UPDATE 1-Libraries skeptical of Google books settlement

(Adds comment from Google, context from antitrust experts)

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - Skeptical library groups asked on Monday for "rigorous oversight" of Google's (GOOG.O) agreement with authors and publishers that would allow it to put millions of books online.

The American Library Association and Association of Research Libraries said they were concerned that Google would not safeguard readers' privacy and that it would be the only digital source for many books and major academic journals.

Other groups have complained to the U.S. Justice Department about antitrust elements of the deal, and the department has made inquiries about it.

"This court can address the library associations' concerns through rigorous oversight of the implementation of the settlement," the groups said in their brief to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Google, which is seeking to create a digital library, reached an agreement last year with the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers to pursue the project. It is awaiting a judge's approval.

"Major commercial publishers have been content with strategies that maximize profits by selling subscriptions to few customers at high cost. Typically, these customers are academic and research libraries," the libraries said in their comments on the settlement.

The library groups are concerned that a subscription to Google books may become indispensable to universities and that subscription rates could skyrocket, said Prue Adler of the ARL, citing the journal Brain Research, which costs $23,000 a year.