From: "ronkean at juno.com" <ronkean at juno.com> Date: Sat, 18 Dec 2010 08:39:12 GMT To: WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net Subject: [WSFA] Fw: new google literature tool Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at KeithLynch.net> In 500 Billion Words, a New Window on Culture http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/books/17words.html By PATRICIA COHEN With little fanfare, Google has made a mammoth database culled from nearly 5.2 million digitized books available to the public for free downloads and online searches, opening a new landscape of possibilities for research and education in the humanities. The digital storehouse, which comprises words and short phrases as well as a year-by-year count of how often they appear, represents the first time a data set of this magnitude and searching tools are at the disposal of Ph.D.'s, middle school students and anyone else who likes to spend time in front of a small screen. It consists of the 500 billion words contained in books published between 1500 and 2008 in English, French, Spanish, German, Chinese and Russian. =2E ____________________________________________________________ Refinance Rates at 2.8% $160,000 Mortgage $434/mo. No Hidden Fees- 3.1% APR! Get a Free Quote http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/4d0c737695f85865e51st01vuc