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 Japanese 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 Universität 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 Encyclopédie
The same year, the database of the first volume (1751) of the Encyclopédie 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 Encyclopédie, 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 Encyclopédie 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 cyberspace), 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)."
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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 assist 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."