Google Book Search Logo

Google Book Search searches the full text of hundreds of thousands of books and returns a list of books with your keywords in their text.

Each result shows if you can download the book, or where to find it.

You can have varying degrees of access to the text of books.

Beta designation...

...shows that the service is in beta testing and all kinds of changes may be expected.

It's not always so. Some Google services carried this appendage for up to five years being in quite a stable state.

Web Search link...

...takes you to the Web search page.

Originally, Google's home page was even simpler, but with the growing complexity of Google's features it has to carry ever more information.

Google keeps the page current, so at the time of your reading it may look a bit different.

Images link...

...opens the Google Image Search page with access to over a billion images. Google grants you only the right to view them on the web.

Google analyzes key words in the file name, the text on the page adjacent to the image, and other factors to return most relevant results.

Clicking the link in Google, you automatically resubmit your search as an Image search.

Video link...

...opens access to the Google Video library of TV shows, movies, music videos, documentaries, personal works, etc.

You can download free content, preview or buy commercial videos, and upload your own video.

Also, you can use Google Video for commercial purposes.

Clicking the link in Google, you automatically resubmit your search as a Video search.

News link...

...opens News page with access to news from more than 4,500 sources. Google News headlines are updated every 15 minutes.

The news database is separate from the main Google database. You can search news articles up to 30 days past.

Clicking the link in Google, you automatically resubmit your search as a News search, without having to retype your query.

Maps link...

... opens the Google Maps page. The feature offers a wide range of map-based information, from finding places and driving directions to local businesses, services, and landmarks.

Clicking the link in Google, you automatically resubmit your search as a Maps search.

Gmail link...

...opens the Gmail sign in/ sign up page.

Blogger link...

...takes you to the Blogger website. You can search blogs, create your own blog, do all kinds of blog things here.

Blogger.com has been acquired by Google, and now it's an integrated part of the whole system.

Books link...

...opens the Google Book Search page. You can search the full text of hundreds of thousands of books.

Depending on copyright restrictions, you can have full access to the text of a book, or see its fragments, or only its description and indication where to get it.

Google Book Search allows out-of-copyright material to be downloaded in PDF format.

Calendar link...

...opens the Google Calendar page. You can create your personal calendar, share it with others, import data from MS Outlook and other calendar programmes, and so on.

You can also display a calendar on your site.

Documents link...

...opens a page with an explanation of the service and a Google Account login dialog.

You can work with your documents and spreadsheets online, make them accessible to designated people, or publish them as web pages.

Google Finance link...

...opens the Google Finance page which displays a combination of general market news and in-depth financial information on specific stocks, mutual funds, and public and private companies.

The information comes from a variety of financial data providers, as well as from Google's main search database.

Groups link...

...opens access to an archive of Usenet and Google groups. Usenet is one of the oldest parts of the Internet. It has over 30,000 active newsgroups where people discuss all kinds of topics.

You can search postings in both active and defunct groups between 1981 and today.

Clicking the link in Google, you automatically resubmit your search as a Groups search.

Labs link...

...opens the front page of "Google's technology playground".

Many new ideas are tried out here, such as Google RideFinder for a dozen of US cities, Google Mars, and a whole lot more. Some of them will make it to mainstream search features.

Orkut link...

...opens the Orkut online community page.

Patents link...

...opens the Google Patent Search page. All patents come from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and cover patents issued from the 1790s till about 6 months ago. More recent are not yet available.

Google has converted the entire image database of U.S. patents into a searchable format. You can search the full text of U.S. patents.

Photos link...

...opens the Google photo sharing page based on Picasa Web Albums.

Picasa lets you view, organize, edit and share the digital photos on your PC.

Google Products link...

...opens the Google Products Search page. As a shopping search engine, Google Products offers product information from price comparisons to store and product ratings and reviews.

Google Products helps you find products online.

Reader link...

...opens the Google Reader page.

Google Reader checks news sites and blogs for new content. You can specify what sources to check.

Scholar link...

...takes you to the Google Scholar search page. The Google Scholar sources are peer-reviewed papers, theses, books, abstracts and articles, from academic publishers, professional societies, preprint repositories, universities and other scholarly organizations.

Depending on copyright issues, Google Scholar provides multiple ways to access scholarly content, from free full text to library links and purchase options.

Blogs link...

...opens the Google Blog Search page. A typical blog (Web log) is a personal webpage (website) with periodical journal style entries. Bloggers were formerly known as "escribitionists".

Blogs discuss any imaginable topic, and Google indexes millions of them. Blogs "push" updates to their subscribers and search engines, so the most recent information is usually available.

more>> link...

...opens a long list of services and tools provided by Google. It has more search interfaces, such as Catalogs or Books, and a lot of related features, such as Labs or Blogger.

Note that the arrangement of navigational links changes constantly. For instance, quite recently Video was in the primary menu line, then it was replaced by Products. Any migrations are possible any time, the only rule is that the more popular features tend to be placed in the primary menu line.

Advaned Search link...

...opens the Advaned Search page.

Many of the advanced search features, though not all, are accessible from this page. Others require the use of search operators and other tools and techniques.

Google Book Search Help link...

...opens the Google Book Search Help Center page with access to comprehensive information about Google Book Search.

Book Search Help is probably the best of Google Helps.

Google Subjects links...

...open lists of books categorized under particular subjects.

You can browse books by subject or search within a subject by combining a keyword with the subject operator.

Google Book categories...

...present sample books grouped into popular categories as a way to explore the content of Google Books.

These sample books change every time you refresh the page.

Book Search Blog link...

...opens the official Google Book Search Blog.

It is a source of news about Google Books and also has a searchable archive.

All books

Select to search books with full view and books with all kinds of limited previews as permitted by publishers and copyright holders.

Full view books

Select to search books with full view only. It is books that are out of copyright or fully viewable by permission of copyright owners.

You can view any page of such book, or download the whole book in PDF if it's in public domain.

About Google Book Search link...

...opens Google Book Search overview page that complements main help.

Sign in link...

...opens the Google Account page. You can access many Google services with one account.

Search Box

This is where you type in your keywords (search query). Keywords can be used in combination with search operators to make search better targeted. Search operators are described in the How to Use section.

Now, for demonstration purposes, you can click in the Search box to fill in a query.

Click the Search Books button to view results for this search.

Search Books button...

...submits your query to the Book Search engine and takes you to the results page of this search.

Information for Publishers link...

...opens a page with explanations to publishers how and why to make their books available on Google Book Search.

Google Home link...

...takes you to the Google home page.