An article published in the Harvard Crimson indicates the Harvard University Library has decided not to participate in the Google book scanning project, unless it makes more financial sense later on.

The company first announced four years ago its intention to make digital copies of books from some of the largest libraries around the world available for free over the internet.  Google has scanned more than 7 million books for the Google Book Search, and will likely scan millions of other titles in the future.  The service is especially useful for any book titles that are now out-of-print, with all public domain books available to download as PDFs for free.

Even though the Harvard library was an original supporter of the project, it seems the $125 million monetary agreement Google reached with book publishers has left the library frustrated.  The university let Google scan books that are out of print and no longer copyrighted, but has been hesitant to give the Mountain View, CA-based company full access to its library.

The U.S. District Court in New York must finalize the settlement, and university officials said they would reconsider their stance if the court chooses to change the financial agreement for more "reasonable terms," school officials said.

"The settlement provides no assurance that the prices charged for access will be reasonable, especially since the subscription services will have no real competitors (and) the scope of access to the digitized books is in various ways both limited and uncertain," said Robert Darnton, Harvard University Library director said.

The financial deal, assuming it's approved by the courts, will finally end a lawsuit that was filed by the Authors Guild and several different large book publishers.  A digital library of books -- both copyrighted and out of print -- would offer internet users a valuable tool in furthering their literary knowledge, while also giving publishers a way to generate further revenue.