacing it with a warm, amber light. […] The colour adjustment is more compatible with your eyes and greatly improves low-light reading.” – Greg Hartrell. [2]

Gone are the days of squinting in poor lighting and getting insomnia from the harsh blue glare; true to it’s promise, this feature enables readers to read with ease ‘anywhere they are’, at any time of the day.

Bubble Zoom:  “Bubble Zoom [automatically] expands the speech bubbles of a comic strip one-tap-at-a-time, making them super easy to read on your mobile device. […] No more compromising the full page experience or getting lost while panning around” – Greg Hartrell. [3]

Once again, Google’s focus is on accessibility: it is now ‘super easy’ to enjoy reading a comic strip wherever you are, thanks to the convenience of Google Books being readily accessible on any mobile, tablet or laptop, whilst still being able to enjoy the traditional full page experience which we readers know and love.

‘Read Aloud’: This feature makes tricky texts even more approachable by having an automated voice over to pronounce words correctly. It also functions to make reading a phonological learning experience – something which is especially useful for children.

Built in dictionary: Much like the ‘Read aloud’ option, the built in dictionary makes reading a learning experience; a full definition is granted simply by tapping on an unfamiliar word, encouraging readers to stick with complex texts and get a fuller understanding of the content which they choose to read.

Automatic translation: Again, just by tapping a word,  readers can translate it to the language of their choice. This feature is not only extremely convenient for those learning a new language, but encourages and enables the average reader to appreciate a diverse range of literature that may not be written in their first language.

MARKETING:

Google Books has adopted a number of successful tactics to boost readership and book sales:

Google Book Reviews: Think back to the pre-digital age: when seeking a new book, a reader would enter the store, pick up a book and decide whether or not to buy it. However, with the advancement of a digital library comes a digital community of book readers complete with a reviewing system. Now the reader has not only their own opinion to go off, but thousands of other people’s too. Additionally, the reviewing system helps readers gauge which books are most popular, as well as allowing them to have their own say after reading – encouraging people to start discussing books again: a win-win for booksellers and readers alike.

A digital boost for obscure texts: “Search Engines and online bookstores disclose and make available books no longer in stock in ordinary bookstore chains; as a result, niche markets flourish and the total sales of obscure books have grown” – Terje Hillesund. [4]

With over 25 million books scanned, Google Books makes it near-impossible for you not to to find something new and interesting to delve into; the idea of a (virtually endless) possibility of literary exploration is a true revolution indeed.

SEARCHABILITY:

To refer back to my first point, Google has greatly enhanced our relationship with books by making it even easier to find the content that we seek. To quote David Nicholas: “[The Google generation] have the greatest appetite for fast information.” [5]

Google Books’ ‘search inside’ feature is especially innovative for the student reader; now, with a click of a button, readers are able to search the whole book for a single word (or phrase) and then go on to bookmark, highlight, and even annotate it. Gone are the days of ruining a book with a highlighter, or browsing for hours to find a single quote.

To conclude, then, Google Books has revolutionised the reading experience in a number of ways; Google aspires to offer the ‘best of both worlds’: improving the reading experience by making books more accessible and diverse, whilst still striving to incorporate the beloved qualities of the printed book experience into a more compact digital format.

Author: Sarah Gunton

REFERENCES

[1] Quote by: Santiago de la Mora, head of Google Books for Europe. Found in: William Skidelsky, ‘Google’s Plan for world’s biggest online library: philanthropy or an act of piracy?’, The Guardian, 30 August 2009. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/aug/30/google-library-project-books-settlement [accessed: 3 March 2018].

[2] Gregg Hartrell, Senior Product Manager, Google Play Books. Found in: ‘Silent Night with Night Light’, Official Blog, 15 December 2015. Available at: https://android.googleblog.com/2015/12/silent-night-with-night-light.html [accessed: 3 March 2018].

[3] Gregg Hartrell, Senior Product Manager, Google Play Books. Found in: ‘Google Play Books introduces Bubble Zoom’, Official Blog,  21 July 2016. Available at: https://blog.google/products/google-play/google-play-books-introduces-bubble-zoom/%5Baccessed: 3 March 2018].

[4] Terje Hillesund, ‘Reading Books in the Digital Age subsequent to Amazon, Google and the long tail’, First Monday, 3 September 2007. Available at: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2012/1887  [accessed: 3 March 2018].

[5] David Nicholas, ‘The Google Generation, the mobile phone and the ‘library of the future: Implications for society, governments and libraries’, Icolis, 2014 [accessed: 3 March 2018].