As usual at this time of the year, I will be sending you some
"Thank You Notes" from our Project Gutenberg readers.
Here is one message, in it's entirety, that I hope you enjoy!
Thanks!!!
Give the world eBooks in 2006!!!
Michael S. Hart
Founder
Project Gutenberg
Blog at http://hart.pglaf.org
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2006 17:48:23 +0100
From: Amy
To: hart@pobox.com
Subject: Thank You for all of your work
Dear Project Gutenberg,
I dont know if many people take the time to thank you, but I just wanted to
express my gratitude for the services you provide. Thank you all for your work
and dedication. Your work is profoundly appreciated. I am a Peace Corps
Volunteer working deep in rural Namibia. I had always admired Project Gutenberg
(even donating some time through Distributed Proofreaders) but I have only
begun to realize how truly important it is since I have been here. When I was
in America it was nice to have access to books whenever I felt like it, without
having to go to the trouble of going to a library or bookshop, but here it is
vital. Bookshops are rare in Namibia (the nearest one to my village is over 250
kilometres away) and the books they sell are often very very expensive
(especially considering my limited financial resources.) Also, the books they
sell are often only in Afrikaans or German, neither of which I understand
(Peace Corps taught me the tribal language in my villageKhoeKhoeinstead.)
Libraries are even rarer and often badly under stocked. I am trying to build up
a school library, but we are dependent on donations and it is much more
important to get easy to read picture books to help the children with their
English than to get classics for my own consumption. Project Gutenberg has
become my library. I didnt realize the importance of plain vanilla texts until
I got here and realized how slow and expensive internet is. The zipped plain
vanilla texts often take less than 5 or 10 minutes to download and provide
hours of reading enjoyment. Thank you for being an equalizing force in
literacy, allowing books to reach those who would otherwise have a hard time
getting them. Your work is thoroughly appreciated. I have shared your site with
other volunteers who also enjoy it. Thank you so much. I am immensely grateful.
Sincerely,
Amy Elizabeth Pedersen
