The human mind is a remarkable device. Present it with a challenge and in no time a host of solutions are returned for consideration. Take, for example, an idea by Michael Hart.
1971 and enter Michael Hart. Mr. Hart was handed the gift of gifts – $100,000.00 worth of computer time with a mainframe computer. He decided that the greatest value created by computers would not be computing, but the storage, retrieval, and searching of what was stored in our libraries. The first “e-book” was born—a copy of the Declaration of Independence.
Since 1971 e-books have morphed into electronic reading in every imaginable format for every imaginable genre. Doctors carry the complete Pharmacopeia in their PDA, businessmen carry slide shows and presentations, and comic books – yes comic books, are now being read on a hand-held device.
Among the free offerings during Read an E-Book Week, March 7 – 13, you will find comic books, sports fitness books, children’s homeschool materials, poetry, and books in a variety of languages from Apache to Russian.
Mr. Hart went on to create Project Gutenberg, the first free on-line library. He stated in an interview with Andrea Kobeskzo:
“The goal of Project Gutenberg has always been to create An Information Age not as something on the order of “The Digital Divide,” but something greater in terms of bringing literacy and education to the masses free of all charge and in a way the vast majority can access instantly.”
Free e-books in Apache, Ukrainian, Polish… I think Mr. Hart’s dreams is coming to fruition.
