PROJECT GUTENBERG OF AUSTRALIA
==============================
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER - October 2008
[includes details of ebooks placed online during September 2008]
Dear Avid Reader,
Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright
laws for your country before downloading or redistributing ebooks mentioned in
this newsletter.
CONTENTS:
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* News and Reviews
* Last month's postings
* Other Information (including details of how to unsubscribe)
NEWS AND REVIEWS
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TALKING BOOKS
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The term "DAISY" (Digital Accessible Information SYstem) is used to refer to a
standard for producing accessible and navigable multimedia documents. In
current practice, these documents are Digital Talking Books, digital text
books, or a combination of synchronized audio and text books. DAISY is a
globally recognized technical standard to facilitate the creation of
accessible content. The standard was originally developed to benefit people
who are unable to read print due to a disability, but it also has broad
applications for improved access to text in the mainstream. The DAISY Standard
has been evolving over the last several years and has recently been officially
recognized by an American standards- making body.
"Beyond Books, Beyond Barriers" is the talking book library of Western
Australia. It is a joint project of the State Library of Western Australia and
the Association for the Blind of Western Australia (ABWA). Recently, a list of
books available at PGA was added to the library catalogue in the form of a
MARC file -- See http://gutenberg.net.au/marc.html. Users of the "Beyond
Books, Beyond Barriers" library catalogue can request that an ebook be made
available in DAISY format and the ebook is converted so that it can be read on
a DAISY reader, for which free software is available. For those wishing to do
the conversion to the DAISY format themselves, there is a plug-in to the "free
and open productivity suite", Open Office, which enables DAISY books to be
created from text files.
When I first started making ebooks, about 10 years ago, people were always
telling me that no one would want to read books while sitting at a computer. I
had to agree, but would tell them that I was "waiting for technology to catch
up". To tell the truth, I too sometimes wondered just how useful ebooks were,
beyond serving as a quick way of referencing quotations from them. Now it
seems as though the technology HAS caught up-- here we are with free ebooks,
free ebook software, international production standards, and ebook-reader
hardware which is becoming more affordable each year. Of course, However, I am
still waiting for that breakthrough, so that I can relax in bed and read
ebooks as a hologram on the inside of my eyelids. Look, no hands!
Below are links to web sites relating to matters covered in this article.
Frequently Asked Questions about DAISY:
http://www.daisy.org/about_us/faq.shtml?faq=gen#a_17 About "Beyond Books,
Beyond Barriers": http://www.cucat.org/library/openbiblio/shared/about.php
Catalogue at "Beyond Books, Beyond Barriers":
http://www.cucat.org/library/openbiblio/opac/index.php About MARC files:
http://www.gutenberg.net.au/newsletters/200707-newsletter.html DAISY talking
book software: http://www.cucat.org/library/openbiblio/shared/about.php Open
Office Software download: http://openoffice.org-
suite.com/index.asp?aff=101&camp=gg_oo_au&se=google
DAISY plugin for Open Office: http://odt2dtbook.sourceforge.net/index.html
MILES FRANKLIN (1879-1954) -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Franklin
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The Miles Franklin award -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_Franklin_Award
-- is, as the Wikipedia article just cited puts it, "an annual literary prize
for the best Australian 'published novel or play portraying Australian life in
any of its phases.'" It is a well known award. Somewhat less well known are
the literary works of Miles Franklin herself. She is best known for "My
Brilliant Career," published in 1901. However, her other works, including a
number written under the pseudonym "Brent of Bin Bin", are always readable and
are a valuable chronicle of Australian pioneer life.
This month we have placed online two of her novels, "All that Swagger" and "Up
the Country." Those works, together with "My Brilliant Career," can be
accessed from http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty-a-m.html#franklin2. Other
Franklin works are in the pipeline and
will be placed online in coming months.
MULGA BILL'S BICYCLE
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'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, 'Excuse me, can you ride?'
'See, here, young man,' said Mulga Bill, 'from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything, as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk -- I HATE a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wild cat can it fight.
There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight.'
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,
That perched above the Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road.
He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver streak,
It whistled down the awful slope, towards the Dead Man's Creek.
It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks,
The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dead Man's Creek.
'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam ashore:
He said, 'I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet.
I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it's shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still;
A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill.'
From: Rio Grande's Last Race & Other Verses by 'Banjo' Paterson --
http://gutenberg.net.au/pgaus.html#paterson
LAST MONTH'S POSTINGS
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A list of all the books we provide is available from
http://gutenberg.net.au/plusfifty.html
Check there to see if there are other works by the authors listed below.
