July 1971 > Project Gutenberg, a visionary project

The first ebook was available in July 1971, as eText #1 of Project

Gutenberg, a visionary project launched by Michael Hart to create

electronic versions of literary works and disseminate them worldwide.

In the 16th century, Gutenberg allowed anyone to have print books for a

small cost. In the 21st century, Project Gutenberg would allow anyone

to have a digital library at no cost. Project Gutenberg got its first

boost with the invention of the web in 1990 and its second boost with

the creation of Distributed Proofreaders in 2000, to help digitizing

books from public domain. In 2010, Project Gutenberg offered more than

33,000 ebooks being downloaded by the tens of thousands every day, with

websites in the United States, in Australia, in Europe, and in Canada.

Booknology: The eBook (1971-2010) · 第 5 / 92 题