Digitization of public-domain works is a good thing, right? Most literature fans would be quick to agree. However, Glyn Moody writes on Techdirt that some of the new public digitization projects have terms and conditions that seem to be right out of the dark ages. The Cambridge University’s Digital Library, for example, places strict limits on what users can do with the books—non-commercial use only, no modification, no passing it on to third parties, and so on. A number of the works in Cambridge’s library date from well before the 1710 Statute of Anne invented modern copyright, suggesting that...

There are several sites where you can read books online. It’s a good idea to try them, and eventually pick up a favorite one, if you don’t want to rely only on reviews, likes and faves. Here are the most popular ones. Amazon There are two ways to read books on Amazon site: Look Inside and Kindle for the Web. Look InsideYou can use this feature no matter which book form you want to buy, print orKindle. Just go to a book page and check whether there is a Look Inside! arrow on top of a cover (like on a picture). Click on it...

On Snarkmarket, Tim Carmody takes a look at the interesting case of why Project Gutenberg has two copies of Milton’s Paradise Lost that were produced within a few months of each other. Project Gutenberg EBook #20, October 1991, was hand-typed by volunteer Judy Boss (who subsequently got a scanner). However, Project Gutenberg EBook #26, from February 1992, was a revision of, literally, the oldest etext known to Project Gutenberg. It pre-dates Hart’s famous decision to type the Declaration of Independence by a good six years, dating back to 1964-1965 and originally rendered in all capital letters by Dr. Joseph...

Here is the first ten minutes of the thirty-minute discussion I had with Michael Stackpole at GenCon last month. I will be posting the other two parts in days to come. Stackpole is best known for his extensive work in writing BattleTech and Star Wars tie-in novels, and he also wrote the novelization of the recent Conan movie. We have covered Stackpole’s blog posts on self-publishing fairly extensively over the last few months, as well as his GenCon panel seminar. In this first part of the interview, we largely discussed the early history of e-books and e-publishing, with a diversion into how...

Some sad news to report. An info visionary and go-getter, Michael Hart, the founder of Project Gutenberg has passed away at the age of 64. An obit has been posted on the Project Gutenberg web site. History books that discuss publishing and information technology will need to devote a sizable amount space to Michael who began Project Gutenberg 40 years ago. That’s right, 40 years ago. It’s one thing to have an idea, a belief,  but it’s something else to to be devoted to it and energetic about it 40 years later. Michael Hart was. Here are two passages from...

The following is an obituary Of Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, who died yesterday. Its author has dedicated it to the public domain, which allows me to reprint it here: Editor's Note: obituary is omitted as it is reprinted in full in the post below The best way to honor Hart's life, I think, is to dedicate one or more works to the public domain. I have just dedicated my Ph. D. Dissertation to the public domain: Hot Electron Resistance and Magnetoresistance in High Purity Gallium Arsenide. And this blog post, too, is hereby dedicated to...

Here is the obituary from the Project Gutenberg site: Michael Stern Hart was born in Tacoma, Washington on March 8, 1947. He died on September 6, 2011 in his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 64. His is survived by his mother, Alice, and brother, Bennett. Michael was an Eagle Scout (Urbana Troop 6 and Explorer Post 12), and served in the Army in Korea during the Vietnam era. Hart was best known for his 1971 invention of electronic books, or eBooks. He founded Project Gutenberg, which is recognized as one of the earliest and longest-lasting online...

From the OverDrive Digital Library Blog: Many of OverDrive’s partner library sites contain a link to the Gutenberg titles currently being offered, and from this we are able to track what titles are most popular among the Gutenberg digital library.  The list varies from the historically popular Bible to the controversially informative satire A Modest Proposal.  There are timeless love stories, silly comedies and dark chronicles of folklore. Most titles in the Gutenberg collection are free of copyrights in the United States, meaning they can not only be downloaded for reading, they can also be used for...

From GoodEReader: The long wait is finally over and Canadians who want to access free eBooks with the minimal of difficulty has finally arrived. Starting today Canadians can now borrow over 23,000 free titles via Overdrive and Project Gutenberg. ... These new books will be instantly available without going through waiting lists or holds. Downloading these books are more or less yours to keep. They do not count towards your checkout limit and do not expire. Although they do count towards the library circulation system. What do you need to access these books from your local library? Well firstly verify your branch does digital lending...

From the OverDrive Digital Library Blog: Australian libraries with digital collections powered by OverDrive can now access more than 23,000 public domain titles for free through Project Gutenberg.  The titles can be read in any EPUB-compatible software and transferred to EPUB-capable eBook readers, including the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble NOOK, or the Kobo eReader.  You’ll find classically popular titles like Animal Farm by George Orwell, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind. For users, the Project Gutenberg collection will expand and improve ‘Virtual Branch’ websites by making thousands of EPUB eBooks available without waitlists or holds. Users...

Mike Cook Writes on Project Gutenberg News: In exploring new ways of connecting people to Project Gutenberg’s vast collection of free ebooks we’ve created our very own Facebook page. Here you’ll find all kinds of information and status updates. It should be noted that this is very much experimental – it may work, then again it may not. The more everyone gets involved, the more successful it will be. Head over to the new Project Gutbenberg Facebook Page. Cook adds that although there is another Project Gutenberg page on Facebook the page listed above is the official one. Finally: Our gutenberg.org webmaster, Marcello Perathoner, is looking for...

Editor's Note:  We are pleased to present a series of articles by Marie Lebert.  Marie writes from Paris and these articles are an adaptation of articles that have appeared in Actua Litté.  The link to the original article, in French, appears at the end of each piece.  PB The first ebook was available in July 1971, as eText #1 of Project Gutenberg, a visionary project launched by Michael Hart to create free electronic versions of literary works and disseminate them worldwide. In the 16th century, Gutenberg allowed anyone to have print books for a small cost. In the 21st century, Project...