The eBook is 40 (1971-2011) Part 6

1997 > THE ELECTRONIC BEOWULF PROJECT

[Summary]

Some digitized versions of treasures from the British Library were freely available online in the late 1990s. One of the first digitized treasures was Beowulf, the earliest known narrative poem in English, and one of the most famous works of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The British Library holds the only known ma.n.u.script of Beowulf, dated circa 1000.

Brian Lang, chief executive of the library, explained on the website: "The Beowulf ma.n.u.script is a unique treasure and imposes on the Library a responsibility to scholars throughout the world. Digital photography offered for the first time the possibility of recording text concealed by early repairs, and a less expensive and safer way of recording readings under special light conditions. (...) This work has not only advanced scholarship; it has also captured the imagination of a wider public, engaging people (through press reports and the availability over computer networks of selected images and text) in the appreciation of one of the primary artefacts of our shared cultural heritage."

The British Library began offering digitized versions of its treasures, for example Beowulf, the earliest known narrative poem in English and one of the most famous works of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

The British Library holds the only known ma.n.u.script of Beowulf, dated circa 1000. The poem itself is much older than the ma.n.u.script -- some historians believe it might have been written circa 750. The ma.n.u.script was badly damaged by fire in 1731. 18th-century transcripts mentioned hundreds of words and characters which were then visible along the charred edges, and subsequently crumbled away over the years. To halt this process, each leaf was mounted on a paper frame in 1845.

As explained on the website of the British Library, scholarly discussions on the date of creation and provenance of the poem continued around the world, and researchers regularly required access to the ma.n.u.script. Taking Beowulf out of its display case for study not only raised conservation issues, it also made it unavailable for the many visitors who were coming to the British Library expecting to see this literary treasure on display. Digitization of the ma.n.u.script offered a solution to these problems, as well as providing new opportunities for researchers and readers worldwide.

The Electronic Beowulf Project was launched as a database of digital images of the Beowulf ma.n.u.script, as well as related ma.n.u.scripts and printed texts. In 1998, the database included the fiber-optic readings of hidden characters and ultra-violet readings of erased text in the ma.n.u.script; the full electronic facsimiles of the 18th-century transcripts of the ma.n.u.script; and selections from the main 19th- century collations, editions and translations.

Major additions to the database were planned for the following years, such as images of contemporary ma.n.u.scripts, links to the Toronto Dictionary of Old English Project, and links to the comprehensive Anglo-Saxon bibliographies of the Old English Newsletter.

The database project was developed in partnership with two leading experts in the United States, Kevin Kiernan, from the University of Kentucky, and Paul Szarmach, from the Medieval Inst.i.tute of Western Michigan University. Kevin Kiernan edited the electronic archive and supervised the making of a CD-ROM with the main electronic images.

Brian Lang, chief executive of the British Library, explained on its website: "The Beowulf ma.n.u.script is a unique treasure and imposes on the Library a responsibility to scholars throughout the world. Digital photography offered for the first time the possibility of recording text concealed by early repairs, and a less expensive and safer way of recording readings under special light conditions. It also offers the prospect of using image enhancement technology to settle doubtful readings in the text. Network technology has facilitated direct collaboration with American scholars and makes it possible for scholars around the world to share in these discoveries. Curatorial and computing staff learned a great deal which will inform any future programmes of digitization and network service provision the Library may undertake, and our publishing department is considering the publication of an electronic scholarly edition of Beowulf. This work has not only advanced scholarship; it has also captured the imagination of a wider public, engaging people (through press reports and the availability over computer networks of selected images and text) in the appreciation of one of the primary artefacts of our shared cultural heritage."

# Other treasures of the British Library

Other digitized treasures of the British Library were available online as well, for example Magna Carta, the first English const.i.tutional text, signed in 1215, with the Great Seal of King John; the Lindisfarne Gospels, dated 698; the Diamond Sutra, dated 868, sometimes referred to as the world's earliest print book; the Sforza Hours, a Renaissance treasure dated 1490-1520; the Codex Arundel, with notes by Leonardo Da Vinci from 1478 to 1518; and the Tyndale New Testament, as the first English translation of the New Testament, printed in 1526 by Peter Schoeffer in Worms, Germany.

In November 2000, the British Library released a digitized version of the original Gutenberg Bible on its website. Gutenberg printed its Bible in 1454 in Mainz, Germany, perhaps printing 180 copies, with 48 copies still available in 2000, and two full copies at the British Library. A little different from each other, both were digitized in March 2000 by j.a.panese experts from Keio University of Tokyo and NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Communications). The images were then processed to offer a digitized version available online a few months later, for the world to enjoy.

