From - Wed Sep 03 20:46:49 2003
Date: Wed, 03 Sep 2003 18:29:41 -0400 (EDT)
From: Alice Wood <alice at beryl dot ils dot unc dot edu>
To: Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter <gmonthly@listserv.unc.edu>
Subject: [gmonthly] Pt2 Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter September 2003
X-Message-Id: <200309032229.h83MTfMB003291@beryl.ils.unc.edu>
List-Owner: <mailto:owner-gmonthly@listserv.unc.edu>
List-Subscribe: <mailto:subscribe-gmonthly@listserv.unc.edu>
List-Id: Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter <gmonthly.listserv.unc.edu>
X-List-Host: The UNC List Server
The Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter 3rd September 2003 Part 2
eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers For Since 1971
In this issue of the Project Gutenberg Monthly newsletter:
1) Editorial
2) News
3) Radio Gutenberg update
4) Mailing list information
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Gutenberg is available at http://www.gutenberg.net
Webmaster is Pietro di Miceli of Rome, Italy
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
catalogue. The eBooks are posted throughout the week. You can even get
daily lists.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Editorial
Hello,
Well, the two part newsletter appears to be a hit. Hopefully, we
aren't being dropped into too many trash cans now. A few news items
this week and a bit of a special as Distributed Proofreaders hit
targets like yellow plastic ducks at a fairground. Thierry explains...
Happy reading,
Alice
(news@pglaf.org - Please note new address, although if you hit reply, the mail you
send does not reach me and disappears into the ether.)
The newsletter website is available from http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/newsletter
where you can find a soon to be almost complete collection of previous newsletters.
We welcome feedback, critisism (of any kind), ebook reviews, featured
author suggestions, writings and awkward questions at the address above.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
============= [ SUBMIT A NEW EBOOK FOR COPYRIGHT CLEARANCE ]==============
If you have a book you would like to confirm is in the public domain in
the US, and therefore suitable for Project Gutenberg, please do the
following:
1. Check whether we have the eBook already. Look in
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/GUTINDEX.ALL
which is updated weekly. (The searchable catalog at
http://www.gutenberg.net lags behind by several months)
2. Check the "in progress" list to see whether someone is already
working on the eBook. Sometimes, books are listed as in progress for
years - if so, email David Price (his address is on the list) to ask
for contact information for the person working on the book. The "in
progress" list:
http://www.dprice48.freeserve.co.uk/GutIP.html
3. If the book seems to be a good candidate (pre-1923 publication
date, or 1923-1988 published in the US without a copyright notice),
submit scans of the title page and verso page (even if the verso is
blank) to:
http://beryl.ils.unc.edu/copy.html
You'll hear back within a few days.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
B. Donate by credit card online
NetworkForGood:
http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=64-6221541
or
PayPal to "donate@gutenberg.net":
https://www.paypal.com
/xclick/business=donate%40gutenberg.net&item_name=Donate+to+Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg's success is due to the hard work of thousands of
volunteers over more than 30 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
money 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 Employer Identification
Number (EIN) 64-6221541.
For more information, including several other ways to donate, go to
http://www.gutenberg.net or email gbnewby@ils.unc.edu
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2) News
Distributed Proofreaders Update
This is a significant and memorable week for the creative Diaspora of
Distributed Proofreaders. On this day, the third of September, 2003
the DP enterprise has completed and posted it's 2,000th text to
Project Gutenberg. For those who are unfamiliar with the history and
lore of DP it may not be possible to provide an explanation of a
'Special Issue' to mark this event. To those who have been along for a
part or parts of the DP odyssey so far, no such explanation is
necessary. Within this small frame today, we will try to satisfy both
perspectives and explore why there is much more behind all the fanfare
than a nice, round number.
Like all good stories, there has to be a beginning. So where did
Distributed Proofreaders originate from? Well ... a long time ago,
there were these three ships; the Nina; the Pinta and the Santa Maria
... see there was this fellow, who it on 'good account' that if you
sailed due-West for a number of weeks. . .'No...wait! That can't be right?
[Scratches his head, checks his notes: "Let's see now...'Legendary
Islands,' 'Likely Sites of Blackbeard's Treasure,' Ah! 'Longshot
Dreams' That's it!...A..B..C..Ca..'Drats!' 'must have gotten my Ch's
mixed up again?." drifts back.] Okay, it seems there was another
fellow, came along a little later on that island the earlier fellow
eventually bumped into. His name was Charles, and a few years ago an idea came
and entertained him for a while. After some quiet consideration,
instinctive calculation and some sleepless nights, Charles made up his
mind to do something with that idea.
