Wow. Without the indexing these for profit and nonprofit organizations I would NEVER have been ever to so quickly find the passages in books and census pages I sought. The companies are not at all limiting the use of public domain works. As has been stated by others, these are public domain works that can be found elsewhere, only NOW we can find the ones we need more easily. Armed with that information we can go to the library and copy pages from the original works without the hassle of browsing through them, and MANY of them are not indexed. Aside from census, pensions, and the like, the graphics in the books are not well done and it is best to copy and scan the original if you want anything good to use. The only reason I can think of to copy census pages aside from examination offline would be to cut out pieces where the handwriting is poor or unfamiliar to others. I seriously doubt that any of these companies would protest the use. It's always nice to ask. I've NEVER had anyone turn me down. A footnote giving them credit is great advertising for them. Why not follow ethical as well as legal standards? Build upon the work of others, but don't violate their wishes. Debbie If large companies make public domain works available on the Internet but severely limit their use, I am not sure how helpful that is.