View source for Project Gutenberg

{{Short description|Online digital book library}}
{{Other uses|Project Gutenberg (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox library
| library_name = Project Gutenberg
| library_logo = 
| type = [[Digital library]]
| location = 
| established = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1971|12}}<br/>(first document posted)<ref name="gut1"/>
| specialization = Public domain works
| collection_size = Over {{Num PG books}} documents
| criteria = Works not protected by copyright in the United States
| pop_served = 
| members = 
| parent_organization = Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
| director = 
| num_employees = 
| website = {{URL|https://gutenberg.org}}
}}

'''Project Gutenberg''' ('''PG''') is a [[Virtual volunteering|volunteer]] effort to [[Digitization|digitize]] and archive [[cultural]] works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of [[eBooks]]."<ref name="hart1">
{{cite web|first=Michael S.|last=Hart|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Project_Gutenberg_Mission_Statement_by_Michael_Hart|title=Gutenberg Mission Statement by Michael Hart|date=23 October 2004 |publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=15 August 2007|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714013839/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3AProject_Gutenberg_Mission_Statement_by_Michael_Hart|archive-date=14 July 2007}}
</ref> It was founded in 1971 by American writer [[Michael S. Hart]] and is the oldest [[digital library]].<ref name="USINFO">{{cite web |last=Thomas |first=Jeffrey |date=20 July 2007 |title=Project Gutenberg Digital Library Seeks To Spur Literacy |url=http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/July/200707201511311CJsamohT0.6146356.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314164013/http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2007/July/200707201511311CJsamohT0.6146356.html |archive-date=14 March 2008 |access-date=20 August 2007 |publisher=US Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs}}</ref> Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of [[book]]s or individual stories in the [[public domain]]. All files can be accessed for free under an [[open format]] layout, available on almost any computer. {{As of|2024|02|13}}, Project Gutenberg had reached over 75,999<!--When you update this count, please also update the reference--> items in its collection of free eBooks.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=28 May 2025 |title=Project Gutenberg |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ |access-date=28 May 2025 |website=Project Gutenberg}}</ref>

The releases are available in [[Text file|plain text]] as well as other formats, such as [[HTML]], [[EPUB]], and [[Mobipocket|MOBI]]. Most releases are in the [[English language]], but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that provide additional content, including region- and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is closely affiliated with [[Distributed Proofreaders]], an Internet-based community for proofreading scanned texts.

Project Gutenberg is named after the inventor [[Johannes Gutenberg]], whose works in developing printing technology led to an increase in the mass availability of books and other text.

==History==
[[Michael S. Hart]] began Project Gutenberg in 1971 with the digitization of the [[United States Declaration of Independence]].<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/|title=Hobbes' Internet Timeline|access-date=17 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505235502/http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/|archive-date=5 May 2009|url-status=live}}
</ref> Hart, a student at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign|University of Illinois]], obtained access to a [[SDS Sigma series|Xerox Sigma V]] [[mainframe computer]] in the university's Materials Research Lab. Through friendly operators, he received an account with a virtually unlimited amount of [[CPU time|computer time]]; its value at that time has since been variously estimated at $100,000 or $100,000,000.<ref>
{{cite web|first=Michael S.|last=Hart|author-link=Michael S. Hart|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_History_and_Philosophy_of_Project_Gutenberg_by_Michael_Hart|title=Gutenberg:The History and Philosophy of Project Gutenberg|date=August 1992|access-date=5 December 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061129155623/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3AThe_History_and_Philosophy_of_Project_Gutenberg_by_Michael_Hart|archive-date=29 November 2006}}
</ref> Hart explained he wanted to "give back" this gift by doing something one could consider to be of great value. His initial goal was to make the 10,000 most consulted books available to the public at little or no charge by the end of the 20th century.<ref>
{{Cite book|author1=Day, B. H.|author2=Wortman, W. A.|year=2000|title=Literature in English: A Guide for Librarians in the Digital Age|page=[https://archive.org/details/literatureinengl00dayb/page/170 170]|publisher=Association of College and Research Libraries|location=Chicago|isbn=0-8389-8081-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/literatureinengl00dayb/page/170}}
</ref>

{{blockquote
 |text=On July 4, 1971, after being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he decided to type the text into a computer, and to transmit it to other users on the computer network.
 |author=[[Gregory B. Newby]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Obituary_for_Michael_Stern_Hart|title = Obituary for Michael Stern Hart}}</ref>
}}

This computer was one of the 15 [[Node (networking)|nodes]] on [[ARPANET]], the computer network that would become the [[Internet]]. Hart believed one day the general public would be able to access computers and decided to make works of literature available in electronic form for free. He used a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence in his backpack, and this became the first Project Gutenberg [[e-text]]. He named the project for [[Johannes Gutenberg]], the fifteenth century German printer who propelled the [[movable type]] [[printing press]] revolution.

