Google has teamed up with Life Magazine to offer the LIFE Photo Archive!  Most of these images were never published, and are offered for free.  They are fully searchable by subject.

Check it out here: http://images.google.com/hosted/life

So, from what I’ve read so far, this Google Books settlement looks like a really good opportunity for libraries, but there’s lots of fine print to look at, so feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.   Here’s how it will work for libraries:

Library and university access

We’ll also be offering libraries, universities and other organizations the ability to purchase institutional subscriptions, which will give users access to the complete text of millions of titles while compensating authors and publishers for the service. Students and researchers will have access to an electronic library that combines the collections from many of the top universities across the country. Public and university libraries in the U.S. will also be able to offer terminals where readers can access the full text of millions of out-of-print books for free.

Jessamyn West has already culled the most crucial information more succinctly and usefully than I ever could, so see her blog post on librarian.net for all kinds of great background and commentary on Google Books.