Project Gutenberg
From Networked Advocacy
Project Gutenberg is an online collection of free books, currently containing over 17,000 volumes. Books are collected by volunteers. The Gutenberg community plays a critical role in the development of the resource, as evidenced by the [statement] excerpt below.
This is a great example of communities forming around a common purpose. Those contributing know that in return they will have access to books uploaded by others. There is a clear network "bargain".
This mission is, as much as possible, to encourage all those who are interested in making eBooks and helping to give them away.
In fact, Project Gutenberg approves about 99% of all requests from those who would like to make our eBooks and give them away, within their various local copyright limitations.
Project Gutenberg is powered by ideas, ideals, and by idealism.
Project Gutenberg is not powered by financial or political power. Therefore Project Gutenberg is powered totally by volunteers.
Because we are totally powered by volunteers we are hesitant to be very bossy about what our volunteers should do, or how to do it.
We offer as many freedoms to our volunteers as possible, in choices of what books to do, what formats to do them in, or any other ideas they may have concerning "the creation and distribution of eBooks." Project Gutenberg is not in the business of establishing standards. If we were, we would have gladly accepted the request to convert an exemplary portion of our eBooks into HTML when World Wide Web was a brand new idea in 1993; we are happy to bring eBooks to our readers in as many formats as our volunteers wish to make.
In addition, we do not provide standards of accuracy above those as recommended by institutions such as the U.S. Library of Congress at the level of 99.95%. ...
Everyone is welcome to contribute to Project Gutenberg.
Thus, there are no dues, no membership requirements: and still only the most general guidelines to making eBooks for Project Gutenberg.
We want to provide as many eBooks in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible... Everyone is free to do their own eBooks their own way.