By the mid-1990s, Hart was running Project Gutenberg from [[Benedictine University|Illinois Benedictine College]]. More volunteers had joined the effort. He manually entered all of the text until 1989 when [[image scanner]]s and [[optical character recognition]] software improved and became more available, making [[book scanning]] more feasible.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Vauhini|last=Vara|title=Project Gutenberg Fears No Google|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date=5 December 2005|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113415403113218620|access-date=15 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809132037/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB113415403113218620|archive-date=9 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Hart later came to an arrangement with [[Carnegie Mellon University]], which agreed to administer Project Gutenberg's finances. As the volume of e-texts increased, volunteers began to take over the project's day-to-day operations that Hart had run.

Italian volunteer Pietro Di Miceli developed and administered the first Project Gutenberg website and started the development of the Project online Catalog. In his ten years in this role (1994–2004), the Project web pages won a number of awards, often being featured in "best of the Web" listings, contributing to the project's popularity.<ref>{{cite web|date=8 June 2006|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Credits|title=Gutenberg:Credits|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=15 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711033646/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3ACredits|archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref>

Starting in 2004, an improved online catalog made Project Gutenberg content easier to browse, access and [[hyperlink]]. Project Gutenberg is now hosted by [[ibiblio]] at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]].

Hart died on 6 September 2011 at his home in Urbana, Illinois, at the age of 64.<ref>{{cite web|date=6 September 2011|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Michael_S._Hart|title=Michael_S._Hart|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=25 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917035457/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Michael_S._Hart|archive-date=17 September 2011}}</ref>

==Scope of collection==
[[File:Project Gutenberg total books.svg|thumb|Growth of Project Gutenberg publications]]

{{As of|2025|05}}, Project Gutenberg claimed over 75,999 items in its collection, with an average of over 30 new [[e-book]]s being added each week.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Project Gutenberg |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ |access-date=2025-05-29 |website=Project Gutenberg |language=en}}</ref> These are primarily works of [[literature]] from the [[western culture|Western cultural tradition]]. In addition to literature such as novels, poetry, short stories and drama, Project Gutenberg also has [[cookbook]]s, [[reference work]]s and issues of periodicals.<ref>For a listing of the categorized books, see: {{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=28 April 2007|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Category:Bookshelf|title=Category:Bookshelf|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=18 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711034456/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Category%3ABookshelf|archive-date=11 July 2007}}</ref> The Project Gutenberg collection also has a few non-text items such as audio files, movies, and music-notation files.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.manchesterpl.org/music/project-gutenberg-sheet-music/|title=Project Gutenberg Sheet Music &#124; Manchester-by-the-Sea Public Library|publisher=Manchesterpl.org|access-date=14 July 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714144216/http://www.manchesterpl.org/music/project-gutenberg-sheet-music/|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> Most releases are in English, but there are also significant numbers in many other languages.

Whenever possible, Gutenberg releases are available in [[text file|plain text]], mainly using [[ASCII|US-ASCII]] [[character encoding]] but frequently extended to [[ISO/IEC 8859-1|ISO-8859-1]] (needed to represent accented characters in French and [[ß|Scharfes s]] in German, for example). Besides being copyright-free, the requirement for a [[ISO 8859|Latin]] ([[character set]]) text version of the release had been a criterion of Michael Hart's since the founding of Project Gutenberg, as he believed it was the format most likely to be readable in the extended future.<ref>Various Project Gutenberg FAQs allude to this. See, for example: {{cite web|title=File Formats FAQ|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:File_Formats_FAQ|access-date=2 November 2012|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|quote=You can view or edit ASCII text using just about every text editor or viewer in the world. [...] Unicode is steadily gaining ground, with at least some support in every major operating system, but we're nowhere near the point where everyone can just open a text based on Unicode and read and edit it.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102071414/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3AFile_Formats_FAQ|archive-date=2 November 2012}}</ref> Out of necessity, this criterion has had to be extended further for the sizable collection of texts in East Asian languages such as Chinese and Japanese now in the collection, where [[UTF-8]] is used instead.

