[gweekly] PT1 Weekly Project Gutenberg Newsletter
Michael Hart
hart at pglaf.org
Wed Apr 27 09:58:17 PDT 2005
GWeekly_April_27.txt
*The Project Gutenberg Weekly Newsletter For Wednesday, April 27, 2005 PT1*
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
[Search for "*eBook" or "*Intro". . .to jump to that section, etc.]
*eBook Milestones
*Introduction
*Hot Requests New Sites and Announcements
*Continuing Requests and Announcements
*Progress Report
*Distributed Proofreaders Collection Report
*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
*Permanent Requests For Assistance:
*Donation Information
*Access To The Project Gutenberg Collections
*Mirror Site Information
*Instant Access To Our Latest eBooks
*Have We Given Away A Trillion Yet?
*Flashback
*Weekly eBook update:
This is now in PT2 of the Weekly Newsletter
Also collected in the Monthly Newsletter
Corrections in separate section
5 New From PG Australia [Australian, Canadian Copyright Etc.]
51 New Public Domain eBooks Under US Copyright
*Headline News from Edupage
*Information About the Project Gutenberg Mailing Lists
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*eBook Milestones
16,107 eBooks As Of Today!!!
12,760 New eBooks Since The Start Of 2001
We Have Produced 1151 eBooks in 2005
We Are ~61% of the Way from 10,000 to 20,000
We are ~22% of the Way from 15,000 to 20,000
3,893 to go to 20,000!!!
We have now averaged ~476 eBooks per year since July 4th, 1971
We Averaged About 339 eBooks Per Month In 2004
We Are Averaging About 307 books Per Month This Year
We Are Averaging About 72 eBooks Per Week This Year
56 This Week
It took ~32 years, from 1971 to 2003 to do our 1st 10,000 eBooks
It took ~32 months, from 2002 to 2005 for our last 10,000 eBooks
It took ~10 years from 1993 to 2003 to grow from 100 eBooks to 10,100
It took ~1.25 years from Oct. 2003 to Jan. 2005 from 10,000 to 15,000
*
***Introduction
[The Newsletter is now being sent in two sections, so you can directly
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This is Michael Hart's "Founder's Comments" section of the Newsletter
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***Continuing Requests New Sites and Announcements
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***Progress Report, including Distributed Proofreaders
In the first 03.75 months of this year, we produced 1151 new eBooks.
It took us from July 1971 to Dec 1997 to produce our first 1151 eBooks!
That's 16 WEEKS as Compared to ~25 Years!
56 New eBooks This Week
60 New eBooks Last Week
160 New eBooks This Month [Apr]
307 Average Per Month in 2005
336 Average Per Month in 2004
355 Average Per Month in 2003
203 Average Per Month in 2002
103 Average Per Month in 2001
1151 New eBooks in 2005
4049 New eBooks in 2004
4164 New eBooks in 2003
2441 New eBooks in 2002
1240 New eBooks in 2001
====
13045 New eBooks Since Start Of 2001
That's Only 51.75 Months!
About 250 books per month
16,107 Total Project Gutenberg eBooks
12,486 eBooks This Week Last Year
====
3,621 New eBooks In Last 12 Months
434 eBooks From Project Gutenberg of Australia
*
PROJECT GUTENBERG DISTRIBUTED PROOFREADERS UPDATE:
Since starting production in October 2000,
Distributed Proofreaders has contributed
6,714 eBooks to Project Gutenberg.
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*Project Gutenberg Consortia Center Report
Please note the addition of the Internet Archive
marked with <<< below.
PGCC's current eBook and eDocument Collections listings
of 18 collections. . .with this week's listing as:
Alex-Wire Tap Collection, 2,036 HTML eBook Files
Black Mask Collection, 12,000 HTML eBook Files
The Coradella Bookshelf Collection, 141 eBook Files
DjVu Collection, 272 PDF and DJVU eBook Files
eBooks at Adelaide Collection, 27,709 eBook Files
Himalayan Academy, 3,400 HTML eBook Files
Internet Archive ~30,000 eBook Files [In Progress] <<<
Literal Systems Collection, 68 MP3 eBook Files
Logos Group Collection, ~34,000 TXT eBook Files
Poet's Corner Poetry Collection, 6,700 Poetry Files
Project Gutenberg Collection, 15,035 eBook Files
PGCC Chinese eBook Collection ~300 eBook files <<< Note Name Change
Renaisscance Editions Collection, 561 HTML eBook Files
Swami Center Collection, 78 HTML eBook Files
Tony Kline Collection, 223 HTML eBook Files
Widger Library, 2,600 HTML eBook Files
CIA's Electronic Reading Room, 2,019 Reference Files
=======Grand Total Files=========~137,142 Total Files=====
Average Size of the Collections 8,067.18 Total Files
These eBooks are catalogued as per the instructions of
their donors: some are one file per book; some have a
file for each chapter; and some even have a file for a
single page or poem. . .or are overcounted for reasons
I have not mentioned. . .each of which could cause the
overcounting or duplication of numbers.
