Google and the British Library have teamed up on an effort put 250,000 out-of-copyright books into digital form.</p> <p>The content from these books, which were written between 1700 and 1870 will be provided online free of charge, providing the public with access to over 40 million pages of content on subject matter ranging from the French Revolution, the invention of rail travel, and the end of slavery.</p> <p>Of course, the project will take a few years, but according to a British Library Press Release, the first items up for the digital process include pamphlets from 1791 concerning feminism and Queen Marie Antoinette; a story about the creation of the first combustion engine driven submarine written in 1858; and the account of a plush toy hippopotamus owned by the Prince of Orange, written in 1775.</p> <p>Once digitised, the British Library and Google Books will provide the content to the public for access ? including reading online, text search for research, and even downloading. The British Library also plans to keep copies stored in a digital vault for safekeeping.</p> <p>Google?s participation represents a part of the Vision 2020 plan, which is the British Library?s attempt to use modern technology and trends to improve public awareness and access to the vast wealth of content they have accumulated over 258 years of public service.</p> <p>This is not the first digitisation project for the British Library; Microsoft and brightsolid have both joined in the efforts in the past. However, that does not detract from the amazing thing that Google is doing here. Content is our legacy and preservation of it is key.<br />