Other formats may be released as well when submitted by volunteers. The most common non-ASCII format is [[HTML]], which allows markup and illustrations to be included. Some project members and users have requested more advanced formats, believing them to be easier to read. But some formats that are not easily editable, such as [[Portable Document Format|PDF]], are generally not considered to fit with the goals of Project Gutenberg.

Previously Project Gutenberg supported two other source formats: customized versions of the [[Text Encoding Initiative]] standard (beginning in 2005)<ref>{{cite web|date=12 April 2005|url=http://pgtei.pglaf.org/marcello/0.3/doc/20000-h.html|title=The Guide to PGTEI|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=7 February 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518140059/http://pgtei.pglaf.org/marcello/0.3/doc/20000-h.html|archive-date=18 May 2013}}</ref> and [[reStructuredText]] (beginning in 2011).<ref>{{cite book|date=25 November 2010|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/181|title=The Project Gutenberg RST Manual|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=8 February 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126113034/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/181|archive-date=26 January 2013}}
</ref>

Beginning in 2009, the Project Gutenberg catalog began offering auto-generated alternate file formats, including HTML (when not already provided), [[EPUB]] and [[plucker]].<ref>{{cite web|date=4 April 2010|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Help_on_Bibliographic_Record_Page|title=Help on Bibliographic Record|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=3 September 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917121302/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3AHelp_on_Bibliographic_Record_Page|archive-date=17 September 2011}}</ref>

==Ideals==
Michael Hart said in 2004, "The mission of Project Gutenberg is simple: 'To encourage the creation and distribution of ebooks{{'"}}.<ref name="hart1"/> His goal was "to provide as many e-books in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible".<ref name=USINFO /> Likewise, a project slogan is to "break down the bars of ignorance and illiteracy",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenbergnews.org/nl_archives/2003/pgweekly_2003_12_10_part_2.txt|title=The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter|date=10 December 2003|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=8 June 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511114558/http://www.gutenbergnews.org/nl_archives/2003/pgweekly_2003_12_10_part_2.txt|archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> because its volunteers aim to continue spreading public [[literacy]] and appreciation for the literary heritage just as [[public library|public libraries]] began to do in the late 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|last=Perry|first=Ruth|year=2007|url=http://www.mla.org/resources/documents/rep_primaryrecords/repview_records/primary_records10|title=Postscript about the Public Libraries|publisher=Modern Language Association|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809000621/http://www.mla.org/resources/documents/rep_primaryrecords/repview_records/primary_records10|archive-date=9 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lorenzen|first=Michael|year=2002|url=http://www.michaellorenzen.com/carnegie.html|title=Deconstructing the Philanthropic Library: The Sociological Reasons Behind Andrew Carnegie's Millions to Libraries|publisher=Modern Language Association| access-date=20 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813224610/http://www.michaellorenzen.com/carnegie.html|archive-date=13 August 2007}}</ref>

Project Gutenberg is intentionally decentralized; there is no selection policy dictating what texts to add. Instead, individual volunteers work on what they are interested in or have available. The Project Gutenberg collection is intended to preserve items for the long term, so they cannot be lost by any one localized accident. In an effort to ensure this, the entire collection is backed-up regularly and [[mirror site|mirrored]] on servers in many different locations.<ref>{{cite book|title=Information Technology and Collection Management for Library User Environments|isbn=9781466647404|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H-ZGAwAAQBAJ&q=information+technology+and+collection+management+for+library+user+environments&pg=PR15|last1=Walker|first1=Joseph|date=30 November 2013|publisher=IGI Global }}</ref>

==Copyright==
Project Gutenberg is careful to verify the status of its eBooks according to [[Copyright law of the United States|United States copyright law]]. Material is added to the Project Gutenberg archive only after it has received a copyright clearance, and records of these clearances are saved for future reference. Project Gutenberg does not claim new copyright on titles it publishes. Instead, it encourages their free reproduction and distribution.<ref name=USINFO/>

Most books in the Project Gutenberg collection are distributed as [[public domain]] under United States copyright law. There are also a few copyrighted texts, such as those of [[science fiction]] author [[Cory Doctorow]], that Project Gutenberg distributes with permission. These are subject to further restrictions as specified by the copyright holder, although they generally tend to be licensed under [[Creative Commons]].

