Micheal Hart, the inventor of the eBook, died in 2011 at the age of 64. The beginning of eBooks started in 1971, when he decided to type up the U.S. Declaration of Independence at the Materials Research Lab at the University of Illinois. He made this decision because he received a free copy from the grocery store and thought he would email it out, but decided to make it a document that could be shared. Anyway, after typing the text into the computer Hart sent out the message on ARPAnet, which would later be known as the internet. This enabled the public to download the Declaration of Independence. While only six people downloaded this document, the world's first ever eBook was born. Soon after, he shared other texts such as the Bill of Rights, the U.S. Constitution, and "The Bible". This was the start to a long-term project developed by Hart himself.Hart founded Project Gutenberg, which is an online literary project that allows free eBooks to be downloaded. This is still one of the largest collections of free eBooks in the world. The goal of the project is to "to encourage the creation and distribution of e-books" and by allowing these e-books to be free it helps "break down the bars of ignorance and illiteracy." In addition, Project Gutenberg hosts eBooks in sixty different languages and can be considered one of the best internet based resources available to date. This allows for so many people around the world to have access to eBooks, which was one of Hart's main goals for the project.
Hart enabled the public to have eBooks, which is an effective and efficient way to share an unlimited amount of free literature. Giving the public access to eBooks leads to opportunities for more literacy and this creates opportunities to use the ideas from the literature. Hart believed that eBooks are the first things that people are able to have an infinitive amount of besides air. Hart's analogy is one of the reasons why he made this project into his career.
Over the years, the project has faced some difficulties. In 2004, Ayn Rand's agents wished for Project Gutenberg to stop sharing her work Anthem. These requests were common and because public domain laws differed in different countries, one book might be allowed to be copied in the US, but against the law in another country. For Ayn Rand's work, it was only allowed in the US and Any Rand's agents still wanted it off the website for all users, but Project Gutenberg refused because it was legal in the US.
Currently, the website is still completely free. The project relies on donations and volunteers which allows users access to the valuable eBooks. When Project Gutenberg first started each book was typed into the database by hand, but now volunteers scan and proofread the books. On average, there are one hundred books added each month.
Hart left this world too early, but he left behind a worth of knowledge for many people around the world. On a personal level Hart lived an unusual life. Hart was frugal and lived life with few expenses but had a lot of friends. He believed in homeopathic remedies rather than seeing medical professionals. He did his own work on his car and home. He, not surprisingly built many computers and other electronics from old components. Hart had many talents and gave so much of himself for Project Gutenberg.
Hart's role in the creation of eBooks certainly reinforces the quote from your title. Though I am a consumer of eBooks (I purchased the digital version of the textbook for this class), I never thought to look into their origin. I was vaguely familiar with Project Gutenberg, but I have never used it, and found its history fascinating. In particular, I was surprised that someone with access to such a new and limited technology as a computer in 1971 would think of using it to spread literature.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that public access to eBooks through a digital library allows for a potential movement towards more literacy. It could be the case that someone may be interested in getting into books, but does not want to spend time going through the sections of literature in an actual library. While I would not trade that experience, which played a huge role in my childhood, for anything, I can certainly see the appeal of browsing a digital library from home, since we live in a world where people seek instant gratification.
In Chapter 1 of the textbook, the author discusses the rise of eReaders and eBooks as a symptom of technological convergence. However you feel about holding a mini-computer in your hand instead of the spine of a good old book, the convenience aspect of these new technologies is undeniable. When reading a book, if I notice what seems to be a striking allusion to another book (or perhaps an unclear reference to a previous book in a series), I can with my eReader simply bookmark my current book and open up and scan for the relevant passage in the second one. This saves me the time and energy of searching for the book on my bookshelf and physically scanning it, and encourages me to read more actively to begin with.
Though I don't know if he had the foresight to see how much of an impact his decisions on a computer would make 40 years later, Michael Hart has certainly changed the landscape of reading and mass media.