Google offers free book search APIs

Ever wonder what happened to Google’s goal of making every book ever written completely searchable online?

While the task is slow (and monumental in scope), it’s beginning to bear fruit. Google announced that it is opening up a couple of APIs that will let websites embed not only robust book preview functionality, but also a range of search and review tools.

The first API, called the Embedded Viewer API, lets sites embed book previews and control them via JavaScript. It lets book shoppers leaf through a book, searching within it, zooming in and out on the page, and browsing up to 20% of the content.

The second, the Data API, lets users access full-text search results, along with user book reviews, ratings and individual My Library collections. Sites already up and running with the new APIs include Books-a-Million, Worldcat and GoodReads. And Borders is expected to come aboard in the next month or so.

For more details on how it all works, check out Google Blogoscoped’s explanation here.