British Library digital news

British Library press reelase: "Microsoft and the British Library today announced a strategic partnership to digitise 25 million pages of content from the Library's collections in 2006, with a long term commitment to digitise still more in the future.
Microsoft and the British Library will work together to digitise around 100,000 out-of-copyright books and deliver search results for this content through the new MSN Book Search service help people find precisely what they're looking for on the web. MSN Search will launch an initial public beta offering next year. "

In Denmark this is seen as an ante-google tactical move

Google Print Library Project

Adopt a Book: "The British Library has the world's greatest collection of books, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, music, pictures and stamps. However, many of these items are deteriorating from age and overuse. Right now it would take us over 100 years just to cope with present conservation needs and each year this need grows. We must do something now to prevent our literary heritage from vanishing before our eyes. "
and the acid wood pulp paper is turning to dust