List Review Service v1n08, "GUTNBERG" (March 9, 1992)
URL: ftp://ftp.lib.ncsu.edu/pub/stacks/lrs/lrs-v1n08


                      LIST REVIEW SERVICE         ISSN: 1060-8192

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Vol. 1, No. 8      GUTNBERG (Project Gutenberg)       09 MAR 1992
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Published bi-weekly, when school is in session, by The University
of Missouri, St. Louis Libraries. Raleigh C. Muns, editor.

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SYNOPSIS OF ONE WEEK'S ACTIVITY -
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Name of List Reviewed:        GUTNBERG
Location:                     LISTSERV@UIUCVMD (Bitnet)

Listowner:                    Michael S. Hart
                              BITNET:   HART@UIUCVMD
                              Internet: HART@VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU


Number of LISTSERV Subscribers:    766 users in 20 countries
                                   84% USA, 6% Canada

Period Monitored:             29 FEB 92 - 06 MAR 92 (inclusive)

Messages Posted:              21
Number of Queries Posted:      3  (14 % of total activity)
Number of Non-queries Posted: 18  (86 % of total activity)

Lines Sent (w/o headers):     1160 (app. 50 screens of 23 lines)

Searchable Archives:          Yes

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REVIEW -
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"Goal: To Give Away One Trillion Etexts By Year End Of 2001!" List owner
Michael Hart has been at this task for approximately 21 years and will
probably see the dissemination of his trillion ("texts" not "editions").
List subscribers are regularly notified of the existence, location, and
means of retrieval of a wide range of computer readable (ASCII) texts in
the public domain. Users typically request information on the existence
and locations of specific works.

Due to copyright law, the majority of the works predate the 1920's. Items
that I have personally downloaded include GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES, NARRATIVES
OF FREDERICK DOUGLAS: AN AMERICAN SLAVE, PETER PAN, THE KAMASUTRA (text
only!), PARADISE LOST, THE CIA WORLD FACTBOOK (only  $129.00 in my Sony
Laser Library CD-ROM catalog), and in conjunction with a recent television
special, Willa Cather's O PIONEERS!  These works DO NOT come with nice,
neat search engines to explore them; they consist solely of the text of a
given edition. In order to retrieve these, as well as an uncertain and
growing number of other works, knowledge of network file transfer
procedures is EXTREMELY helpful. Snail mail dissemination appears to be an
option for many works. The list owner assiduously keeps subscribers
updated on upcoming issues (e.g., THE QURAN).  Discussions revolve around
issues such as copyright, text format, and a recent exchange of messages
decrying the lack of 'definitive and accurately transcribed works from
specific editions.' Hart (and I agree with him) is philosophically
committed to disseminating texts to the widest possible audience so
scholars wishing for bibliographically exact reproductions of specific
editions should hesitate to complain after having read this warning.

THESE ITEMS ARE FREE!!! Users wishing to contribute time, labor, texts,
etc. will benefit from subscribing to this list as well. This is
intellectual anarchy at its best: few rules, optimum benefit.

-Raleigh C. Muns


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SUGGESTED USES FOR LIST -
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        1)  Identify public domain electronic texts (primarily in the
            humanities).

        2)  Contribute to the common intellectual patrimony of humanity.

        3)  Collection development for virtual libraries.

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Opinions expressed are solely those of the reviewer and do not
represent the views of the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

Copyright 1992. Raleigh C. Muns (Reference Librarian)

Thomas Jefferson Library, University of Missouri, St. Louis
8001 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63121 (ph:(314) 553-5059)

BITNET ADDRESS: SRCMUNS@UMSLVMA