As a young boy, Charles loved his books. When he grew, like many other
wise and hip people in the world, he became a big fan of Project
Gutenberg. The idea of a true World Wide Library filled his mind with
inspired visions. Like an errant knight drawn to Camelot, Charles knew
he had something invaluable to contribute to Michael Hart's grand
quest.
It was just after dawn in the new millennium and a buzz was in the
air, the Internet would indeed become the wonder of wonders in Human
history. It was just then becoming clear that only the truly useful
and practical would survive into the on-line future. Only those
ventures which remained true to the early promise of the medium would
stand on through the great changes about to unfold.
There was one particularly pesky idea which would not let him sleep at
night. This idea stood out amongst all the others, as the most
practical way to help realize the intentions of Project Gutenberg. I
wasn't there at the time, but I have heard it went something like
this: '. . .
What if there were some way to take a book and prepare it so that all
the many tasks of the digitization process were separated into small
parts. If a structure were built that would allow many people to work
on a book project at the same time, it would significantly increase
the speed of the e-book development-creation process.
The validity of this idea is no longer open for discussion. The idea was
pulled down into the physical world and hammered out on the anvil of
trial and error. The noise made by all that banging caught the
attention of over 10,000 people who have registered to the forums of
DP to learn more. Of those individuals, nearly 8,000 have been
inspired enough to give the proofing process a try. With the early
stages of research and development a matter for historians, the rate
at which the productivity of the project steadily grows must silence
the staunchest critic.
Looking at a handful of key figures will give a measurable sense of that success.
Two years ago this month there were less than 100 members within
DP. By September 2002, that number had risen to about 600 members. Two
months later, due to a tidal wave of attention from a Slash-Dot piece
on DP, the membership ranks swelled up into the thousands. While the
initial wave of activity quieted down over time, the number of people
who stayed with the project and the talents they brought with them,
have forever changed DP, and thus Project Gutenberg, for the better.
As head counts don't inform the whole measure of DP's growth, let's go over the
actual output and see what happens in the world when a single person
gives their heart and soul to an idea's manifestation.
Today we saw the 2000th text from DP posted to the PG stacks. Without
looking I can assure you that figure have risen noticeably between the
time these words are written and when you read them. It is a rare day
now that does not see 5 to 10 books posted.
The page counts make the books, and a snapshot tells more than words:
Two years ago - Average Daily Page Total = 260
One year ago - Average Daily Page Total = 1,000
Present day - Average Daily Page Total = 4,100+
There's much to producing a finished book like Hamlet than the proofing process.
The efforts and talents of many people are employed at each stage
development. When the weekly DP column returns to regular size next week, we will
continue to explore each stage and aspect of the creative system that
bears the title of Distributed Proofreaders, but means so much more.
In the weeks ahead, we will also continue to explore this idea that
Charles Franks set sail into this world. There is far more to his
visions for DP than I could ever convey in the frame allowed today. We
will spend some time with him over several issues to come. But now I
think Charles would be the first to say that I have shed too much
light upon his name today and not enough upon the many members of the
DP community, who put well intended and dedicated efforts into making
these 2000 texts possible. It would require an entire other issue to list those names.
To each and all of you, a deeply felt and shared congratulations!
Hold the dream close to your heart and keep it true!
You can make a difference for good in the world. Believe it.
Thierry
-------------------
What's happening to Project Gutenberg?
Over the past couple of weeks, since the Project Gutenberg needs you
posting, there seems to have been much disquiet about whether Project
Gutenberg will survive and exactly what is happening. Below, we have a
couple of messages from both Michael Hart and Greg Newby, which
hopefully, will put your minds at rest. We also have a few ideas below
that about what you can do to help.
PG has run for 32 years with no cash, much of the time with WORSE than
no cash, I paid to keep it running, and I have no intention of changing.
I would pay to work for PG, and that's been the case all along. . . .
So the ONLY think we NEED cash for is to keep our legal registrations
going. . .which costs some $5-$10K per year. . .which we can do, even
if I have to pay for it.
Michael Hart
PG will not go away, ever!
Even if there is no money.
Even if Michael or I gets run over by a bus tomorrow (though
you could sweat a bit if we both get run over. That's why we
live 3 timezones apart! No, just kidding...it's because
Greg likes dog mushing, and Michael likes Chicago-style pizza)
Even if PGLAF (who holds all the bank accounts) gets sued
out of existence by a monster corporation.
Even if iBiblio crashes and burns.
Even if the Internet Archive crashes and burns, or they both do!
Even if all the publishers start selling our eBooks and not crediting us!
Even if the IRS yanks our 501(c)(3) status.
There is only one thing that can make PG go away, which is if
all of our volunteers stop contributing their time, energy
and love of literature.
(Even then, the past content will stay.)
