Hi all, John, there are more and more sites available now on the net for etexts. Below, please find a list of sites which was posted here some time back.
Most of these sites have standard interfaces and downloading books isn't a problem. Many regular libraries now have etext collections and it is worthwhile checking them out. Some regular libraries have audio collections as well through Net Library. I have to put in a plug here for Gutenberg because Michael Hart's project is older than the BrailleNote, older than the BNS and most other computer programs you've heard about. It is the first etext repository on the net, and Michael Hart should be cited for his dedication to making text available to all in readable formats. It is interesting to note that Mr. Hart didn't start out to create a resource for the blind. He thought that literature ought to be preserved, and therefore, he began Gutenberg in the 70s by transcribing the entire King James Bible onto an old mainframe! With all the new folks on the net, sometimes Gutenberg gets plunked to the bottom of people's lists, but it should be at the top because of its age and its many volunteers who continually expand its collection. It was through Gutenberg that I gained access to hundreds of etexts that I could read and reread and keep on my computer; a truly marvelous miracle. If your student is interested in buying etexts at a good price, might I suggest Richard Seltzer's Samizdat store: http://www.samizdat.com He has taken books off the net and organized them into categories, and they are placed on CD. If your student doesn't want to go digging on his own, this is a good solution. Bookshare, especially if your student is an avid reader or if he is a good volunteer may be worth an investment of $75.00 for the first year which can be reduced with a little elbow grease and some time. Ann P. selected sources for electronic texts issued 2003 this factsheetpresents a selected list of sources for electronic texts. the online files are in a variety of formats ranging from plain text to digital audio and digital braille. most can be downloaded and read offline. electronic braille materials can also be embossed. sites vary with regards to a:essibility and questions should be directed to the sites' webmasters. the web site address is given for each entry and telephone numbers and every-mail addresses are provided, when known, for further information. accessible book collection (703) 631-1585 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.accessiblebookcollection.org/default.htm provides high-interest low-reading level digital text in html to individuals with a documented disability that prevents reading standard print. also serves government and nonprofit schools and rehabilitation centers. has$49.95 annual sub scription fee. alex catalogue of electronic texts (574) 246-0639 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.infomotions.comstalexst has a collection of free public domain documents from american literature, english literature, and western philosophy. books are in pdf and text formats. audible.com 888-283-5051 or 888-429-5575 www.audible.comstadblststorestwelcome.jsp includes forty-five hundred audiobooks and fourteen thousand other audio programs in a broad range of subjects that can be downloaded to a computer. readers can listen immediately, transfer files to an audio player, or burn them onto a cd. items are spoken-word audio in a proprietary audible.com format. cost: $14.95-$19.95 per month. bartleby.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bartleby.com publishes the classics of literature, nonfiction, and reference books free of charge. includes books of quotations, the 1914 oxford edition of the complete works of william shakespeare, the columbia gazetteer, gray's anatomy, and strunk's elements of style. books are offered in various proprietary every-book formats. bibliomaniaddicom ltd [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bibliomaniaddicomust offers free online literature of classic fiction, drama, poetry, and short stories and contemporary articles and interviews. most books are in html format. bookshare.org (650) 475-5440 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.bookshare.org/web/welcome.html provides digital books in a broad range of subjects to united states residents who have a visual or other print disability. requires completion of an online form, proof of disability, and payment of $25 sign-up fee and $50 annual subscription. books are in text format and contracted braille. most text files are presented with xml markup and the site includes tools for reading these files. braille book files [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.tsbvi.edu/stbraille/braillebooks.htm has books at all grade levels that are submitted by teachers and transcribers; the site is maintained by the texas school for the blind and visually impaired. a:ess is password-protected and limited to individuals who have a visual or other print disability and to members of a nonprofit organization or governmental agency that provides specialized services to such individuals. books are in megadots, duxbury, and ascii format. classicreader.com www.classicreader.comust contains free literature for which copyright protection has expired. presents these works in eight categories: fiction, nonfiction, drama, children, poetry, shakespeare, short stories, and classical. all books are in html; includes a plain-text format that eliminates most graphics. electronic text center (434) 924-3230 [EMAIL PROTECTED] etext.lib.virginiaddiedust combines a free online archive of tens of thousands of sgml- and xml-encoded electronic texts and images in the humanities with a service at the university of virginia library that offers hardware and software suitable for the creation and analysis of text. most material is in sgml or xml; site includes tools for reading these file types. fictionwise (973) 701-6771 www.fictionwise.comust publishes (i.e., owns the electronic rights to certain ebooks) and distributes (sells ebooks from other epublishers) fiction and nonfiction in various ebook formats. costs range from 49 cents for short stories to $4.99 and up for lengthy works. books are in a variety of proprietary e-book formats. 