The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter February 5, 2004
eBooks Readable By Both Humans and Computers For Since 1971
Part 1
In this week's Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter:
1) Editorial
2) News and Comment
3) Notes and Queries, Reviews and Features
4) Mailing list information
Editorial
Hello,
World domination cancelled this week due to the internet worm thingy
that messed up last weeks mailing. We hope this one gets to you
without incident.
Happy reading,
Alice
Send feedback and suggestions to the newsletter editor at: newspglaf.org
Founding editor: Michael Hart hartpobox.com
Newsletter editor: Alice Wood newspglaf.org
Project Gutenberg CEO: Greg Newby gbnewbypglaf.org
Project Gutenberg website: http://gutenberg.net
Project Gutenberg Newsletter website: http://gutenberg.net/newsletter
Radio Gutenberg: http://gutenberg.net/audio
Hosted by iBiblio, The Public's Library at http://ibiblio.org
Distributed Proofreaders: http://www.pgdp.net
Newsletter and mailing list subscriptions:http://gutenberg.net/subs.shtml
============= [ 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://gutenberg.net/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.
2) News and Comment
Redesign Contest
Web page redesign contest for gutenberg.net: visit
http://9rules.com/version2/ to read the rules and enter. Your
work and ideas could be the next homepage for Project Gutenberg!
Project Gutenberg 'Best of' CD revisited
Last August, thanks in large part to the efforts of Daniel Callahan,
Project Gutenberg released a "best of" CD. This disc has been copied and
given away to hundreds of people. For many readers, it was their first
exposure to the Project, and it is unquestionably an introduction of which
we can be proud. However, the project continues to grow and the selection
of books continues to improve, and so naturally the Best of Project
Gutenberg CD needs to be improved as well.
If there are any books which you would like to see added to, or removed
from the next release of the CD, please E-mail the title and author to
Aaron Cannon <cannona AT fireantproductions.com>. Don't be afraid to suggest
a large number of books, because even if your requests don't fit, they will
likely be used when a second volume is created. Also, if you have
suggestions on how the layout can be improved, please don't hesitate to
send that information along as well.
Visit http://www.gutenberg.net/cdproject/cd/index.html to view the current
CD.
In Hong Kong and famous for 15 minutes
Seeking Hong Kong volunteers. If you are in the Hong Kong area
and would like to help with Hong Kong Book Week events, including
a TV HK show and eBook giveaway, please contact <vilma AT netvigator.com>
Other news this week
11218 Total 02/04/04 Week #4 (29/330)
86 New This Week
90 New Last Week
77.75 Weekly Average
311 New This Month
311 New This Year
10.72 Average per day this year
3243 Projected Total for this year
76 New this week last year (01/29/03)
287 New this month last year (Jan)
237 New this year last year (2003)
$ 0.89 Trillion dollar cost/book
$ 1.43 Trillion dollar cost/book last year
6980 Etexts This Week Last Year
4 Production Weeks this Year 48 to go.
29 Production Days this Year 330 to go.
1 Production Months this Year
2257 eBooks in last 6 months (08/06/03 - 02/04/04) 26 weeks (31 - 4)
12.47 Daily Average for the last 6 months (181 production days)
1981 eBooks in the prior 6 months (01/29/03 - 07/30/03) 26 weeks (4 - 30)
10.88 Daily Average for the prior 6 months (182 production days)
5514 eBooks in the last 18 months (08/07/02 - 02/04/04) 78 weeks (31 - 4)
Distributed Proofreaders Update
So how has 2004 been for you, so far? It is hard to believe that New
Year's eve was more than a month ago, but here we are two steps into
February. For the record, I like this year. It has an expressively
expansive quality to it--exciting but with a clearly intentional
creativity. Sometimes a new year starts off at a slow pace. The
weeks following the holidays find many people a little disoriented and
often in need of well earned recuperation. This is not one of those years.
January left the gate like Sea Biscuit and never looked back or seemed
to recognize anything to its side. As if to herald the pace of the
year ahead, one of the first moves of the new month was to seal the
count on another 1,000 completed book projects. Sound familiar? It
should. In January, DP put the finishing touches on the 3,000th text,
which as reported to that time was 'The Anatomy of Melancholy.' I
emphasize this item again today, looking back at January, because it
deserves attention within the larger context of DP's accelerating
development and efficiency. It was only last September that DP
celebrated the 2,000th Gold text. It took three years to achieve that
accomplishment. In a little over three months that followed, half that
number again was delivered to PG. At the present pace--nearly 3,175
complete at present--it is clear that the pace of production is
sustaining. Near to the Ides of March, DP will complete the 4,000th
project.