"Project Gutenberg" is a [[trademark]] of the organization, and the mark cannot be used in commercial or modified redistributions of public domain texts from the project. There is no legal impediment to the reselling of works in the public domain if all references to Project Gutenberg are removed, but Gutenberg contributors have questioned the appropriateness of directly and commercially reusing content that has been formatted by volunteers. There have been instances of books being stripped of attribution to the project and sold for profit in the [[Kindle Store]] and other booksellers, one being the 1906 book ''Fox Trapping''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/amazon_charges_kindle_users_fo.html|title=Amazon charges Kindle users for free Project Gutenberg e-books|last=Pegoraro|first=Rob|date=30 November 2010|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505014858/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/2010/11/amazon_charges_kindle_users_fo.html|archive-date=5 May 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

From 2018 to 2021, the Project Gutenberg website was not accessible within [[Germany]], as a result of a court order from [[S. Fischer Verlag]] regarding the works of [[Heinrich Mann]], [[Thomas Mann]] and [[Alfred Döblin]]. Although they were in the public domain in the United States, the German court (Frankfurt am Main Regional Court) recognized the infringement of copyrights still active in Germany, and asserted that the Project Gutenberg website was under German jurisdiction because it hosts content in the German language and is accessible in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cand.pglaf.org/germany/index.html|title=Court Order to Block Access in Germany|publisher=Project Gutenberg Library Archive Foundation|access-date=4 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304003312/https://cand.pglaf.org/germany/index.html|archive-date=4 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> This judgment was confirmed by the Frankfurt Court of Appeal on 30 April 2019 (11 U 27/18<ref>{{Cite web|title=OLG Frankfurt judgment of 30 April 2019|url=https://dejure.org/dienste/vernetzung/rechtsprechung?Gericht=OLG%20Frankfurt&Datum=30.04.2019&Aktenzeichen=11%20U%2027/18}}</ref>). The Frankfurt Court of Appeal has not given permission for a further appeal to the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof), however, an application for permission to appeal has been filed with the Federal Court of Justice. As of 4 October 2020 that application was still pending (Federal Court of Justice I ZR 97/19). According to Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation,<ref name="German settlement">{{cite web |title=Lawsuit is Settled |url=https://cand.pglaf.org/germany/index.html |website=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation |access-date=6 December 2021}}</ref> "In October 2021, the parties reached a settlement agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Project Gutenberg eBooks by the three authors will be blocked from Germany until their German copyright expires. Under the terms of the settlement, the all-Germany block is no longer in place. Other terms of the settlement are confidential."

The Project Gutenberg website has been blocked in [[Italy]] since May 2020, as part of a larger effort to block websites that publish newspapers and journals that are protected by [[copyright]] in Italy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Caranti |first1=Niccolò |title=Project Gutenberg blocked in Italy: many doubts, few certainties |url=https://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Areas/Italy/Project-Gutenberg-blocked-in-Italy-many-doubts-few-certainties |website=OBC Transeuropa |access-date=10 January 2022}}</ref>

==Criticism==
{{update|section|date=December 2019}}
The text files use the format of [[plain text]] encoded in [[UTF-8]] and are typically wrapped at 65–70 characters, with paragraphs separated by a double line break. In 2000, this presentation was criticized as "bland and difficult to read on screen".<ref>{{cite web|last=Boumphrey |first=Frank|date=July 2000|url=http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/gutenberg/|title=European Literature and Project Gutenberg|publisher=Cultivate Interactive|access-date=15 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070714145517/http://www.cultivate-int.org/issue1/gutenberg/|archive-date=14 July 2007}}</ref> Project Gutenberg attempts to address this by making many texts available in HTML, ePub, and PDF versions as well. HTML versions of older texts are autogenerated versions. Another not-for-profit project, [[Standard Ebooks]], aims to address these issues with its collection of public domain titles that are formatted and styled. It corrects issues related to design and typography.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lifehacker.com/standard-ebooks-is-a-gutenberg-project-you-ll-actually-1796273390|publisher=LifeHacker.com|title=Standard eBooks is a Gutenberg Project You'll Actually Use|author=Partick Lucas Austin|date=20 June 2017|access-date=20 October 2020}}</ref>

