From hart at pglaf.org Thu Jun 22 09:55:35 2006
From: hart at pglaf.org (Michael Hart)
Date: Thu Jun 22 09:55:37 2006
Subject: [gweekly] EXTRA! Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.60.0606220954390.31416@pglaf.org>
Weekly_June_21.txt
***The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, June 21, 2006 PT1***
*******eBooks Readable By Both Humans And Computers Since July 4, 1971********
A Special Abbreviated Edition of The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter
This combines portions of Part 1a and Part 1b
[You might want to keep this one for reference, as it explains a number
of questions frequently raised about how Project Gutenberg works.]
EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!! EXTRA!!!
On Midsummer's Day, 2006, the number of eBooks originated by and for
Project Gutenberg reached 20,000
As we approach the 35th anniversary of the start of Project Gutenberg,
a number of milestones are being passed.
Project Gutenberg of Australia Passes 700 eBooks!
Project Gutenberg of Europe Passes 300 eBooks!
Distributed Proofreaders Passes 8,600 eBooks!
*eBook Milestones*
20,000 eBooks As Of Today At These Four PG Sites
20,000 Project Gutenberg [+111] Grand Total [Automated]
710 Australian eBooks [+42] [Included in above line]
318 Gutenberg Europe [+0] [Including after July 4]
368 PG PrePrint Site [ +0] [Included in above total]
109 Total New Books This Week
19,995 Grand Total of all four sites [Four more since then]
20,000 [via our automated program]
[Please note we have several counting methods,
and they often differ by several book that we
have to hunt down by hand to reconcile.]
These figures as of 6:21 PM CDT, we have had several more entries since.
***572 eBooks Averaged Per Year Since July 4, 1971***
16,832 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001
That's ~262 eBooks per Month for ~64.50 Months
1,852 New eBooks in 2006 at These Four Sites
40 New eBooks From Distributed Proofreaders
8,611 total from Distributed Proofreaders
Since October, 2000 [Details in PT1B]
[Currently over 36,000 DP volunteers]
We Averaged ~339 eBooks Per Month In 2004
We Averaged ~248 eBooks Per Month In 2005
[Including PG Australia]
We Are Averaging ~336 eBooks Per Month This Year
[Including PGAu, PGEu and PrePrints]
All Four Sites Combined Are Averaging 77 eBooks Per Week In 2006
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
It took ~32 months, from 2003 to 2006 for our last 10,000 eBooks
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~2.8 years from Oct. 2003 to Jun. 2006 from 10,000 to ~20,000
[The above changes due to the opening of Project Gutenberg
sites other than the original one at www.gutenberg.org]
[Now including totals from Australia, Europe and PrePrints]
[Apologies, it will take a while to integrate everything
not all statistics may be totally equalized yet]
[Daily PGEu stats at http://dp.rastko.net/default.php]
[Daily DP stats at http://www.pgdp.net]
BTW, we just started a new "PrePrints" site at PG,
so if you come across eBooks that aren't ready for
primetime, but that should be saved for upgrading,
we have a place to put them.
[Daily PrePrints stats at http://preprints.readingroo.ms/]
Please note that sometimes it takes a few weeks for entire
collections to fully appear in the PrePrints Section, thus
the count sometimes jumps by a large number when the files
are eventually completed and added in. Also note that the
PrePrint files are just that, PrePrints, and thus may move
later to other locations, including the main collection or
The Project Gutenberg Consortia Center, etc. For example,
on June 14, 200 WAP compatible cell phone eBooks appeared,
and will likely be moved to other collection points later.
The entire process of working out the details just to send
them to the PrePrints Section took well over a month.
Even with the speeded up process of the PrePrints Section,
it still takes a certain amount of time to collect and put
such a large collection online in a proper manner.
*
75,000+ eBooks at the PG Consortia Center
http://www.gutenberg.cc
[Including after July 4]
The major difference between the eBooks at the PG Consortia Center
and those at the originating PG sites is that the eBooks available
at the Consortia Center were created by and for other eLibraries--
while the eBooks at the originating Project Gutenberg sites are in
the vast majority created specifically by Project Gutenberg. ~100
eLibraries should be listed at the Consortia Center by July 4, and
we are hoping for ~200 by next year. These eBooks are created for
other projects, with other standards, and we do not change them or
make corrections without the originating eLibrary's permission.
*
***Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
In the first 05.50 months of this year, PG produced 1,852 new eBooks.
It took us from Jul 1971 to Aug 1999 to produce our first 1,852 eBooks!
