Project Gutenberg Canada, also known as Project Gutenburg of Canada, is a Canadian digital library founded July 1, 2007 by Dr. Mark Akrigg. The website allows Canadian residents to create e-texts and download books, including those that are otherwise not in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work
A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...
in other countries.
It is not formally affiliated with the original
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
, though both share the common objective of making public domain books available for free to the general public as
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
s. Project Gutenburg Canada primarily focuses on works by Canadian authors or about Canada, as well as works in
Canadian French
Canadian French (french: français canadien) is the French language as it is spoken in Canada. It includes Varieties of French#Canada, multiple varieties, the most prominent of which is Quebec French, Québécois (Quebec French). Formerly ''Can ...
.
Distributed Proofreaders Canada
Distributed Proofreaders Canada (DP Canada) is a volunteer organization that converts books into digital format and releases them as public domain books in formats readable by electronic devices. It was launched in December 2007 and has published ...
began contributing ebooks to Project Gutenberg Canada when launched on December 1, 2007.
Canadian public domain
In Canada,
the copyright period for works is 50 years after the year the author has died.
Therefore, if the book was published during the author's lifetime and the author died 51 years ago or more, the book is in the Canadian public domain. Project Gutenberg Canada has received permission to redistribute books still under copyright in some cases.
Some authors whose works have entered the public domain in Canada and are thus available on Project Gutenberg Canada are
A. A. Milne
Alan Alexander Milne (; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winni ...
,
Walter de la Mare
Walter John de la Mare (; 25 April 1873 – 22 June 1956) was an English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for a highly acclaimed selection of ...
,
Sheila Kaye-Smith
Sheila Kaye-Smith (4 February 1887 – 14 January 1956) was an English writer, known for her many novels set in the borderlands of Sussex and Kent in the English regional tradition. Her 1923 book ''The End of the House of Alard'' became a best- ...
,
Amy Carmichael,
Gertrude Lawrence
Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York.
Early life
Lawrence was born Gertr ...
,
Marshall Broomhall
Marshall B. Broomhall (Chinese: 海恩波; 17 July 1866 – 24 October 1937), was a British Protestant Christian missionary to China with the China Inland Mission. He also authored many books on the subject of Chinese missionary work. He was the ...
,
Lilias Trotter
Isabella Lilias Trotter (14 July 1853 – 27 August 1928) was a British artist and a Protestant missionary to Algeria.
Early life
Lilias Trotter was born in Marylebone, London, to Isabella and Alexander Trotter, a wealthy stockbroker for Cout ...
,
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...
,
Isobel Kuhn
Isobel Selina Miller Kuhn, born Isobel Selina Miller, aka, "Belle" (December 17, 1901 – March 20, 1957), known as Isobel Kuhn, was a Canadian Christian missionary to the Lisu people of Yunnan Province, China, and northern Thailand. She served wi ...
, and
George Orwell.
Anti-CUSMA sentiment
In response to the signing and ratification of the
Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), which changed the Canadian copyright from 50 years to 70 years after the author's death, the following message appeared on the website's main page:
See also
*
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
*
Project Gutenberg Australia
Project Gutenberg Australia, abbreviated as PGA, is an Internet site which was founded in 2001 by Colin Choat. It is a sister site of Project Gutenberg, though there is no formal relationship between the two organizations. The site hosts free eboo ...
*
Open access in Canada
In Canada the Institutes of Health Research effected a policy of open access in 2008, which in 2015 expanded to include the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The Public Knowledge ...
References
External links
*
{{Canada-org-stub
Canadian digital libraries
2007 establishments in Canada
Internet properties established in 2007
Intellectual property activism