In December 1994, Project Gutenberg was criticized by the [[Text Encoding Initiative]] for failing to include documentation or discussion of the decisions unavoidable in preparing a text, or in some cases, not documenting which of several (conflicting) versions of a text has been the one digitized.<ref>[[Michael Sperberg-McQueen]], "Textual Criticism and the Text Encoding Initiative", 1994, {{cite web|url=http://xml.coverpages.org/sperb-mla94.html|title=Textual Criticism and the Text Encoding Initiative|access-date=25 July 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112335/http://xml.coverpages.org/sperb-mla94.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

The selection of works (and editions) available has been determined by popularity, ease of scanning, being out of copyright, and other factors; this would be difficult to avoid in any crowd-sourced project.<ref>{{Cite book|first=Sebastian|last=Hoffmann|year=2005|title=Grammaticalization And English Complex Prepositions: A Corpus-based Study|edition=1st|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-36049-8|oclc=156424479}}</ref>

In March 2004, an initiative was begun by Michael Hart and John S. Guagliardo<ref>Executive director of the World eBook Library.</ref> to provide low-cost distribution of intellectual properties. The initiative evolved into a "self-publishing portal" now located at self.gutenberg.org. (The initial name for this project was ''Project Gutenberg 2'' (PG II), which created controversy among PG volunteers.<ref name="it21">{{Cite journal|last=Hane|first=Paula|title=Project Gutenberg Progresses|journal=Information Today|year=2004|volume=21|issue=5|url=http://www.infotoday.com/it/may04/hane1.shtml|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184648/http://www.infotoday.com/it/may04/hane1.shtml|archive-date=30 September 2007 }}</ref>)

==Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation==
In 2000, a [[501(c)(3)]] [[non-profit organization|non-profit corporation]], the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, Inc. ([[Employer Identification Number|EIN]]: 64-6221541) was chartered in [[Mississippi]], [[United States]], to handle the project's legal needs.<ref name="propublica-nonprofits-646221541">{{cite web |last1=Schwencke |first1=Ken |last2=Tigas |first2=Mike |last3=Wei |first3=Sisi |last4=Glassford |first4=Alec |last5=Suozzo |first5=Andrea |last6=Roberts |first6=Brandon |date=9 May 2013 |title=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Inc Tr |url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/646221541 |website=Nonprofit Explorer |publisher=ProPublica |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Stroube |first=Bryan |date=September 2003 |title=Literary freedom |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/973381.973384 |journal=XRDS: Crossroads, the ACM Magazine for Students |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=3 |doi=10.1145/973381.973384 |s2cid=12606524 |issn=1528-4972|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cease and Desist Responses |url=https://cand.pglaf.org/ |website=Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref> Donations to it are [[tax deduction|tax-deductible]].<ref name="gutenberg.org/donate">{{cite web |title=donate |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/donate/ |website=Project Gutenberg |access-date=13 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Gregory B. Newby]], while assistant professor at [[UNC School of Information and Library Science]], and a long-time Project Gutenberg volunteer, in 2001, became the foundation's first [[chief executive officer|CEO]].<ref name="it21" /><ref name="ibiblio.org-newby">{{cite web |title=Gregory B. Newby |url=https://www.ibiblio.org/osrt/people/newby.html |website=Open Source Research People |publisher=[[ibiblio]] |access-date=13 February 2022}}</ref>