# German rare prints

The Bielefeld University Library (Bibliothek der Universitat Bielefeld) in Germany offered online versions of German rare prints. Michael Behrens, in charge of the digital library project, wrote in September 1998: " We started digitizing rare prints from our own library, and some rare prints which were sent in via library loan, in November 1996.

(...) In that first phase of our attempts at digitization, starting November 1996 and ending June 1997, 38 rare prints were scanned as image files and made available via the web. (...) The next step, which is just being completed, is the digitization of the Berlinische Monatsschrift, a German periodical from the Enlightenment, comprising 58 volumes, and 2,574 articles on 30,626 pages. A somewhat bigger digitization project of German periodicals from the 18th and early 19th century is planned. The size will be about 1,000,000 pages. These periodicals will be not just from the holdings of this library, but the project would be coordinated here, and some of the technical would be done here, also." (NEF Interview)

# The ARTFL Encyclopedie

The same year, the database of the first volume (1751) of the Encyclopedie by Diderot and d'Alembert was available online as an experiment from ARTFL (American and French Research on the Treasury of the French Language), a common project from the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique -- National Scientific Research Center) in France and the University of Chicago in Illinois. This online experiment was a first step towards a full online version of the first edition (1751-1772) of the Encyclopedie, with 72,000 articles written by 140 contributors (Voltaire, Rousseau, Marmontel, d'Holbach, Turgot, and others), 17 volumes of text (with 18,000 pages and 21,7 million words) and 11 volumes of plates. Designed to collect and disseminate the entire knowledge of the time, the Encyclopedie was a reflection of the intellectual and social currents of the Enlightenment, and contributed to disseminate novel ideas that would inspire the French Revolution in 1789.

1998 > WEB-EXTENDED COMMERCIAL BOOKS

[Summary]

Murray Suid is a writer of educational books and material living in Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, California. He has also written books for kids, multimedia scripts and screenplays. Murray was among the first authors to add a website to his books -- an idea that many would soon adopt. He explained in September 1998: "If a book can be web-extended (living partly in cybers.p.a.ce), then an author can easily update and correct it, whereas otherwise the author would have to wait a long time for the next edition, if indeed a next edition ever came out. (...) I do not know if I will publish books on the web -- as opposed to publishing paper books. Probably that will happen when books become multimedia. (I currently am helping develop multimedia learning materials, and it is a form of teaching that I like a lot -- blending text, movies, audio, graphics, and -- when possible -- interactivity)."

Murray Suid, a writer of educational books and material based in Palo Alto, California, was among the first authors to add a website to his books -- an idea that many would soon adopt.

Murray has also written books for kids, multimedia scripts and screenplays. He explained in September 1998: "The internet has become my major research tool, largely -- but not entirely -- replacing the traditional library and even replacing person-to-person research. Now, instead of phoning people or interviewing them face to face, I do it via email. Because of speed, it has also enabled me to collaborate with people at a distance, particularly on screenplays. (I've worked with two producers in Germany.) Also, digital correspondence is so easy to store and organize, I find that I have easy access to information exchanged this way. Thus, emailing facilitates keeping track of ideas and materials. The internet has increased my correspondence dramatically. Like most people, I find that email works better than snail mail. My geographic range of correspondents has also increased - - extending mainly to Europe. In the old days, I hardly ever did transatlantic penpalling. I also find that emailing is so easy, I am able to find more time to a.s.sist other writers with their work -- a kind of a virtual writing group. This isn't merely altruistic. I gain a lot when I give feedback. But before the internet, doing so was more of an effort."

How about web-extended books? "If a book can be web-extended (living partly in cybers.p.a.ce), then an author can easily update and correct it, whereas otherwise the author would have to wait a long time for the next edition, if indeed a next edition ever came out. (...) I do not know if I will publish books on the web -- as opposed to publishing paper books. Probably that will happen when books become multimedia. (I currently am helping develop multimedia learning materials, and it is a form of teaching that I like a lot -- blending text, movies, audio, graphics, and -- when possible -- interactivity)."

He added in August 1999: "In addition to 'web-extending' books, we are now web-extending our multimedia (CD-ROM) products -- to update and enrich them."

He added In October 2000: "Our company -- EDVantage Software -- has become an internet company instead of a multimedia (CD-ROM) company. We deliver educational material online to students and teachers."