That's 24 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 Years!!!
109 New eBooks This Week
271 New eBooks Last Week
380 New eBooks This Month [Jun]
336 Average Per Month in 2006
266 Average Per Month in 2005 Counting 216 PGEu
248 Average Per Month in 2005 Not Counting PGEu
336 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
1852 New eBooks in 2006
3186 New eBooks in 2005 Counting 216 PGeu
> 2970 New eBooks in 2005 Not Counting PGEu
4049 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
16,932 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 65.50 Months!
~258 books per month!
20,000 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks [Auto-count]
16,518 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
3,482 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
[Incl. PGAu, PGEu & PrePrints]
710 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
[This does NOT include PGAu eBooks posted
at the U.S. site: www.gutenberg.org ]
318 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Europe
1,228 Total from PG Australia and PG Europe
[Not counting books ok in US copyright]
368 Items in Project Gutenberg PrePrints
~75,000+ Project Gutenberg Consortia Center
http://www.gutenberg.cc
You may also want to look at Project Runeberg [Scandinavian]
http://runeberg.org
*
Project Gutenberg began operation on July 4, 1971
Project Runeberg began operation on December 13, 1992
Distributed Proofreaders began October 22, 2000
[Became an official PG-US site in 2002]
Project Gutenberg of Australia began in August, 2001
The Project Gutenberg Consortia Center started in 1997]
[Became an official PG-US site in 2003]
Project Gutenberg of Europe started January 12, 2004
[Posted first books February 26, when we met in Brussels
to address people at the European Union Parliament.
Project Gutenberg PrePrints Started January 25, 2006
http://preprints.readingroo.ms
*
PROJECT GUTENBERG DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS UPDATE:
Since starting production in October 2000,
Distributed Proofreaders has contributed
8,611 Books to Project Gutenberg.
40 added this week.
For more complete DP statistics, visit:
http://www.pgdp.net/c/stats/stats_central.php
*
Check out our website at www.gutenberg.org, and see below to learn how
you can get INSTANT access to our eBooks via FTP servers even before
the new eBooks listed below appear in our catalog.
eBooks are posted throughout the week. You can even get daily lists.
Info on subscribing to daily, weekly, monthly Newsletters, listservs:
http://www.gutenberg.org/howto/subscribe-howto
or
http://www.gutenberg.org/subs.shtml
***
*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
The PGCC collection at http://www.gutenberg.cc has doubled
in size from the listings below, but we don't have exactly
matching collection sizes yet for a new breakdown.
The number of individual eBooks now exceeds 75,000.
*
PGCC's current eBook and eDocument Collections listings
of 18 collections. . .with this week's listing as:
[This list is being updated as the moment, you can get
the entire list on the collections pages at gutenberg.cc]
Alex-Wire Tap Collection, 2,036 HTML eBook Files
Black Mask Collection, 12,000 HTML eBook Files
The Coradella Bookshelf Collection, 141 eBook Files
DjVu Collection, 272 PDF and DJVU eBook Files
eBooks@Adelaide Collection, 27,709 eBook Files
Himalayan Academy, 3,400 HTML eBook Files
Internet Archive ~30,000 eBook Files [In Progress] <<<
Literal Systems Collection, 68 MP3 eBook Files
Logos Group Collection, ~34,000 TXT eBook Files
Poet's Corner Poetry Collection, 6,700 Poetry Files
Project Gutenberg Collection, 15,035 eBook Files
PGCC Chinese eBook Collection ~300 eBook files <<< Note Name Change
Renascence Editions Collection, 561 HTML eBook Files
Swami Center Collection, 78 HTML eBook Files
Tony Kline Collection, 223 HTML eBook Files
Widger Library, 2,600 HTML eBook Files
CIA's Electronic Reading Room, 2,019 Reference Files
=======Grand Total Files=========~137,142 Total Files=====
Average Size of the Collections 8,067.18 Total Files
These eBooks are catalogued as per the instructions of
their donors: some are one file per book; some have a
file for each chapter; and some even have a file for a
single page or poem. . .or are overcounted for reasons
I have not mentioned. . .each of which could cause the
overcounting or duplication of numbers.
If we presume 2 out of 3 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~45,714 Unique eBooks
If we presume 3 out of 4 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~34,286 Unique eBooks
*
The new overall collection size, which has reduced the
need to account for duplications and eBooks with files
for each chapter, etc.