If we presume 2 out of 3 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~45,714 Unique eBooks
If we presume 3 out of 4 of these files are overcounts,
that leaves a unique book total of
~34,286 Unique eBooks
***
Please also note that over 23,000 eBooks are listed via
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In addition: The Internet Public Library had a similar
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You can try a new IPL service at:
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It would appear that The Internet Public Library ended
its first incarnation with about 22,284 entries, which
has now been surpassed by the Online Books Page.
Still looking for more Internet Public Library info.
***
Today Is Day #98 of 2005
This Completes Week #14 and Month #03.00 [364 days this year]
266 Days/40 Weeks To Go [We get 52 Wednesdays this year]
4,003 Books To Go To #20,000
[Our production year begins/ends
1st Wednesday of the month/year]
74 Weekly Average in 2005
78 Weekly Average in 2004
79 Weekly Average in 2003
47 Weekly Average in 2002
24 Weekly Average in 2001
41 Only 41 Numbers Left On Our Reserved Numbers list
[Used to be well over 100]
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Statistical Review
In the 14 weeks of this year, we have produced 1041 new eBooks.
It took us from 7/71 to 7/97 to produce our FIRST 1041 eBooks!!!
That's 14 WEEKS as Compared to ~26 YEARS!!!
FLASHBACK!
Here's a sample of what books we were doing around eBook #1151
Mon Year Title and Author [filename.ext] ###
A "C" Following The eText # Indicates That This eText Is Under Copyright
[Note: books without month and year entries have been reposted]
Dec 1997 The Story of the Volsungs [re: Wagner's "Ring"] [vlsngxxx.xxx] 1152
Dec 1997 The Nibelungenlied [Another Source for The Ring] [nblngxxx.xxx] 1151
Dec 1997 The Danish History/Books I-IX, by Saxo Grammaticus[dnhstxxx.xxx] 1150
Dec 1997 From London to Land's End, by Daniel Defoe [DD #6][lndlexxx.xxx] 1149
Dec 1997 Itineray of Baldwin in Wales, Giraldus Cambrensis [itwlsxxx.xxx] 1148
Dec 1997 From This World to the Next, by Henry Fielding #2[jtwtnxxx.xxx] 1147
Dec 1997 Journal of A Voyage to Lisbon by Henry Fielding #1[jlsbnxxx.xxx] 1146
Dec 1997 Rupert of Hentzau, by Anthony Hope [See Zenda]# [rprhnxxx.xxx] 1145
In the Cage, by Henry James 1144
Notes on Life and Letters, by Joseph Conrad 1143
Dec 1997 Typhoon, by Joseph Conrad [Joseph Conrad #18][typhnxxx.xxx] 1142
Dec 1997 Selected Poems of Oscar Wilde [Oscar Wilde #17][spoowxxx.xxx] 1141
Dec 1997 Latter-Day Pamphlets, by Thomas Carlyle[Carlyle#4][latdaxxx.xxx] 1140
Dec 1997 Fisherman's Luck, by Henry van Dyke [Van Dyke #3][fshlkxxx.xxx] 1139
Dec 1997 The Research Magnificent, by H.G. Wells [Wells#13][rschmxxx.xxx] 1138
Dec 1997 A Lover's Complaint, by William Shakespeare [WL][1ws44xxx.xxx] 1137C
. . .
Nov 1997 King Henry VI, Part 1, William Shakespeare [WL][1ws01xxx.xxx] 1100C
Nov 1997 The Riverman, by Stewart Edward White [White #3][rvrmnxxx.xxx] 1099
Nov 1997 The Turmoil, A novel, by Booth Tarkington [BT#5] [turmoxxx.xxx] 1098
Nov 1997 Mrs. Warren's Profession, by G. B. Shaw [Shaw #4] [wrproxxx.xxx] 1097
The Faith of Men, by Jack London 1096
*
Have We Given Away A Trillion Books/Dollars Yet???
With 16,107 eBooks online as of April 27, 2005 it now takes an average
of ~1% of the world gaining a nominal value of ~$.96 from each book.
1% of the world population is 64,379,848 [x 16,107 x $.97 = ~$1 trillion]
[Google "world population" "popclock" to get the most current figures.]
With 16,107 eBooks online as of April 27, 2005 it now takes an average
of 100,000,000 readers gaining a nominal value of $0.62 from each book,
This "cost" is down from about $.80 when we had 12,486 eBooks a year ago.
100 million readers is only ~1.5% of the world's population!
