Open Content Alliance (OCA) vs. Google Books: OCA as superior network and better fit for an emerging global public sphere

The Open Content Alliance (OCA) is a network of libraries
and similar organizations committed to digitizing and providing
broadest possible access to books and other materials; over 1.6
million books are already online under OCA principles. OCA is
analyzed in contrast with Google Books (as per the preliminary Google
Books Settlement, November 2009), using Castell’s network theory and
theories of an emerging global public sphere, based on the work of
Habermas and Fraser. OCA is seen as a superior network to Google
Books, with particular strengths in connectedness, consistency (shared
goals), flexibility, scalability, survivability, networking
(inclusion / exclusion) power, and network-making power, including the
ability to form strategic alliances. The lawsuit against Google
Books, and the settlement, illustrate some of the limitations of
Google Books as a network, for example the lawsuit per se is a
challenge to Google Books’ rights to make decisions on inclusion and
exclusion, and illustrates poor connectedness and consistency, two
attributes Castells points to as essential to the performance of a
network. The respectful, law-abiding approach of OCA is a good fit
for a global public sphere, while the Google Books Settlement takes a
key issue that has traditionally been decided by governments (orphan
books), and brings the decision-making power into private contract
negotiations, diminishing democracy. The current Google Books
Settlement is fractured on a national (geographic) basis; consequences
could include decreased understanding of the rest of the world by a
leading nation, the U.S. This works against the development of a
global public sphere, and has potential negative economic and security
implications for the U.S.. OCA is presented as one node of an
emerging library network for the global public sphere, a global public
good increasing access to knowledge everywhere, increasing the
potential for informed public debate towards global consensus.