Have you heard about Project Gutenberg? It is the oldest
provider of eBooks, founded in 1971 by Michael Hart, who wanted to be able to
store, search and retrieve what was in a public library. He began digitizing
public domain texts and making them easily searchable. At this time, Project
Gutenberg offers more than 46,000 books, for free, to anyone who has access to
a computer or tablet or ereader. These books are from bona fide publishers, and
they have been digitized and proof read by a corps of volunteers. Because all
the books offered are in the public domain, they tend to be older titles.
“Pride and Prejudice,” “The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn” and “Moby Dick” are
examples of the most popular books on the site.
Ridgefield Library users now have an easier time searching
for these classics since Project Gutenberg ebooks are now included in our
catalog. For example, when searching for Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,”
the Library catalog now shows that book is available in print, as a
downloadable ebook from Overdrive, and as a downloadable ebook from Project
Gutenberg. Gutenberg books are not limited in how many people can check
them out at the same time, so these titles, often found on high school reading
lists, are available to as many patrons as want them in ebook format. Just stop by the Adult Service Desk if you
need help downloading them onto your device of choice.
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