==Partners==
* Project Gutenberg Consortia Center specializes in collections of collections. These do not have the editorial oversight or consistent formatting of the main Project Gutenberg. Thematic collections, as well as numerous languages, are featured.<ref>
{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|year=2004|url=http://www.gutenberg.us/|title=Project Gutenberg Consortia Center|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070809212335/http://www.gutenberg.us/|archive-date=9 August 2007 }}
</ref> This is sponsored by ''worldlibrary.net'', which hosts ''self.gutenberg.org'', a self-publishing portal.<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates">{{cite web |title=Partners, Sister Projects, Affiliates and Resources |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/about/partners_affiliates.html |access-date=13 February 2022 |website=Project Gutenberg |language=en}}</ref>
* [[ibiblio]], at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], now hosts ''Project Gutenberg''<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>
* Distributed Proofreaders: In 2000, Charles Franks founded [[Distributed Proofreaders]] (DP), which allowed the proofreading of scanned texts to be distributed among many volunteers over the Internet. This effort increased the number and variety of texts being added to Project Gutenberg, as well as making it easier for new volunteers to start contributing. DP became officially affiliated with Project Gutenberg in 2002.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 2007|url=http://www.pgdp.net/c/faq/dpf.php|title=The Distributed Proofreaders Foundation|publisher=Distributed proofreaders|access-date=10 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821001333/http://www.pgdp.net/c/faq/dpf.php|archive-date=21 August 2007}}</ref> {{As of|2018}}, the 36,000+ DP-contributed books comprised almost two-thirds of the nearly {{Num PG books}} books in Project Gutenberg.<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>

==Sister projects==
All sister projects are independent organizations that share the same ideals and have been given permission to use the ''Project Gutenberg'' trademark.<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates" /> They often have a particular national or linguistic focus.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=17 July 2007|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Partners,_Affiliates_and_Resources|title=Gutenberg:Partners, Affiliates and Resources|publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926222113/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3APartners%2C_Affiliates_and_Resources|archive-date=26 September 2007}}</ref>