1998 > A MORE RESTRICTIVE COPYRIGHT LAW

[Summary]

A major blow for digital libraries was the amendment to the 1976 U.S.

Copyright Act signed on 27 October 1998, each legislation being been more restrictive than the previous one. As explained in July 1999 by Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg: "Nothing will expire for another 20 years. We used to have to wait 75 years. Now it is 95 years.

And it was 28 years (+ a possible 28-year extension, only on request) before that, and 14 years (+ a possible 14-year extension) before that.

So, as you can see, this is a serious degrading of the public domain, as a matter of continuing policy." The copyright went from an average of 30 years in 1909 to an average of 95 years in 1998, with an extension of 65 years. Only a book published before 1923 could now be considered for sure as belonging to the public domain in the U.S. The copyright legislation became more restrictive too in the European Union.

A major blow for digital libraries was the amendment to the 1976 U.S.

Copyright Act signed on 27 October 1998, followed by a more restrictive legislation too in the European Union.

Each legislation was more restrictive than the previous one. As explained in July 1999 by Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg: "Nothing will expire for another 20 years. We used to have to wait 75 years. Now it is 95 years. And it was 28 years (+ a possible 28-year extension, only on request) before that, and 14 years (+ a possible 14- year extension) before that. So, as you can see, this is a serious degrading of the public domain, as a matter of continuing policy. (...) No one has said more against copyright extensions than I have, but Hollywood and the big publishers have seen to it that our Congress won't even mention it in public. The kind of copyright debate going on is totally impractical. It is run by and for the 'Landed Gentry of the Information Age.' 'Information Age'? For whom?"

John Mark Ockerbloom, founder of The Online Books Page, wrote in August 1999: "I think it is important for people on the web to understand that copyright is a social contract that is designed for the public good -- where the public includes both authors and readers. This means that authors should have the right to exclusive use of their creative works for limited times, as is expressed in current copyright law. But it also means that their readers have the right to copy and reuse the work at will once copyright expires. In the U.S. now, there are various efforts to take rights away from readers, by restricting fair use, lengthening copyright terms (even with some proposals to make them perpetual) and extending intellectual property to cover facts separate from creative works (such as found in the 'database copyright'

proposals)."

The shrinking of public domain also affected the European Union, where copyright laws went from "author's life + 50 years" to "author's life + 70 years", following pressure from content owners who successfully lobbied for "harmonization" of national copyright laws as a response to "globalization of the market".

To regulate the copyright of digital editions in the wake of the relevant WIPO international treaties signed in 1996, the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) was ratified in October 1998 in the United States, and the European Union Copyright Directive (EUCD) was ratified in May 2001 by the European Commission. Each country in the European Union was requested to draft and pa.s.s its own legislation within a given time frame. In France, DADVSI (Droit d'Auteur et Droits Voisins dans la Societe de l'Information) pa.s.sed in August 2006, with the general public being not so happy about it.

1998 > THE FIRST EBOOK READERS

[Summary]

How about a book-sized electronic device that could store many books at once? The first ebook readers were developed in Silicon Valley, California. The Rocket eBook was launched in 1998 in Palo Alto by NuvoMedia, whose investors were Barnes & n.o.ble and Bertelsmann. Shortly afterwards, the SoftBook Reader was launched by SoftBook Press, whose investors were Random House and Simon & Schuster. These two ebook readers were the size of a (large and thick) book, with batteries and a black and white LCD screen. They could connect to the internet through a computer (for the Rocket eBook) or directly with a built-in modem (for the SoftBook Reader) to download books from the digital bookstores available on the companies' websites. Other models followed in 1999, for example the EveryBook Reader, launched by EveryBook, and the Millennium eBook, launched by Librius. The Gemstar eBook was launched in the U.S. in November 2000. The Cybook (1st generation) was in Europe in January 2001.

How about a book-sized electronic device that could store many books at once? The first ebook readers were the Rocket eBook and the SoftBook Reader, launched in Silicon Valley in 1998.

These dedicated electronic readers were the size of a (large and thick) book, with a battery, a black and white LCD screen, and a storage capacity of ten books or so. They could connect to the internet through a computer (for the Rocket eBook) or directly with a built-in modem (for the SoftBook Reader).

They got much attention from book professionals and the general public, with few of them buying them though, because of their rocket-high price -- several hundreds of dollars -- and a small choice of books in the digital bookstores available on the companies' websites. Publishers were just beginning to digitize their own books, still wondering how to market them, and worried with piracy concerns.