At 16,107 eBooks in 33 Years and 09.75 Months We Averaged
~476 Per Year
39.7 Per Month
1.30 Per Day
At 1151 eBooks Done In The 112 Days Of 2005 We Averaged
10.28 Per Day
72 Per Week
307 Per Month
The production statistics are calculated based on full weeks'
production; each production-week starts/ends Wednesday noon,
starts with the first Wednesday of January. January 5th was
the first Wednesday of 2005, and thus ended PG's production
year of 2004 and began the production year of 2005 at noon.
This year there will be 52 Wednesdays, thus no extra week.
***
*Headline News from Edupage
[PG Editor's Comments In Brackets]
FEWER COLLEGE STUDENTS PURSUING COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREES
[Because of the .com bust]
A new report from the Computing Research Association (CRA) shows a
significant drop in the number of college freshmen in the United States
who say they plan to major in computer science. The CRA looked at data
from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of
California at Los Angeles and found that between fall of 2000 and fall
of 2004, interest in computer science fell by more than 60 percent and
is now 70 percent below its all-time high. Interest among women has
fallen even further, said the CRA, dropping 80 percent since 1998 and
93 percent since 1982. The CRA also conducted surveys of higher
education institutions and came up with similar results. The report
goes on to suggest that the United States will have difficulty meeting
the demand for IT workers in coming years, increasing the gap with
countries including India and China that are producing larger numbers
of computer science graduates. "Freshmen interest levels at any given
point have been an accurate predictor of trends in the number of
degrees granted four to five years later," according to the report.
CNET, 22 April 2005
http://news.com.com//2100-1022_3-5681438.html
ISU CONSIDERS LAPTOP REQUIREMENT
[For students, not for faculty]
The Faculty Senate at Indiana State University (ISU) has put its
support behind a proposal to require incoming freshmen to purchase
laptops beginning in the fall of 2007. Under the proposal, written by a
university committee, the university would recommend a particular
model, which would be available at reduced cost, though students could
obtain a waiver that would allow them to purchase a different model.
Officials at ISU noted that most students already have a computer and
said that the requirement would allow the university to see advantages
from having standardized systems that could be incorporated into
academic programs. Critics of the proposal pointed out that faculty
would not be required to use computers in their classes. Concerns over
the added cost to students were also raised by students and faculty who
oppose the plan, while others said having computers in class could be a
significant distraction.
Tribune-Star, 22 April 2005
http://www.tribstar.com/articles/2005/04/22/news/top_stories/top02.txt
GOOGLE TRIES NEW AD PROGRAM
[More ads, flashier ads, longer download times]
Internet search engine Google has implemented changes to its ad program
that allow advertisers more options for what their ads look like and
where they appear. Initially at least, the new ads will not appear on
Google's own sites but will potentially be included on the thousands
of sites to which Google provides ads. Until now, Google ads were
textual, and Google only placed ads on sites that were related to the
advertised product or service. A Web site about wine, for instance,
might get ads from Google about other wines, cheese, or other directly
relevant topics. Under the new program, Google will allow graphical
elements, including some animation and video, and advertisers can
decide which Web sites will display their ads. The program changes the
model from a pay-per-click arrangement to one in which advertisers pay
simply to show an ad.
New York Times, 25 April 2005 (registration req'd)
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/technology/25google.html
EUROPE INTRODUCES .EU DOMAIN
The long-awaited .eu Internet domain will be operational by the end of
2005, according to officials of the European Union. Supporters of the
domain name have been working for six years to reach an agreement under
which the domain can be launched. Representatives of the European Union
believe the new domain will provide a sense of identity on the Internet
for organizations based around Europe, though it will not replace
existing country-specific domains, such as .uk or .de. In an effort to
limit cybersquatting of names in the domain, new domain names will only
be granted to companies and trademark owners for the first four months.
Members of the European Commission, the executive arm of the European
Union, advised that all offers of early registration for the domain
could well be fraudulent and should be treated with skepticism.
BBC, 21 April 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4470797.stm
JUDGE REJECTS RIAA'S EXPEDITED SUBPOENAS
A federal judge in North Carolina handed the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) a legal defeat in its effort to learn the
identities of two students accused of illegal file sharing. The RIAA
had sought the identities from the students' universities, the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State
University, under an expedited subpoena process the group has since
abandoned. In a December 2003 decision, another federal judge had
rejected the expedited subpoenas, which did not require a judge's
signature, ruling that Verizon could not be forced to disclose
identities of its customers. In their capacity as Internet service
providers (ISPs) for students, universities were given similar
protection from the expedited subpoenas. In this case, Judge Russell A.
Eliason ruled that an ISP that does not store information but merely
transmits it cannot be compelled under the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act to reveal identities of its users. After the 2003 decision, the
RIAA began filing individual "John Doe" lawsuits for illegal file
sharing. Under that process, which costs the RIAA more time and money
than the other, ISPs can be forced to turn over identities of users.
