Cultural heritage should not be left to Google

The digitalisation of the cultural heritage is a key task facing cultural policy in the coming years, but it must not be left to the US company Google alone, writes Pekka Heikkinen, jurist at the Finnish national library, in a commentary for the daily Helsingin Sanomat: "Crucially, Google's digitalisation offer has forced those employed in the book industry to reflect in new ways about their attitudes and the possibilities for cooperation. Models must be developed for achieving the future which Google is already envisaging, while not ceding control over the cultural heritage. Financing the digitalisation will require the cooperation of the public and private sectors. To prevent legal battles from arising, the rightsholders will have to demonstrate their readiness to cooperate as well as openness to the economic possibilities that cooperation with Google will bring with time."

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