What January has revealed, to those who are tuned in to such things,
is that DP hassecured a stabilized production model that delivers the
goods. If you were watching closely through 2003, then you are
familiar with the many growing pains and trials the project passed
through on the way to this plateau. Granted, it takes a little bit of
objectivity to appreciate the vista of events which prove this
conclusion. If you step back a few paces you will recognize the
evidence soon enough.
Perhaps the biggest news event of January is the implementation of the
Distributed Proofreaders code base by a respected network of
international archives, known now and hereafter as DPEU. It is
justified that this significant and historic development is well
celebrated and we will do just this a little later. In truth though,
the initiation of the DPEU's pre and public test phases augments the
ongoing enlargement and enhancement of DP it does not define it. The
embrace of the DP model magnifies the validity of the past year's
decisions and the overall course set in place by Charles and DP
administrators. All the more worthy of 2004's initial promise is the
manner in which DPEU has not simply utilized the existing code and
model, but with wide open arms welcomed the DP community into their
own. Each day that passes reveals more the exciting path which awaits
us all up ahead. And if you will allow me to quote Rick Blaine, "I
think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
While the spotlight was upon the European camp as it mustered forces
and set up the perimeters, many developments were unfolding back at
the home foundry. As much of this activity has been taking place
behind the scenery, you may be wondering "what activity?" Well, that's
why they pay me 12 year Scotch here, to keep you 'up on the latest and
tastiest.' The initiatives employed in January and carrying on into
this month will have profound influence upon the year ahead and for
this reason alone you should be aware of them if you plan on sticking
around for the mid-term future.
Does anyone remember the California conference all the way back there
in December? This was no mere social gathering, but a well planed
coordination of some of the most prominent minds working towards the
enrichment of the public domain on and off the Internet. Nor was this
a singular event. This was the first of what will be many and regular
such conferences. The California meet produced a bounty of benefits to
DP, some of these began cooking away even before everyone returned
home from the conference and continue to do so. Other plans and
initiatives have begun to be implemented and will become more and more
evident with te passing of time.
To frame these roughly, I will set them into three tiers: 1) Network
Architecture 2) Administration & Community 3) Production enhancement.
Time and space does not allow me to go into great depth, so I will
explain briefly what these are. If I am worth my measure their
significance to the course of DP through 2004 shall be self
evident. The network architecture is pretty much that; an enhanced
edifice for DP to live and work within. A new and independent server
will soon house the entire structure of the site, with the exception
of archival material. The primary reason for this is allow more
personal and immediate management of the heart and soul of the
machine, so to speak. As the actual moves draws closer we will take a
deeper look into the significance of this step and how it benefits the
future growth of DP.
The administration and community is actually the body of Distributed
Proofreaders. Without these two essential components we would be
little more than a loosely organized endeavor towards a good
cause. The awareness of this truth has been the motivation for an
extensive process of careful planning, dedicated effort and thoughtful
consideration and selection. The building of community within DP
began with earnest sometime last summer. We have all seen the result
of this over the past several months, and we have each felt its value
in our hearts. This is not an effort that can be invested once and
sustained indefinitely, nor is it a labor that can be entrusted to any
group of individuals. Community building and growth is an ongoing
process, which is only ever enriched and enhanced by the participation
and care of the many, not the few. There are enough of us who having
experienced the worth of what DP's community offers, will not let this
effort falter. Over the past month I have been working with a wide
range of participants from all corners of DP to discuss areas of
future development and inclusion into the cultural landscape being
defined by the journey of this project. Stay tuned to future columns
and forum posts as these exchanges take on more concrete forms.
A healthy community like a healthy project stays that way through the
attentive and loyal work of a core team of people willing to take on
the responsibility of direction and administration. Adding to this
team is an important and well weighed process. For the most of us,
coming to DP is an option. If we feel like dropping off the site for
an extended length of time, we do. After all, it is a volunteer
endeavor. To 'step up' and accept one of the caretaking roles of the
project requires a greater level of commitment than most of us are
willing to take on. From the other side of the process, there is the
challenge of presenting the offer to members. If someone feels that
such is role is not desirable for any reason, you don't want them to
feel any different about the project because they are quite
comfortable contributing as they presently do.
