Project Gutenberg

For other uses, see Project Gutenberg (disambiguation).

Project Gutenberg
EstablishedDecember 1971; 52 years ago (1971-12)
(first document posted)[1]
Collection
SizeOver 72,500 documents
Other information
Websitegutenberg.org

Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."[2] It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital library.[3] Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of books or individual stories in the public domain. All files can be accessed for free under an open format layout, available on almost any computer. As of 13 February 2024, Project Gutenberg had reached 70,000 items in its collection of free eBooks.[4]

The releases are available in plain text as well as other formats, such as HTML, PDF, EPUB, MOBI, and Plucker wherever possible. Most releases are in the English language, but many non-English works are also available. There are multiple affiliated projects that provide additional content, including region- and language-specific works. Project Gutenberg is closely affiliated with Distributed Proofreaders, an Internet-based community for proofreading scanned texts.

Project Gutenberg is named after the inventor Johannes Gutenberg, whose works in developing printing technology led to an increase in the mass availability of books and other text.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference gut1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Hart, Michael S. (23 October 2004). "Gutenberg Mission Statement by Michael Hart". Project Gutenberg. Archived from the original on 14 July 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference USINFO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Preston, Sherry (9 October 2023). "Cover to Cover: Access thousands of books on Project Gutenberg". Star-Herald. Retrieved 24 February 2024.