Data sets representing published items are input, for example, scanned-in or sent electronically, and stored in a searchable database. Each data set includes text from at least one published item. Responsive to the search query, a search engine searches for and identifies relevant web pages and data sets representing published items and ranked characterizations are returned for the relevant web pages and published items. An electronic path may be provided with the published item. The electronic path may be a hyperlink from a characterization of a relevant published item to a more complete electronic representation of the relevant published item. Publishers may provide authorization to display copyrighted materials through a permission protocol.