Google Extends Book Search to E-Tail Partners
For book lovers, the benefit is having access at non-Google sites to the Book Search functionality, including being able to browse some of the book and search inside it.
Google provided more limited Book Search functionality via a previous API, but the new one offers external Web sites more and richer functionality and is simpler to implement, according to Turvey.
"Formerly we had publishers that put the [Book Search] preview on their site on a one-off basis. This goes back 12 to 18 months. Now, since we've automated the whole preview process with the APIs, that creates a real industrial strength vehicle," Turvey said. "We can add features and functionalities to the API and it can affect everyone simultaneously."
One feature in Book Search that won't carry over to external sites is the list of suggested retail sites where a particular title can be bought. The last thing a retailer wants to do is provide links to competing stores, he noted.
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