Google plans to expand its controversial Google Print book-scanning and digitizing program to eight European countries, as well as making books in several European languages searchable over the Internet.

plans to expand its controversial Google Print book-scanning and digitizing program to eight European countries, as well as making books in several European languages searchable over the Internet.

The company will open local-language sites as part of its digital library project in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland, in languages such as French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Spanish. Google was expected to make a formal announcement at the Frankfurt Book Fair on Tuesday.

Users will be able to search for a specific word or phrase and find links to books that include the word or phrase. They will be able to view portions of the books as well, link to e-commerce merchants who can sell the book to the user, and find directions and maps to libraries that can lend the book.

The Google Print project was originally announced at the Frankfurt event a year ago when Google said it planned to digitize the collections of the New York Public Library, and the libraries of Harvard, Michigan, Oxford, and Stanford universities.

The project has attracted opposition, however, from the publishing industry and authors, including a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Mountain View, California-based search company from the Authors Guild supported by the Association of American Publishers.

Shares of Google were up $1.97 to $306.97 in recent trading.

“They’ve actually had opposition in Europe as well as in the U.S., so they’ll keep facing it,” said Danny Sullivan, editor of SearchEngineWatch.com. “Then again, I have no doubt they also have publishers wanting to take part in the program, which is why they are expanding it.”

Google has temporarily put its book-scanning efforts on hold until November (see Google to Library: Shush!). Meanwhile, Yahoo has announced a book-scanning project of its own, but only with works in the public domain (see Google Print Faces Rival).

Google to Library: Shush!Google Print Faces Rival

European Publishing Support

Google began approaching European publishers in August, according to The New York Times. It has received support for its digitizing efforts from some European libraries, including the French National Library.

The New York Times

Some European publishers have also come on board, including Grupo Planeta and Grupo Anaya in Spain, De Boeck and Editions De L’Eclat in France, and Springer Science+Business Media in the Netherlands.

Several large publishers in the United States are also participating, including Simon & Schuster, Random House, and Warner Books, according to USA Today, but other smaller publishers have opted out, including Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.

The Association of American University Presses also objects to the program, as do individual academic publishers such as the University of Minnesota Press.

Public Domain

Pat Schroeder, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers, said that in the United Kingdom, Google is only copying books in the public domain, and she believes that Google should exercise the same policy in the rest of Europe as well as the United States.

“We think maybe we have educated them, and we just hope they will bring their education back to our shores,” said Ms. Schroeder, a former U.S. Congressional representative.

She sees Google’s current policy in the U.S. as a violation of copyright. “Google is going in and copying a full work without permission,” she said. “They’re making two copies, and giving one to the library. They say they have the right to make a copy because they say they’re only releasing a snippet. Snippet is not a legal term. Google made it up.

“If Google can go and copy what’s in the library without permission, then everybody can copy it without permission,” she added. “Google is making new copyright laws by themselves and exercising eminent domain. The last time I looked, they weren’t elected.”

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.