75,000+ Unique eBooks
***
Please also note that over 25,000 eBooks are listed via
The Online Books Page, of which over 5,700 are from PG.
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
In addition: The Internet Public Library had a similar
listing which is now in limbo. If anyone knows what is
happening with the IPL, please let us know. Inquiries,
made months ago, and again recently, have not turned up
any current information.
You can try a new IPL service at:
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/hum60.60.00/
It would appear that The Internet Public Library ended
its first incarnation with about 22,284 entries, which
has now been surpassed by the Online Books Page.
Still looking for more Internet Public Library info.
***
Today Is Day #168 of 2006
This Completes Week #24 and Month #05.50 [364 days this year]
196 Days/28 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
77 Weekly Average in 2006
61 Weekly Average in 2005 [Counting 216 PGEu]
57 Weekly Average in 2005 [Not Counting PGEu]
78 Weekly Average in 2004
79 Weekly Average in 2003
47 Weekly Average in 2002
24 Weekly Average in 2001
44 Only ~45 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers List
[Used to be well over 100]
[This listing usually from the previous week]
*** Permanent Requests For Assistance:
DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS NEEDS CONTENT, PROOFERS AND SCANNER TYPES
Please visit the site:
http://www.pgdp.net
for more information about how you can help a lot by
simply proofreading just a few pages per day, or more.
If you have a book that has been scanned, but not yet run
through OCR (optical character recognition) or proofed,
and you would like the Distributed Proofreaders to work on it,
please email dphelp@pgdp.net and we will get things started.
Also, DP is seeking public domain books not already in the
Project Gutenberg collection. To see what is already online,
visit http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/GUTINDEX.ALL (a text file)
listing Project Gutenberg eBooks and is available for downloading.
Do you have Public Domain books you would like to see in the archive?
Can they be destructively scanned? If so send them to the Distributed
Proofreading Team! Please email dphelp@pgdp.net with your geographic
location. You will be given the address of the nearest high-speed scanner.
[Note that the high-speed scanner requires destruction of the book(s) which
will not be returned.] We have high-speed scanners currently located in
the east, west and central portions of the US to make shipping easier.
Please make sure that any books you send are _not_ already in the archive
and please check them against David's "In Progress" list at:
http://www.dprice48.freeserve.co.uk/GutIP.html
to ensure no one is currently working on them. It would also be helpful if
you obtain copyright clearance before mailing the books, and send the 'OK'
lines to
dphelp@pgdp.net
Do you like to work on an entire book at once but don't have the time
or technology to do the scanning, OCR, and initial proofing yourself?
Distributed Proofreaders has the perfect solution! Just send us email
telling us that you are interested in post-processing and we will help
find a project you would like to work on.
Please contact us at:
dphelp@pgdp.net
if you would like to know more about the Distributed Proofreaders.
***Donation Information
We Have Included Quick and Easy Ways to Donate. . .As Per Your Requests!
We Are Looking For Volunteers To Add eBooks In More Languages,
as well as in more formats, including music, artwork, movies, etc.
***
QUICK WAYS TO MAKE A DONATION TO PROJECT GUTENBERG
A. Send a check or money order to:
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
809 North 1500 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84116
USA
B. Donate by credit card online:
NetworkForGood:
http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=64-6221541
or
PayPal to "donate@gutenberg.org":
http://www.paypal.com
/xclick/business=donate%40gutenberg.org&item_name=Donate+to+Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg's success is due to the hard work of thousands of
volunteers over more than 34 years. Your donations make it possible
to support these volunteers, and pay our few employees to continue the
creation of free electronic texts. We accept credit cards, checks and
transfers from any country, in any currency.
Donations are made to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
(PGLAF). PGLAF is approved as a charitable 501(c)(3) organization by
the US Internal Revenue Service, and has the Federal Employee Information
Number (EIN) 64-6221541.
For more information, including several other ways to donate, go to
http://www.gutenberg.org/donation.html or email donate@gutenberg.org
*Access To The Project Gutenberg Collections
*Mirror Site Information
Mirrors (copies) of the complete collection are available around the world.
To find the sites nearest you, go to:
http://www.gutenberg.org/MIRRORS.ALL
*Instant Access To Our Latest eBooks
http://www.gutenberg.org/find
allows searching by title, author, language and subject.
Use your Web browser or FTP program to visit our master download
site (or a mirror) if you know the file's name you want. Try:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs
or
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/
and then navigate to the appropriate directory and look for the first
five characters of the file's name. Note that updated eBooks usually
go in their original directory (e.g., etext99, etext00, etc.)
