Book Buzz From Betsy aka KnitKnut:
I’ve always liked old books, whether fiction or non-fiction. They give us a peek at an earlier era. Fiction reflects ideas, fashions, and ways of life very different from how we live now. The vast array of non-fiction shows us history from a different perspective, or scientific theories that led to ground-breaking discoveries (or seem laughable today). Old textbooks, manuals, and periodicals provide us with patterns and techniques for many crafts that are hobbies for us now, but were a way to earn a living wage then. Many of these books and magazines are in the public domain, meaning they are no longer under copyright and can be used by anyone.
The fragility and limited number of actual books and magazines means that many would never be able to access them, so archiving them electronically makes good sense. It takes time and money to preserve these books, and space to store them electronically. Several partnerships are working to save these works in digital form and make them available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection. Internet Archive—along with Googlebooks, is one such joint venture. The archive site is easy to navigate and includes all kinds of titles. Their goal is to digitally reproduce all books in the public domain and make them available for free. For me, this means a lot of happy hunting through books on all subjects. I’m sure to find something to fit whatever mood I am in at the time.
Next week I’ll share some links for the crafters out there (such as knitters like me). If you know where to look, there are more than just individual patterns to download. You can also access e-books with tips, techniques, and directions.
Note from Teri--This just in Wednesday April 20 from the Wall Street Journal: Amazon Kindles will now work with library e-books.
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