From Memex to Google

Moreover, to make Bush’s dream economically feasible required a company with enough money and resources to undergo the book-scanning process. Google expects to scan 15 million books and other documents at an average cost of $10 per unit, and to take several years to complete the project.

No doubt, much of that funding is coming from Google’s IPO and its vaunted place in the online search market — a place that both users and advertisers/merchants have helped to develop.