4fuliterature [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.4fuliterature.netst has more than two thousand books, stories, poems, plays, and religious and historical documents in html format. readers can read online at no charge or can purchase the entire collection on cd-rom for $19.99. international electronic braille book library (410) 659-9314 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.braille.org/braillebooksst contains over one thousand titles of electronic braille books, including classics and publications of the national federation of the blind. files, which are in contracted braille ascii format, may be read online or downloaded for viewing offline or embossing. internet public library (ipl) books collection (734) 764-4386 [EMAIL PROTECTED] ipl.si.umich.edustdiv/booksst includes over twenty thousand online books, stories, essays, poems, articles, dramas, letters, and speeches that are freely available online. material is in text and html format. netlibrary, a division of online computer library center (oclc) 800-413-4557 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.netlibrary.comust offers more than thirty-seven thousand ebook titles in subjects such as arts, business, history, literature, religion, science, and technology to academic, public, and corporate libraries that purchase a collection of titles. patrons must create an a:ount with an affiliated library in order to access the collection. books are in a proprietary e-book format. the online books page (215) 573-0758 or (215) 898-7091 [EMAIL PROTECTED] onlinebooks.library.upenn.edust includes more than nineteen thousand english works that are available online at no charge. has a listing of foreign language and literature resources and an archive of serials. books are in html. page by page books www.pagebypagebooks.comust has hundreds of free classic books that are in the public domain, including united states historical documents and presidential inaugural addresses. books can be read online one page at a time. project gutenberg www.promo.net/pgst or www.gutenberg.netst has three types of free texts: light literature such as peter pan, serious literature such as the bible and works of shakespeare, an d reference works such as roget's thesaurus and almanacs. most books are in text or html format; a few require proprietary e-book reading software. questia (713) 358-2600 www.questiaddicomust has a collection of books and journal articles in the humanities and social sciences selected by professional collection development librarians. uses dynamic html and javascript. offers monthly ($24.95), quarterly ($49.95), and annual ($129.95) subscription plans. tiflolibros: e-books for the blind www.tiflolibros.com.ar has more than five thousand digital books in spanish that registered members can download using their personal password. includes a small but growing number of books in english, german, french, italian, and portuguese. web-braille 800-424-8567 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.loc.gov/nls/braille provides braille magazines produced by the national library service for the blind and physically handicapped (nls), press-braille books produced by nls since 1992, and braille music scores. access is password-protected and limited to nls patrons (residents of the united states or american citizens living abroad who have a visual or other print disability) and eligible institutions. files, which are in contracted braille ascii format, may be read online or downloaded for viewing offline or embossing. selected list of addiitional resources digital librarian: a librarian's choice of the best of the web www.digital-librarian.comstelectronic.html maintained by margaret vail anderson, a librarian in cortland, new york. directory of electronic text centers, rutgers university harvest.rutgers.edustcethstetextoundirectoryst has links to electronic text centers in the united states, canada, and australiaddi every-digital books, llc www.edigitalbooks.comust provides a clearinghouse for writers to place their electronic literature online. readers can download a book to a computer hard drive or obtain on cd-rom; price varies by size of the file. electronic text collections history.hanover.edustetexts.html has links to historical and literary sources from different time periods in africa, asia, europe, the mi.le east, and the united states. electronic text collections in western european literature www.lib.virginiaddiedustwessstetexts.html lists internet sources for literary texts in western european languages other than english. electronic texts www.usg.edustgalileostinternetstelectronicstelectext.html has links to general collections; classics and history; constitutions, laws, and treaties; economics; literature, drama, and poetry; mythology and folklore; philosophy; and religion. electronic texts and documents, university of washington www.lib.washington.edustsubjectsthumanities/drsteltxt.html has links to a variety of topics, such as country studies, the irish famine, mark twain, the vatican files, and world war i. humanities text initiative, university of michigan www.hti.umich.edust includes the american verse project, different versions of the bible, and the collected works of abraham lincoln (hosted for the abraham lincoln association). letrs: library electronic text resource service www.letrs.indianaddiedust provides humanities-related electronic texts via the internet and in the letrs humanities computing lab, indiana university. library of congress full-text resources www.loc.govstrrsttools.htmlblefulltext includes american memory: historical collections that consists of primary source materials relating to american culture and history; country studies with the full text of handbooks on ninety-one countries; and meeting of frontiers, presented in both english and russian, that tells the story of the exploration and settlement of the american west and of the russian far east and siberia. refdesk.com www.refdesk.comust includes links to electronic texts, virtual encyclopedias, virtual newspapers, and fast facts such as almanacs, quotations, and thesauri. selected bibliography dresner, annaddi finding e-books on the internet. boston, ma: national braille press, 2002. $14. available in large print and braille. (88 st.. stephen street, 02115). facts: web-braille. washington: library of congress, national library service for the blind and physically handicapped, 2003. 2p. free. www.loc.gov/nlsstreferencestfactsheets/webbraille.html . More Resources http:www.baen.comstlibrary http:www.gutenberg.net http:www.gutenberg.net.au http:www.irisaddifriend/privestleplumeystcoursst flash card readers: www.synchrotech.com http:// www.coolerexpress.com http://www.digi4me.com http://www.a-sites.org http:www.memoware.com http:www.accessifyforum.com http:www.headstar.com http://[EMAIL PROTECTED] http:www.webproworl.dcom http:projects.fnb.nlstamsthome.html www.centralwebs.co.ukstlinks/books.html -- Ann K. Parsons email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] WEB SITE: http://home.eznet.net/~akp Skype: Putertutor "All that is gold does not glitter. Not all those who wander are lost." JRRT