Greg Newby
OK, suggestions for how people such as you and I can help.
A comment was made on a DP forum last week that people felt that they
personally could not make a difference.
Well, I put it to you that this is not quite true. Back in 1971, one
man started to put one document on the internet, has this made a
difference? Well, you're reading this!
Of course it does, so let's think in terms of money not books.
One dollar*
That's all you need, go and find one, take a look, have a feel. Not
much is it? A bit like one book, significant for itself, but not much
to look at. Now say you donate your dollar to PG. Hmm, not much
difference to the overall scheme of things.
Now say we all donate one dollar. What have you got now?
Well, the subscriber numbers for the newsletter are around the 5,000
mark. So if we all donate one dollar that keeps PG running for at
least six months!
We will also, hopefully, be starting up a PG/DP shop soon, so get saving for those Xmas prezzies now!
Alice
*Please substitute the appropriate monetary unit, my favourite has to
be the Thai baht! What a great name!
-------------------
'Best Of Project Gutenberg'
Announcing the release of the August 2003 'Best of Project Gutenberg'
CD. On this marvellous tome you will find 692 files of the absolute
best that PG has to offer. I think if you had this little lot as a
library you would be very proud. There's Beowolf, the Life and
Adventures of Davy Crockett, Pi to a million digits (this is
apparently, one of the most popular downloads), The Frogs by
Aristophanes, Artistole's Treatise on Government, there are books by
Jane Austen, Charles Dickins, Frank Baum, James Cook's First Voyage
Around The World, Coleridge, Victor Hugo, Abraham Lincoln,
Shakespeare, Twain, right down to Emile Zola. You can find more
information at
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/cdproject
Where the whole thing is available for download.
Alice
-------------------
Hamlet - First Quarto
Hamlet - when your education has never included Shakespeare, you tend
to wonder why so many children complain that Shakespeare is boring,
and so many adults ignore him. Approaching this review with zero
knowledge possibly puts me at an advantage as I can come to the text
fresh, it also means that I possibily won't understand a thing. Well,
I work for PG, understanding is not a qualification for employment.
So, what do I know. Erm, ..., can't think of a thing. Asks significant
other, 'He's the Danish prince, talks to skulls a lot', ah yes,
Yorick, alas. I remember hearing about this now. So, exactly what is this
text?
Hamlet - First Quarto* was originally published in 1603 as an
unauthorised version. An authorised and differing version appeared in
1604. When a complete folio version of Hamlet was published in 1623,
the publishers declared this 1603 quarto to be 'stolen' and
'deformed'. It is radically different from the estabilished version. I
include at this point a quote from Kathleen O. Irace,
"For many years, scholars believed that Q1 [and the other 'bad
quartos'] was the work of rogue actors who pirated Shakespeare's Hamlet
for a rival company, perhaps selling their script to a pirate printer
or publisher. But analysis of probable reporters ... shows that as many
as twelve actors might have helped in reconstructing the plays --
working from full-length texts like the script behind Folio Hamlet in
at least four of the six plays. Rather than pirate actors foolishly
jeopardising their positions in the most influential theatre company of
the time, the reporters and adapters could instead have been full
members of Shakespeare's company. Like others who have grown to
appreciate the unique features of Q1 Hamlet, I believe it was printed
from a script reconstructed from memories of performances linked to F
[the 'good' folio version] and adapted at the same time -- by members
of Shakespeare's own company on tour. Though we may never recover hard
evidence to support this view, it takes into account both the pattern
of fluctuating correspondence between Q1 and F, and the special
features of the first quarto that continue to fascinate scholars,
actors, directors, and playgoers."
Versions of this text travelled into Europe, this from Jon Ingram,
"It might also be interesting to note that some version of the Q1
text travelled beyond England, as it is closely related to a German
play called 'Der bestrafte Brudermord' ('Fratricide Punished'). In
particular, this German version keeps the name 'Corambus' for the
lieutenant, and is closer in plot to Q1 than to the longer and later Q2
and F texts."
So, a text that might be regarded as unwanted and unloved in other
places gains a small place in the history of DP.
At this point, I feel it is necessary to turn to those beloved
statistics that Michael likes. DP has existed for approximately, 3
years. It posted it's 1,000th text in February this year, less than
six months later it has posted 2,000. Moore's law? I think DP just
wrote it's own.
Alice
Quarto - due to paper size, quarto indicates that the paper was folded
twice to make four sides and eight leaves.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
--WHERE TO GET EBOOKS
http://www.gutenberg.net allows searching by title, author, language
and subject. Mirrors (copies) of the complete collection are available
around the world.
These sites and indices are not updated instantly, as additional
research may need to be done by our professional Chief Cataloguer, so
for those who wish to obtain these new ebooks, please refer to the
following section.