===List of sister projects===
* [[Project Gutenberg Australia]] hosts many texts that are public domain according to [[copyright law of Australia]], but still under copyright (or of uncertain status) in the United States, with a focus on Australian writers and books about Australia.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=24 January 2007|url=http://gutenberg.net.au/|title=Project Gutenberg of Australia|access-date=10 August 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060814093840/http://www.gutenberg.net.au/|archive-date=14 August 2006}}</ref><ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>
* [[Project Gutenberg Canada]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.ca/|title=Project Gutenberg Canada |access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118081522/http://www.gutenberg.ca/|archive-date=18 January 2016}}
</ref><ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/> digital library for Canadian public domain texts.
* {{ill|Projekt Gutenberg-DE|de}} claims copyright for its product and limits access to browsable web-versions of its texts.<ref>{{cite news|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|year=1994|url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/|title=Projekt Gutenberg-DE|work=Spiegel Online|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630055250/http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/|archive-date=30 June 2007}}</ref><ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/><ref name="projekt-gutenberg">{{cite web |title=Startseite |url=https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/ |website=www.projekt-gutenberg.org |access-date=4 July 2025}}</ref><ref name="gutenberg.spiegel.de">{{cite web |title=gutenberg.spiegel.de |url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/ |website=gutenberg.spiegel.de |access-date=4 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020408082941/http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/ |archive-date=8 April 2002}}</ref><ref name="gutenberg.spiegel/info">{{cite web |title=Informationen |url=http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/info.htm |website=gutenberg.spiegel.de |access-date=4 July 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020803085730/http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/info.htm |archive-date=3 August 2002}}</ref>
* Project Gutenberg Europe is run by [[Project Rastko]] in [[Serbia]]. It aims at being a Project Gutenberg for all of Europe, and began posting projects in 2005. It uses the [[Distributed Proofreaders]] software to quickly produce etexts.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|year=2005|url=http://pge.rastko.net/|title=Project Gutenberg Europe|publisher=EUnet Yugoslavia|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820234835/http://pge.rastko.net/|archive-date=20 August 2007}}</ref>
* Project Gutenberg Luxembourg publishes mostly, but not exclusively, books that are written in [[Luxembourgish language|Luxembourgish]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Kirps|first=Jos|date=22 May 2007|url=http://www.gutenberg.lu/|title=Project Gutenberg Luxembourg|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929160709/http://www.gutenberg.lu/|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref>
* {{ill|Project Lönnrot|fi|Projekti Lönnrot}}, started by Finnish Project Gutenberg volunteers, derives its name from the [[Finnish people|Finnish]] [[philologist]] [[Elias Lönnrot]] (1802–1884)<ref>{{cite web|last=Riikonen|first=Tapio|date=28 February 2005|url=http://www.lonnrot.net/|title=Projekti Lönnrot|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810041159/http://www.lonnrot.net/|archive-date=10 August 2007}}</ref>
* Project Gutenberg of the Philippines aims to "make as many books available to as many people as possible, with a special focus on the Philippines and Philippine languages".<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.gutenberg.ph/|title=Project Gutenberg of the Philippines|access-date=20 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824002901/http://www.gutenberg.ph/|archive-date=24 August 2007}}</ref>
* Project Gutenberg Russia (Rutenberg) aims to collect public domain books in Slavic languages, particularly in Russian. The discussion of the project and its legal side began in April 2012. The word Rutenberg is a combination of words "Russia" and "Gutenberg".<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.rutenberg.ru/|title=Project Gutenberg Russia|access-date=5 April 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524012618/http://www.rutenberg.ru/|archive-date=24 May 2012}}</ref>
* ''Project Gutenberg Self Publishing Portal'' also known as ''Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press'', by the ''Project Gutenberg Consortia Center''<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/><ref name="wiki">{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Partners,_Affiliates_and_Resources#Project_Gutenberg_Self_Publishing_Portal|title=Partners, Affiliates and Resources|access-date=27 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113114932/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Partners%2C_Affiliates_and_Resources |archive-date=13 November 2012}}</ref> Unlike the Gutenberg Project itself, Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing allows submission of texts never published before, including self-published ebooks.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://self.gutenberg.org/|title=Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing Press|access-date=27 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302002844/http://self.gutenberg.org/|archive-date=2 March 2016}}</ref> Launched in 2012,<ref name="wiki"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/project-gutenberg-launches-self-publishing-library|title=Project Gutenberg launches self-publishing library|publisher=[[RT Book Reviews]]|access-date=27 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304112327/http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/project-gutenberg-launches-self-publishing-library|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> also owns the "gutenberg.us" domain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://who.godaddy.com/whoisstd.aspx?domain=gutenberg.us|title=Domain Availability – Registration Information|publisher=[[GoDaddy]]|access-date=27 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185429/https://who.godaddy.com/whoisstd.aspx?domain=gutenberg.us|archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref>
* Project Gutenberg of Taiwan seeks to archive copyright free books with a special focus on Taiwan in English, Mandarin and Taiwan-based languages. It is a special project of Forumosa.com<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|url=http://www.gutenberg.tw/|title=Project Gutenberg of Taiwan|access-date=5 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511102835/http://www.gutenberg.tw/|archive-date=11 May 2011}}
</ref>
* [[Projekt Runeberg]], Nordic literature<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>
* ''ReadingRoo.ms'', the home of the ''Project Gutenberg PrePrints''<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>
* [[Distributed Proofreaders Canada]], a separate entity, launched in December 2007, by David Jones and Michael Shepard. 
* [[Faded Page]] ''Distributed Proofreaders Canada'' public domain book archive

==Affiliates==
* [[The Internet Archive]], previous long-time backup distribution site, and previous main host site.<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/> 
* [[Librivox.org]], new audiobooks main partner<ref name="gutenberg.org-Partners-Sisters-Affiliates"/>

==CD and DVD project==
In August 2003, Project Gutenberg created a [[Compact disc|CD]] containing approximately 600 of the "best" e-books from the collection. The CD was available for download as an [[ISO image]]. When users were unable to download the CD, they could request to have a copy sent to them, free of charge.

In December 2003, a [[DVD]] was created containing nearly 10,000 items.<ref>{{Citation |last=Project Gutenberg |title=Project Gutenberg: The March 2007 Science Fiction Bookshelf CD |date=March 2007 |url=http://archive.org/details/pgsfcd-032007 |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref> At the time, this represented almost the entire collection. In early 2004, the DVD also became available by mail.