-- SEPTEMBER POSTINGS --
Sep 2008 Sanders of the River, Edgar Wallace [080113xx.xxx] 1695A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801131.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Dark Invader, Captain Franz von Rintelen [080112xx.xxx] 1694A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801121.txt or .zip
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801121h.html
Sep 2008 Who Killed the Husband?, Hulbert Footner [080111xx.xxx] 1693A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801111.txt or .zip
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801111h.html
Sep 2008 Maid No More, Helen Simpson [080110xx.xxx] 1692A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801101.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Big Foot, Edgar Wallace [080109xx.xxx] 1691A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801091.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Palos of the Dog Star Pack, J U Giesy [080108xx.xxx] 1690A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801081.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Mouthpiece of Zitu, J U Giesy [080107xx.xxx] 1689A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801071.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Jason Son of Jason, J U Giesy [080106xx.xxx] 1688A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801061.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Kit-Bag, Algernon Blackwood [080105xx.xxx] 1687A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801051.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Thurnley Abbey, Percival Landon [080104xx.xxx] 1686A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801041.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Father Macclesfield'S Tale, R H Benson [080103xx.xxx] 1685A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801031.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Shadows on the Wall, Mary Eleanor Wilkins [080102xx.xxx] 1684A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801021.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Pichon and Sons of the Croix Rousse, Anonymous [080101xx.xxx] 1683A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801011.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Tomb of Sarah, F G Loring [080100xx.xxx] 1682A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0801001.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Botathen Ghost, R S Hawker [080099xx.xxx] 1681A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0800991.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 Up the Country, Miles Franklin [080098xx.xxx] 1680A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0800981.txt or .zip
Sep 2008 The Third Round, Sapper [080097xx.xxx] 1679A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0800971.txt or .zip
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0800971h.html
Sep 2008 All that Swagger, Miles Franklin [080096xx.xxx] 1678A
http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks08/0800961.txt or .zip
OTHER INFORMATION
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Newsletter Editor: Colin Choat
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Project Gutenberg of Australia
a treasure-trove of literature
treasure-trove n. treasure found hidden with no evidence of ownership.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Project Gutenberg founder, Michael Hart, has now sent out the latest PG newsletter. We are just about to reach a new milestone;
We are rapidly approaching 30,000 eBooks in the originating Project Gutenberg collections…we should pass 30,000 before the end of the year.
It’s interesting to note that eBooks in the Chinese language are coming in fast, placing Chinese in the top 5 language list. There are still 307 titles on the PrePrints site, which need to be catalogued so anyone who can work in Chinese is encouraged to look in the PrePrints directory labelled china – a .zip file containing all the files is available. Once all 307 titles are online the total will be 627, then placing Chinese second in our non-English languages collection.
pgmonthly_2008_09_16.txt
The Project Gutenberg Monthly Newsletter, Sep. 21, 2008
****eBooks Readable by Both Humans and Computers since July 4, 1971****
http://www.gutenberg.org
NOTE: Best viewed with a fixed-width font, e.g. Courier New.
Windows Notepad is a good a program to use for viewing.
51 Months to The End of the World Via Mayan Calendaring on December 21, 2012
[some now say October 11, 2011]
This leaves 4 1/4 years, 17 seasons, or 51 months.
Not to worry. I will still make predictions further on.
New Project Gutenberg Landmarks
30,000 eBooks: About The Same As Average Public Libraries!
We are rapidly approaching 30,000 eBooks in the originating Project Gutenberg
collections, as differentiated from those eBooks originating with other eBook
producers located at an alternate site to the original
http://www.gutenberg.org, at http://www.gutenberg.cc which has over 75,000
eBooks.
We should pass 30,000 before the end of the year, as below.
Chinese Moves Into The Project Gutenberg "Top 5"
We still need more help in cataloging these eBooks, but the latest 300 or so
Chinese eBooks are now in PrePrints.
Anyone who can work in Chinese is encouraged to look into a directory called
/china in PrePrints, or get the .zip file, from one directory above to get all
the files downloaded in one single command.
http://preprints.readingroo.ms
first one on the list:
/china
.zip of whole bunch is one directory up, get china.zip
The current list, before uploaded these appeared as:
Grand total for today: 26545
22647 English en
1243 French fr
542 German de
464 Finnish fi
357 Dutch nl
320 Chinese zh
252 Portuguese pt
201 Spanish es
155 Italian it
When we get all 307 possible titles online, that will bring Chinese up to a
total of 627, which will place it second of our non-English languages
collection which is approximately where it should go, given Internet language
dispersal.
Believe it or not, Spanish is listed as the third language, so that's the next
goal, to bring Spanish to the "Top 5."
