Out of print does not equal out of copyright.
WSJ.com - Google Will Return to Scanning Copyrighted Library Books
Google Inc. will resume scanning copyrighted library books into its search engine after a self-imposed hiatus, despite the efforts of some publishers and authors to block it from doing so without the copyright holders' permission.The Mountain View, Calif., company said it plans to resume scanning copyrighted books in the collections of Stanford University and the University of Michigan "soon." In August, amid a backlash by publishers, the company suspended its scanning of copyrighted books in libraries until today in order to give publishers time to request that their works not be scanned.
Google also said it will focus on scanning copyrighted works that are out of print and is seeking publishers' permission to digitize books that are still available new from bookstores. The company hadn't publicly disclosed that it was targeting out-of-print works for its initial scanning efforts although it says that was always its policy. That distinction could strengthen its argument that the project won't negatively affect book sales. But it isn't likely to lead the two groups suing Google over the Print Library Project to back down.
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Incidentally, what are the libraries getting out of this? And how come nobody asks?