Every page proofed counts at DP. "Preserving History One Page at a
Time" is far more than a catch slogan. From my perspective, which I
have heard echoed by many others, a big part of what makes DP so
important to our age is the openness for an individual to participate
an do something that really matters--even if all they have to spare
are are a few free minutes in a day or week. A larger role in the
daily workings of DP is not for everyone, nor should it be. At the
same time, there is something very special that needs to be said for
and about those who make that commitment to become part of a steady
and sustaining tier of guidance on this project. The promise of future
growth would remain just that, a promise, without an expanded team to
see to the care of its fulfillment.
Through January we witnessed the definition of roles which have long
existed without name yet with great respect for a long time. While
there are thousands of us who proof, a few dozen who manage projects
and a few dozen more who work in post processing, there are but a rare
and special number working in that crucial stage between a completed
text at DP and a posted text at PG. It is quite hard to express in
word the esteem and affection many of us in the PG/DP community hold
for Tonya and David. As wordy as you all know I am, this column will
not be expanded by my efforts to succeed at such an expression. Titles
may not do justice to the depth of their contribution either, but they
are still denoted with a great respect. Post Processing & Verification
Coordinator is a challenge to fit on a door plaque, but a full name
for a full role was essential.
If you have been active in the forums recently, you may have by now
recognized that DP has a new Site Administrator these past weeks;
Pourlean. Now I know she has been testing her wings so far, but as an
supporter for a long time, I am putting a deserved spotlight where it
belongs, on one of DPs hidden assets. My faith in DP's future is
greatly strengthened with such dedicated hands added to the helm.
This brings us to the other important enhancement to DP's management,
the creation of an entirely new branch of navigators. To allow the
Site Administrators more freedom to focus upon ... well
administration, a new role has been created to manage the many and
varied needs of active texts; the Project Facilitators. The work of
the PFs is to assist and expand the powers and labors of the Project
Managers and where need to liaison between proofers and post
processors to assure a greater quality and expediency to the entire
on-site production process. Stepping up to the task of right at the
start are four well known and adored (certainly adored by me) members
of the DP regulars; DMKazoo, Francisca, Papeters and VelkVelk.
Congratulations to the new administrative branch of DP! ... and also
to you Big Bill, I envy you...up there like Apollo on Helicon
surrounded by so many Muses.
Finally then, the third initiative, presently underway, the production
enhancement.We are just weeks away from the open test phase of a new
code foundation, perhaps one of the grandest yet. While I cannot
reveal the details just yet, I can assure you that possibilities for
innovation and extended utility have been well planned and
addressed. The actual coordination for the test phase is closely
associated with the implementation of the new server structure for
DP. The underlying strategy to all of the current initiatives is well
planned coordination. The ground has been secured, the intended
structure mapped out, a well exercised and dedicated set of teams are
in place. From here on out across 2004 what we are going to witness is
steady and impressive growth. You have been a part of this venture
until now, helping to make this very day possible ... stay then, and
help assure the reality of a truly wondrous future.
Speaking of that wondrous future, let's take at the happenings on the
outskirts of the DP Empire, over in Europe. It was just around the
middle of January that an announcement appeared in the forums,
inviting experienced members to sign up over at a whole new, but
different DP to participate in a vigorous pre-test phase of site
establishment and de-bugging. Little by little with each passing day,
more and curious veterans made the pilgrimage. Within a week's time
the results of this collaboration lead DPEU's directors to declare the
project ready for public testing. Today, the idea of archives
associated with, yet distinct of PG utilizing the DP system full scale
is a reality, and an impressive one.
The utilization of the DP code by Project Rastko' alliance of library
archives has illuminated the ground of future possibilities for
expansive implementation. Through the next three weeks of the public
test phase the atmosphere across both sites is certain to be charged
with ideas and inspirations. Having had close involvement with the
initial test phase, what stays with me constantly is a resurgence of
that exciting and kinetic perception of the Web back when Mosaic first
appeared, and all things seemed possible. I can state that I am not at
all alone in this experience. Over the weeks and months ahead, I
believe very strongly that we are going to witness a wide revival of
those idealistic and creatively charged days throughout both sites...
and where better for this spirit of our age to rise again on-line than
within communities allied to Project Gutenberg?
Over 200 members have signed up to help establish DPEU and work out
all the bugs and bumps during the test phase. And these are no mere
onlookers. Long standing members of the Rastko community of archives
side by side with the most prominent figures of Distributed
Proofreaders have rolled up their sleeves and given a strong and
dedicated effort to see that everything comes together for the
best. In the words of Project Rastko's president, Zoran Stefanovic,
"This achievement is far advanced of our initial plans and well above
our highest expectations."
