On 6 May 2005, at 11:29, Michael Hart wrote:
We have received very good conservative legal advice that Project Gutenberg is indeed a library or archive, and probably both, and has been for over a decade.
Branko Collin wrote:
"Likewise, he encouraged libraries to "push back against the easy assertion that Project Gutenberg is a library.""
(I am not sure what that person was on about though. Full article at <http://www.cornellsun.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/06/427b00a8eff7 d>.)
He seemed to be claiming that people cannot make full use of books without the assistance of traditional "gatekeepers" like publishers, teachers and librarians. Since it does not provide these kinds of intermediaries to help readers understand the books it offers he therefore appears to have concluded that PG cannot be called a library. Richard Poynder www.richardpoynder.com