Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg was the first online library, created by Michael Hart in 1971. It was meant to be "free of charge and universally accessible" as well as "dedicated to the provision of electronic copies of non-copyrighted texts."[2] The first texts available were American civics documents typed up by Hart himself.
A Group Effort
By the 90s, more people were using the internet, many of which were introduced to the project. They added their own documents, exponentially increasing the number of books uploaded in a short time. The invention of OCRs, or optical character readers, made it possible for volunteers to scan pages of text instead of type them up themselves. The process of uploading books became much faster, as all the volunteers needed to do was proofread the texts before uploading them. It was estimated that in 2004, 300 to 400 users would upload new pages every day.[3]
Today
Now, there are over 75,000 free books that can be accessed through Project Gutenberg and its partners. The website includes links to their top 100 most popular titles, lists of books that could be found in large bookstores, and reading lists curated by users of the website.
Notes
- ↑ “Michael Hart.” Illinois Distributed Museum, University of Illinois, https://distributedmuseum.illinois.edu/exhibit/michael_hart/. Accessed 7 November 2025.
- ↑ Robinson, Solveig C. The Book in Society. Broadview Press, 2014.
- ↑ Rothstein, Edward. "Sampling, if Not Digesting, the Digital Library." New York Times, 09 April 2007. ProQuest, http://libgateway.susqu.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/sampling-if-not-digesting-digital-library/docview/433568635/se-2.