One of the key features incorporated into the DPEU test phase is the
ability to work with texts in the UTF8 character set. This is
essential for the realizing of producing texts in the range of
language groups that the Rastko archives will be processing though
DPEU. Here, to my eyes is the most exciting event to witness each day,
as the projects stands more and more upon its legs; the varied array
of languages entering and moving through the proofing rounds.
The localization of the system is another wonder to watch come to
life.. The personal page, proofing interface and forums are being
translated into Bulgarian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German,
Italian, Macedonian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish,
Swedish, and Ukrainian. Over 40 projects from amongst these languages
are within the system. Some of them are already ready for posting to
PG. The total pages proofed so far is nearing 10,000 ("Ten times more
than expected.")
As the testing period commences I will be participating and staying
close with the directors of the project. Stay close to the newsletter
for all the latest news ... or if you want more--and I hope you do, or
I am falling down on the job--then sign up at http://dp.rastko.net/
is you have not already and be a part of the beginning of something
historic within your own time.
So that was January. As you can see now, the shape of the remaining
months of '04 have already been outlined by these initial
developments. And if you wonder, what might be happening to the 'bread
and butter' work of DP while all this is going on, do not give it
another thought. January was also the most productive proofing month
in DP's history. In the first 31 days of the year, we proofed 224,230
pages together.
Fasten your seat belts, everyone! This ride's just gettin' under way.
Stay then, on into this exciting year, and give from the yearnings of your heart!
The best in ourselves for the world!
The best in the world for ourselves!
Until next week...
Thierry Alberto
[Readers should note the conditions under which Thierry puts out this
column each time. Thierry writes some of the best prose you could ever
hope to read, and each time he does it with the newsletter editor
almost continuously mailing him for the finished article. It's amazing
he ever writes a word!]
Radio Gutenberg Update
www.gutenberg.net/audio
channel 1 - Sherlock Holmes "The Sign of Four"
channel 2 - Robert Sheckley's "Bad Medicine"
Both are high quality live readings from the collection.
Testing of Radio Gutenberg audio books on demand is currently taking
place.
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 "donategutenberg.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 gbnewbyils.unc.edu
3) Notes and Queries, Reviews and Features
Pg A to Z
This week - 'Y'
The second stop on our A to Z journey finds us wandering around the
jungle that is Y. Authors for Y include Yan Zhitui with seven volumes
of Yan Shi Jia Xun written in Chinese. A great many volumes by
W. B. Yeats, see below for more information. Other authors to mention
include C.H. Yarrow, with An Introduction to the mortuary customs of
the North American Indians; Charles Duke and Charlotte Mary Yonge who
between them have 50 books in the Project Gutenberg library. We also
have Filson Young's eight volumes about Christopher Columbus'
discoveries.
In the world of book titles we have many volumes written with
children in mind. Young Canada's Nursery Rhymes; Young Folks' History
Of England; Youth: Its Education, Regimen, and Hygiene to name but
three. Particularly appealing to myself are three volumes about the
countryside just outside my front door: Yorkshire and Yorkshire Coast
& Moorland Scenes by Gordon Home, and Yorkshire Dialect Poems
(1673-1915) and traditional poems by F. W. Moorman.
Also, under 'Y' we have another example of the diversification of
Project Gutenberg - Yiddish. So far we are limited to one audio file:
I. J. Hochman's Yiddisher Orchester, Mazel Tov; so here we include a
note from Keren Vergon - "I have several things I'd like to put
through. My guess is that within the next year I'll have 10-15 books
in Yiddish and as many or more in Hebrew put through DP. At least
that's my goal. I'd love to link up with other PG or DPers who have an
interest in Yiddish and/or Hebrew. There's lots of great stuff out
there waiting for PG; but to go ahead and proof them is a little
difficult if we don't have folks to PP them. It would be great to
gather a team together so that we would know we have a few proofers
and PPers ready to go when DP goes live with UTF8.(See Thierry's post
above for more details)". If you want to contact Keren about helping
with this project, please email: tvergon AT tampabay .rr .com
And finally, Y is for YOU, the volunteer without whom this project
wouldn't be what it is.
W. B. Yeats
William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939).
Irish poet, dramatist and prose writer, considered to be one of the
greatest English-language poets of the 20th century. Yeats received
the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923 (You can find out more about
this at Project Gutenberg of Australia). In his early career Yeats
studied William Blake's poems, Emanuel Swedenborg's writings and other
visionaries. Later he expressed his disillusionment with the reality
of his native country. A central theme in Yeats's poems is Ireland,
its bitter history, folklore, and contemporary public life.