Chronicle of Higher Education, 22 April 2005 (sub. req'd)
http://chronicle.com/prm/daily/2005/04/2005042201t.htm
You have been reading excerpts from Edupage:
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***
*HEADLINE NEWS AVOIDED BY MOST OF THE MAJOR U.S. MEDIA
No follow up on the huge Texas City oil refinery explosion.
*
No Weapons of Mass Destruction
Yesterday it was announced that the search for the alleged
weapons of mass destruction whose suspected presence was
the official reason for the U.S. invasion of Iraq ended.
After millions of man-hours all leads have been exhausted
and no WMDs or further leads have been discovered. [NPR]
*
In a separate news conference, the official statements of
the new intelligence community leadership under Negroponte
indicate that the two greatest failures of U.S. intelligence
were missing the 9/11 attacks and being duped into thinking
there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
*STRANGE QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said in Russia that there
was too much power in the Kremlin and not enough independent
news media in Russia.
It would seem others are saying the same thing about the U.S.
White House gaining too much power and a similar decline in a
previously strong independent media in the U.S.
DOUBLESPEAK OF THE DAY
The richest man in Italy says that Prime Minister Berlusconi
resigned due to pressure from a biased liberal media.
He neglected to say that he owns 90% of the Italian media in
which he voices a conservative point of view.
By the way, that richest man in Italy. . .is Berlusconi. . .
*
The Bush Administration came out on the side of family rights
to decide on who decides to "pull the plug" in hospitial care,
but 1998 Bush signed a Texas law that took such decisions out
of the hands of the family.
*
The new Pope said that his job was to defend the church
against "the monstrous terrorism of modernism."
*PREDICTIONS OF THE WEEK
U.S. car sales will continue to go down, while U.S. home
sales will continue to go up.
*ODD STATISTICS OF THE WEEK
Even while announcing that inflation has been curbed, numbers
are being released that show 30% higher inflation for 2005 in
the first quarter than the annual rate for 2004.
.6% Inflation for March, 2005 [7.5% Annual Rate]
3.3% Inflation for 2004 [Annual Rate]
4.3% Inflation for 2005 [First Quarter]
Cost Price Index = CPI
*
Speaking of inflation, how many of you know "grade inflation?"
This is a trend caused by schools refusing to flunk out those
who can't even read so they can receive more money through an
assortment of per capita subsidies, athletic program tickets,
and various other reasons.
Even counting that half the students never make it to a degree
in four years, or even if extended to five years, the average
grades given in most colleges has been higher than a "B" quite
some time, and is still inching up.
Thus a "B" is now "below average" even though a "C" is supposed
to represent "average."
This trend, when compounded by the fact that more and more people
are receiving college degrees, which should bring the average way
down as more than the best students enroll, means that inflation
of grades is even more intense that previously thought, as these
grade would have to be inflated even more to discount the average
of the greater number of midrange students.
Approximately 1/3 of all U.S. young people get a college education
in modern times, a much greater number than the 14% I remember for
the period when I was researching colleges. Does anyone have some
statistics for the total U.S. % with college degrees?
*
56% of all U.S. college graduates are women.
Even more for those receiving advanced degrees.
*
Drug Pushers
There is one commercial drug rep for every 6.8 Drs in the US.
*
25-30% of high school and middle school students can't read.
First Lady Laura Bush on The Tonight Show last night.
*
"If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely
100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same,
it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
and all 6 would be from the United States
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
I would like to bring some of these figures more up to date,
as obviously if only 1% of 6 billion people owned a computer
then there would be only 60 million people in the world who
owned a computer, yet we hear that 3/4 + of the United States
households have computers, out of over 100 million households.
Thus obviously that is over 1% of the world population, just in
the United States.
I just called our local reference librarian and got the number
of US households from the 2004-5 U.S. Statistical Abstract at:
111,278,000 as per data from 2003 U.S Census Bureau reports.
If we presume the saturation level of U.S. computer households
is now around 6/7, or 86%, that is a total of 95.4 million,
and that's counting just one computer per household, and not
counting households with more than one, schools, businesses, etc.
I also found some figures that might challenge the literacy rate
given above, and would like some help researching these and other
such figures, if anyone is interested.
BTW, while I was doing this research, I came across a statistic
that said only 10% of the world's population is 60+ years old.
This means that basically 90% of the world's population would
never benefit from Social Security, even if the wealthy nations
offered it to them free of charge. Then I realized that the US
population has the same kind of age disparity, in which the rich
live so much longer than the poor, the whites live so much longer
than the non-whites. Thus Social Security is paid by all, but is
distributed more to the upper class whites, not just because they
can receive more per year, but because they will live more years
to receive Social Security. The average poor non-white may never
receive a dime of Social Security, no matter how much they pay in.
***
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