--"INSTANT" ACCESS TO EBOOKS
Use your Web browser or FTP program to visit our master download
site (or a mirror) if you know the filename you want. Try:
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/etext04
or
ftp://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext04
and look for the first five letters of the filesname. Note that
updated eBooks usually go in their original directory (e.g., etext99,
etext00, etc.)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Radio Gutenberg Update
http://www.radio-gutenberg.com
This week RG is running AEsop's Fables on channel 1 and The Lion, the
Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis on channel 2.
If you are interested in which etexts and authors have been turned
into audio ebooks, a list can now be found on the Radio Gutenberg website.
If you are interested in creating a slide-show with a soundtrack
from your favourite book, or piece of literature please mail us here
at news@pglaf.org and we will pass your message on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mailing Lists Update
Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
The following lists are currently running and open to all:
gweekly - weekly newsletter
gmonthly - monthly newsletter
posted - instant book postings and important news(high traffic volume)
gutvol-d - volunteer discussion unmoderated (medium traffic)
gutvol-l - volunteer announcements (light traffic)
gutvol-m - multi-media list, for audio and other non-text discussion
(e.g. movies, music) (light traffic)
gutvol-p - programming volunteers, for software development (light traffic)
gutvol-w - new list for gutenberg website development (light traffic)
glibrary - library help, help in tracking down books and copyright
research (light traffic)
gutnews - the official mailing list of the Gutenberg Gazette (light traffic)
guttv - PG's attempt at world domination! No really, TV spots for PG
(very little traffic)
To find these lists you can go straight to listserv.unc.edu and look
them up individually, alternatively,
http://ibiblio.org/gutenberg/subs.htm gives you links to all the
lists.
Alice
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Improved Service
In a bid to make the newsletter more helpful to readers who may be
using screen reading software. We are able to offer the booklisting in
a different format to make your life a little easier. An example of
the changed listing is given below. If you would like either a daily
or weekly version of this list please email news@pglaf.org, and state
which version you require.
{Note to the unwary: this is an example.}
34 NEW ETEXTS FROM PROJECT GUTENBERG US
A Complete Grammar of Esperanto, by Ivy Kellerman Mar 2005[esperxxx.xxx]7787
The Female Gamester, by Gorges Edmond Howard Apr 2005[fmgstxxx.xxx]7840
[Subtitle: A Tragedy]
A Primary Reader, by E. Louise Smythe Apr 2005[preadxxx.xxx]7841
[Also posted: illustrated HTML, zipped only - pread10h.zip]
The Rise of Iskander, by Benjamin Disraeli Apr 2005[?riskxxx.xxx]7842
[7-bit version with non-accented characters in 7risk10.txt and 7risk10.zip]
[8-bit version with accented characters in 8risk10.txt and 8risk10.zip]
[rtf version with accented characters in 8risk10r.rtf and 8risk10r.zip]
[rtf version has numbered paragraphs; txt version has no paragraph numbers]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS NEEDS CONTENT, PROOFERS AND SCANNER TYPES
Please contact us at:
dphelp@pgdp.net
if you would like to know more about the Distributed Proofreaders.
Please visit the site:
http://www.pgdp.net for more information about how you can
help, by proofreading just a few pages per day.
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),
since the online database doesn't reflect recent additions.
Do you have Public Domain books your 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)." Alternatively, you can send your books directly to:
Charles Franks
9030 W. Sahara Ave. #195
Las Vegas, NV 89117
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! Send email to
dphelp@pgdp.net saying that you are interested in post-processing and we
will help you find a project to work on.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Mailing list information
For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists
please visit the following webpage:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.html
Archives and personal settings:
The Lyris Web interface has an easy way to browse past mailing list
contents, and change some personal settings. Visit
http://listserv.unc.edu and select one of the Project Gutenberg lists.
Trouble?
If you are having trouble subscribing, unsubscribing or with
anything else related to the mailing lists, please email
"owner-gutenberg@listserv.unc.edu" to contact the lists'
(human) administrator.
If you would just like a little more information about Lyris
features, you can find their help information at http://www.lyris.com/help
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Credits
Thanks this time go to Brett and George for the numbers and
booklists. Thierry, Gali, Cheryl and Branko, Juliet, Bill, Joseph,
Karl, David Widger and everyone at Distributed Proofreaders, Greg,
Michael, and Larry Wall. Entertainment for the workers provided by Liz
Kershaw, Andrew Collins, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Led Zepplin, The
Rolling Stones, and the New York Open Tennis where rain has stopped
play.
pgmonthly_2003_09_03_part_2.txt
If you liked this post, say thanks by sharing it.