In July 2007, a new edition of the DVD was released containing over 17,000 books,<ref>{{Citation |last=Project Gutenberg |title=Project Gutenberg: The March 2007 Science Fiction Bookshelf CD |date=March 2007 |url=http://archive.org/details/pgsfcd-032007 |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref> and in April 2010, a dual-layer DVD was released, containing nearly 30,000 items.<ref>{{Citation |last=Project Gutenberg |title=Project Gutenberg: The April 2010 (Dual Layer) DVD |date=April 2010 |url=http://archive.org/details/pgdvd042010 |access-date=2025-05-29}}</ref>

The majority of the DVDs, and all of the CDs mailed by the project, were recorded on recordable media by volunteers. However, the new dual layer DVDs were manufactured, as it proved more economical than having volunteers burn them. {{As of|2010|10}}, the project has mailed approximately 40,000 discs.<ref>{{cite web |date=24 July 2012 |title=The CD and DVD Project |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:The_CD_and_DVD_Project |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121005200927/http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg%3AThe_CD_and_DVD_Project |archive-date=5 October 2012 |access-date=7 October 2012 |publisher=Gutenberg}}</ref> As of 2017, the delivery of free CDs had been discontinued, though the ISO image was still available for download.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10802 |title=Project Gutenberg "10K" DVD |date=2004-02-01 |language=English}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=May 2025|reason=Continue to update over time, statement predicts.}}

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* [[Aozora Bunko]]
* [[Miguel de Cervantes Virtual Library]]
* [[Chinese Text Project]]
* [[Google Books]]
* [[HathiTrust]]
* [[Internet Archive]]
* [[LibriVox]]—free online audiobook library, with many texts used from Project Gutenberg
* [[List of digital library projects]]
* [[On-line Guitar Archive]]
* [[Open Content Alliance]]
* [[Project Runeberg]], for books significant to the culture and history of the Nordic countries.
* [[Runivers]], for Russian historical documents
* [[Sefaria]], for Jewish texts
* [[Standard Ebooks]]
* [[Virtual volunteering]]
* [[Wikisource]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
<ref name=gut1>
{{cite book|first=Michael S.|last=Hart|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1|title=United States Declaration of Independence by United States|publisher=Project Gutenberg|access-date=17 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070126065920/http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1|archive-date=26 January 2007|url-status=live}}<br/>"The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson" is the bold heading of the linked webpage twelve years later (6 June 2019). No author but Jefferson is identified, nor is Hart otherwise named. Officially this is Project Gutenberg Ebook #1 (assigned December 1993?), or the current index to multiple formats of the same.
<br>What Ebook #1 actually contains is heavily annotated re-release of the first two e-texts that were released in December 1971 (as by Michael S. Hart?). For more information, open the HTML format, for instance, and search for "December" or "Michael".</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*  [https://marielebert.wordpress.com/2021/09/11/research-ebooks/ Marie Lebert]. ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31632 Project Gutenberg (1971-2009)]'', 2009  ([<!-- http://barthes.enssib.fr/translatio/miroir-nef/index.html -->http://www.etudes-francaises.net/ Net des Etudes Francaises], [[University of Toronto]]) via: ''Project Gutenberg''
*  [https://marielebert.wordpress.com/2021/09/11/research-ebooks/ Marie Lebert]. ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29801 A History of EBooks]'', 26 August 2009 ([<!-- http://barthes.enssib.fr/translatio/miroir-nef/index.html -->http://www.etudes-francaises.net/ Net des Etudes Francaises], [[University of Toronto]]) via: ''Project Gutenberg''

==External links==
{{Sister project links|d=Q22673|commonscat=yes|commons=Project Gutenberg|mw=no|species=no|voy=no|m=no|wikt=no|q=no|s=OldWikisource:Wikisource:Wikisource and Project Gutenberg|n=no|v=no|b=no}}
{{Spoken Wikipedia|Project_Gutenberg.ogg|date=23 July 2007}}
* {{Official website|https://gutenberg.org}}
** [https://www.pgdp.net/ Distributed Proofreaders]&nbsp;– a worldwide group of volunteer editors that is now the main source of eBooks for Project Gutenberg
** [http://www.gutenbergnews.org Project Gutenberg News]&nbsp;– Official News for Gutenberg.org. Includes the [https://web.archive.org/web/20110511114616/http://www.gutenbergnews.org/category/newsletters/ Newsletter Archives], 1989–present.
** Project Gutenberg Monthly [http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo/gmonthly Newsletter]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407035559/http://lists.pglaf.org/mailman/listinfo/gmonthly |date=7 April 2022 }}.
* {{Gutenberg author |id =114|name = Project Gutenberg}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname = Project Gutenberg }}

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