In reference to that goal, I am giving a presentation for a new combination of
Internet efforts called "Both Americas,"
in Buenos Aires early next Spring, followed by what I would hope will be
similar conferences in France and India.
All Time Hottest Request
Looking for the earliest flash RAM possible.
The very earliest were PCMCIA cards, such as used for the Poqet computer, etc.
The earliest USB flash drives were Disgo/Dizgo, M-Systems and these were OEMed
by IBM, HP, etc. They are particular in a recognizable fashion because their
snapon connectors resemble the connectors of jigsaw puzzles.
Requesting A Second Time
We need someone who can do PowerPoint illustrations.
One in particular, building a 3-D box of 1,000 dominoes.
Additional Newsletter Services
In addition, we will provide the PG Canada Newsletter and totals from PG of
Australia, Europe, PrePrints, etc.
These totals do NOT include 75,000+ at:
http://www.gutenberg.cc
Where there are eBooks representing over 100 languages.
These are the various totals from the ~30,000 at:
http://www.gutenberg.org
and our other Project Gutenberg Sites
Here is the output for the current week:
day | cnt
----------------+-----
Sun 2008-09-14 | 11
Mon 2008-09-15 | 3
Tue 2008-09-16 | 12
Wed 2008-09-17 | 8
Thu 2008-09-18 | 4
Fri 2008-09-19 | 11
Sat 2008-09-20 | 11
Thanks to Marcello Perathoner!
Here are the current language totals
for languages with over 100 eBooks.
Grand total for today: 26570
22670 English en
1243 French fr
542 German de
464 Finnish fi
357 Dutch nl
320 Chinese zh [+307 = 627, moving to #3]]
253 Portuguese pt
202 Spanish es
155 Italian it
Thanks to Greg Newby!
Please tell us your preferences of the following formats:
Current Totals
26,570 Project Gutenberg Under US Copyright Law
1,693 Project Gutenberg Of Australia +21
523 Project Gutenberg of Europe +8
164 *Project Gutenberg of Canada +12 [for Aug]
684 Project Gutenberg PrePrints +307
Note: Books go in and out of PrePrints
====== PrePrints NOT Included in language totals!!!
29,524 Grand Total
[About as many as the average public library]
eustats
preprints
26,570 09/15/08 PG General Automated Count
1,693 09/12/08 PG Australia
523 09/15/08 PG Europe
684 09/15/08 PG PrePrints
164 08/12/08 PG Canada
======
29,524 by various automated counts and newsletters
Using the latest number, minus "reserved" method we have:
26,682 09/15/08 PG "Posted" Notes
-33 "Reserved"
======
26,649
26,592 09/15/08 PG General via Posted-Reserved
1,693 09/12/08 PG Australia
522 09/15/08 PG Europe
684 09/15/08 PG PrePrints
144 08/12/08 PG Canada
======
29,635 by Posted-Reserved
Note: There are perhaps 100 eBooks not listed here that are already in
circulation from Project Gutenberg.
Note: PG Canada includes English, French, and Italian.
///
Here is how we ended 2007
The combined PG projects had produced a total of 26,161
titles.
The most number of books posted...
...in one day was 65 on the 26th December
...in one week was 151 in Week 18 (week ending 9th May)
...in one month was 477 in November
We averaged
338 per month [Over 4,000 for the year]
78 per week
11.13 per day
99 titles were newly REposted to the new filing system,
bringing us almost to the 2,000 mark.
Here is a small selection of project milestones;
TOTAL "Original Project Gutenberg eBooks" equals about the number of books in
the average U.S. public library
* 29,500 on 2008/09/19
* 29,000 ~~ Calculating
* 28,500 ~~ Calculating
* 28,000 ~~ 2008/05/16
* 27,500 on 2008/04/05
* 27,000 ~~ 2008/02/29
* 26,500 on 2008/01/26
* 26,000 on 2007/12/24
* 25,000 on 2007/10/12
* 24,000 on 2007/07/10
* 23,000 on 2007/04/15
PG-AU
* 1,600 on 2008/02/08
* 1,500 on 2007/04/07
PG Canada
* 100 on 2008/03/25
* 110 on 2008/04/17
**********************************************_
gweekly mailing list
gweekly@lists.pglaf.org
http://lists.pglaf.org/listinfo.cgi/gweekly
Mark from PG Canada sent through his monthly newsletter covering the activities for August 2008.
With 12 new eBooks released in August (7 English, 5 French) the total number of PGCA titles now reaches 164!
GENRES
6 of the books were novels
3 were children’s books
2 were collections of short stories and novellas
1 was non-fiction: a collection of essays
One of PG Canada’s objectives is to have a strong collection of eBooks in French, with almost half the new titles this month in French they are certainly achieving this goal.