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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <TITLE>Get Involved Supporting Online Books!</TITLE> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="olbp.css" /> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> <style type="text/css"> h2 {text-align: center} .navigation {text-align: center} </style> </head> <body> <header> <h1><a href="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/" class="logolink">The Online Books Page</a></h1> </header> <h2>GET INVOLVED!</h2> If you find these online books enjoyable and useful, we encourage you to get involved. Here are a few ways you can do so. <UL> <LI> <b>Suggest more online books for us to list.</b> See <A HREF="suggest.html">this page</A> for information on how to do this. <LI> <b>Put books online!</b> It can be a great way to "get close" to a favorite book, and your work, once done, can be read by millions. <UL> <LI> See <A HREF="bookinstr.html">this guide</A> for information on how to put books online. <LI> Don't have time to do a full book? How about putting a page or two online? With other volunteers doing the other pages, a book can still go online quickly. See <A HREF="http://www.pgdp.net/">the Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders Project</A> site for more information.  for more details. </UL> <LI> If you are an author, <b>consider giving permission for your books to go online.</b> An online version of your book can reach readers worldwide, and make your writing available to all long after print copies leave bookstore shelves. (If your book is hard to find in stores, an online version with ordering capabilities may even spur sales. Here is a <A HREF="http://www.baen.com/library/palaver6.htm">report from Baen Books</A> showing sales increases after some of their books went online for free.) <p> If you're interested in giving permission for free online editions, either now or in the future, write to onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu. Authors can donate their works to the public in a variety of ways, ranging from putting the work into the public domain to retaining copyright and donating a license. The <A HREF="http://www.creativecommons.org/learnmore/">Creative Commons</A> has a page on approaches that one can use. <p> Many books have already been scanned in mass digitization projects, so making your book readable online may be as simple as granting permission to a suitable project. For instance, if you wrote any of the millions of books with copies now in <a href="http://www.hathitrust.org/">Hathi Trust</a>, you can simply complete and send a <a href="http://www.hathitrust.org/permissions_agreement">permission agreement</a> authorizing them to make your book readable online. <LI> <b>Join others who care about free online books</b>. Forums that attract such folks include <a href="http://teleread.org/">TeleRead</a> and <a href="http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/fosblog.html">Open Access News</a>. I also discuss free online books from time to time on by blog, <A HREF="http://everybodyslibraries.com/">Everybody's Libraries</A>. <LI> <b>Give feedback to the people who are putting books online.</b> Many of us do this as a labor of love, and we appreciate knowing when our work has been useful, or if there are problems that need to be fixed. <LI> <b>Support free speech, fair use, and the public domain.</b> They're all good for society, and they also make it possible to put books online more easily. See <A HREF="freepress.html">this page</A> for more details about what you can do. <LI> <b>Give material support to your favorite online book project</b>. The folks who put up books online for free often appreciate donations of money, books, and equipment. Some of the groups soliciting support include: <UL> <LI> <A HREF="https://archive.org/donate/">Internet Archive</A> (tax-deductible) <LI> <A HREF="http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate">Project Gutenberg</A> (tax-deductible) </UL> The links above go to pages giving more information about how you can help them. <LI> <b>Support your local library.</b> Libraries are vital local resources for literacy, learning, and community-building. (Many of them also provide free access to Internet resources like this one.) Libraries need volunteers, friends, and advocates. Contact your local Friends of the Library group, if there is one, to find out more. (The <A HREF="http://www.folusa.com/">Friends of Libraries USA</A> site also has some useful resources for starting or running such a group.) <LI> <b>Send books to needy libraries.</b> Not everyone has computer access, and print books are still needed in many areas locally, and across the world, to help in education and literacy. The American Library Association has a <A HREF="http://www.ala.org/tools/libfactsheets/alalibraryfactsheet12">fact sheet</A> that can help you find organizations that help get books into the hands of people who need them. </UL> <hr> <div class="navigation"> <p> <A HREF="https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/">Home</A> -- <A HREF="aboutolbp.html">About Us</A> -- <A HREF="faq.html">FAQ</A> -- <b>Get Involved!</b> -- <A HREF="in-progress.html">In Progress / Requested</A> -- <A HREF="links.html">More Book Links</A> </p> <p> <A HREF="lists.html">Books</A> -- <A HREF="news.html">News</A> -- <A HREF="features.html">Features</A> -- <A HREF="archives.html">Archives</A> -- <A HREF="inside.html">The Inside Story</A> </p> <p> <i>Edited by John Mark Ockerbloom (onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu) <br> <a href="licenses.html">OBP copyrights and licenses</a> </i> </p> </div> </body> </html>