***
Statistical Review
In the 24 weeks of this year, we have produced 1852 new eBooks.
It took us from 07/71 to 05/98 to produce our FIRST 1852 eBooks!!!
That's 24 WEEKS as Compared to ~28 YEARS!!!
FLASHBACK!
Here's a sample of what books we were doing around eBook #1850
Mon Year Title and Author [filename.ext] ###
A "C" Following The eText # Indicates That This eText Is Under Copyright
[Note: books without month and year entries are now in new catalog format]
Old Christmas, by Washington Irving 1850
Aug 1999 The Yellow Crayon, by E. Phillips Oppenheim[EPO#5][ycrynxxx.xxx] 1849
Montezuma's Daughter, by H. Rider Haggard 1848
Aug 1999 Songs, Merry and Sad, by John Charles McNeill [sngmsxxx.xxx] 1847
Aug 1999 The Vision Splendid, by William MacLeod Raine [#3][vspldxxx.xxx] 1846
Aug 1999 Zuleika Dobson, by Max Beerbohm [Max Beerbohm #5][zdbsnxxx.xxx] 1845
Aug 1999 The Scholemaster, by Roger Ascham [In Markup] [smstrxxx.xxx] 1844
[AKA: The Schoolmaster, by Roger Ascham]
Aug 1999 Vera, The Medium, by Richard Harding Davis[RHD#29][veramxxx.xxx] 1843
Aug 1999 Michael Strogoff, by Jules Verne [Jules Verne #10][strgfxxx.xxx] 1842
Z. Marcas, by Honore de Balzac [Tr.: Clara Bell and others] 1841
The Financier, by Theodore Dreiser 1840
Aug 1999 Other Things Being Equal, by Emma Wolf [otbeqxxx.xxx] 1839
Jul 1999 A New Voyage to Carolina, by John Lawson [nvycrxxx.xxx] 1838
The Prince and The Pauper, Complete, by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) 1837
(See also #7154-#7162)
*
Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet?
If our average eBook has reached just 1% of the world population of
6,523,584,700 that would be 20,000 x 65,235,847 = ~1.30 Trillion !!!
With 20,000 eBooks online as of June 21, 2006 it now takes an average
of ~1% of the world gaining a nominal value of ~$.77 from each book.
[1% world population x #eBooks] 65,235,847 x 20,000 x $.77 = ~$1 Trillion
[Google "world population" "popclock" to get the most current figures.]
[By the way, the US "popclock" is about to turn to 300 million people.]
[Just turned 299 million this week!]
*
A Trillion Dollars Given Away At Just $.50 Value Per Book To 100 Million
With 20,000 eBooks online as of June 21, 2006 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.50 from each book.
This "cost" is down from about $.61 when we had 16,518 eBooks a year ago.
Our Target Audience Is 1.5% Of The World Population = ~100,000,000 people.
At 20,000 eBooks in 34 Years and 11.50 Months We Averaged
572 Per Year
48 Per Month
1.57 Per Day
At 1850 eBooks Done In The 168 Days Of 2006 We Averaged
11.0 Per Day
77 per Week
334 Per Month
If you are interested in the population of the world or of the U.S.
you might want to know that these numbers, official as they appear,
are just just estimates, and perhaps not as accurate as we hope.
However, for those keeping track of how quickly the U.S. reaches a
300 million population level, and who noticed the passing of 298M,
just two weeks ago. . .the U.S. is already 1/6 the way to 299M, so
it will probably be 10 more weeks to 299M and 22 more to 300M.
Recently the U.S. Congress, pertaining to district reapportionment,
who gets to vote for which Congresspeople, decided that many of the
districts were undercounted by 5%, perhaps then later deciding that
all districts had been undercounted by 5% [can't recall details].
*
The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks'
production; each production-week starts/ends Wednesday noon,
starts with the first Wednesday of January. January 4th was
the first Wednesday of 2006, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2005 and began the production year of 2006 at noon.
This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.
*
Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists,
including the Project Gutenberg Weekly and Monthly Newsletters:
and the other Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists:
The weekly is sent on Wednesdays, and the monthly is sent on the
first Wednesday of the month.
To subscribe to any (or to unsubscribe or adjust your subscription
preferences), visit the Project Gutenberg mailing list server:
http://lists.pglaf.org
If you are having trouble with your subscription, please
email the list's human administrators at: help@pglaf.org
If you liked this post, say thanks by sharing it.