William Butler Yeats was born in Dublin into an Irish Protestant
family. His early years were spent in London and Sligo, on the west
coast of Ireland. In 1881 the family returned to Dublin. While
studying at the Metropolitan School of Art, Yeats met George
Russell. He was interested in mysticism, and his search inspired also
Yeats. In 1886 Yeats formed the Dublin Lodge of the Hermetic Society
and took the magical name Daemon est Deus Inversus. The occult order
also attracted Aleister Crowley.
As a writer Yeats made his debut in 1885, when he published his first
poems in The Dublin University Review. In 1889 Yeats met his great
love, Maud Gonne (1866-1953), an an actress and Irish revolutionary
who became a major landmark in the poets life and imagination. She
married Major John MacBride in 1903, and this episode inspired Yeats's
poem 'No Second Troy'. MacBride was later executed by the British.
Through Maud's influence Yeats joined the revolutionary organization
Irish Republican Brotherhood. Maud had devoted herself to political
struggle but Keats viewed with suspicion her world full of
intrigues. He was more interested in folktales as a part of an
exploration of national heritage and for the revival of Celtic
identity. His study with George Russell and Douglas Hyde of Irish
legends and tales was published in 1888 under the name Fairy and Folk
Tales of the Irish Peasantry. Yeats assembled for children a less
detailed version, IRIS FAIRY TALES, which appeared in 1892. THE
WANDERINGS OF OISIN AND OTHER POEMS (1889), filled with sad longings,
took its subject from Irish mythology.
In 1896 Yeats reformed the Irish Literary Society, and then the
National Literary Society in Dublin, which aimed to promote the New
Irish Library. Lady Gregory first saw W.B. Yeats in 1894 .Their
relationship started in 1897 and led to the founding of the Irish
Literary Theatre, which became the Irish National Theatre Society and
moved in 1904 into the new Abbey Theatre, named after the Dublin
street in which it stood. Yeats worked as a director of the theater,
writing several plays for it. Another director was the dramatist John
Synge (1871-1909), Yeats's close friend, whose masterpiece The Playboy
of the Western World (1907) was greeted with riots. Yeats's most
famous dramas were CATHLEEN NI HOULIHAN (1902), in which Maud Gonne
gained great acclaim in the title role, and THE LAND OF HEART'S DESIRE
(1894). Yeats did not have in the beginning much confidence in Lady
Gregory's literary skills, but after seeing her translation of the
ancient Irish Cuchulain sagas he changed his mind. Cathleen ni
Houlihan has been cretied to Yeats but now it is considered to be
written by Lady Gregory.
In 1917, he married Georgie Hyde-Lee, who was 26. Although Keats first
had his doubts, the marriage was happy and they had two
children. During their honeymoon Yeats's wife demonstrated her gift
for automatic writing. Their collaborative notebooks formed the basis
of A VISION (1925), a book of marriage therapy spiced with
occultism. A change from suggestive, beautiful lyricism toward the
spare and tragic bitterness was marked in Yeats poem 'September 1913'
in which he stated: "Romantic Ireland's dead and gone."
In 1932 Yeats founded the Irish Academy of Letters and in 1933 he was
briefly involved with the fascist Blueshirts in Dublin. In his final
years Yeats worked on the last version of A VISION, which attempted to
present a theory of the variation of human personality, and published
THE OXFORD BOOK OF VERSE (1936) and NEW POEMS (1938). Yeats died in
1939 at the H�tel Id�al S�jour, in Menton, France.
Mailing list information
For more information about the Project Gutenberg's mailing lists
please visit the following webpage:
http://gutenberg.net/subs.shtml
Trouble?
If you are having trouble subscribing, unsubscribing or with
anything else related to the mailing lists, please email
"owner-gutnberglistserv.unc.edu" to contact the lists'
(human) administrator. Please note the email address spelling.
If you would just like a little more information about Lyris
features, you can find their help information at http://www.lyris.com/help
Please note that the newsletter staff do not have access to the
mailing list email address list, so they are unable to subscribe
/ unsubscribe you themselves. They can however, give advice if
you have trouble following the procedures on the webpage.
Current Subscription Numbers as at end January 2004
gweekly - 2821
gmonthly - 3496
Credits
Thanks this week to Brett and George for the numbers and the
booklists. Thierry, Greg, Michael and Larry Wall. Entertainment for
the workers provided as usual by BBC 6Music and Andrew Collins. Extra
entertainment by my cat trying to sleep on my bicycle pannier rack!
pgweekly_2004_02_04_part_1.txt
If you liked this post, say thanks by sharing it.