Notices by Project Gutenberg (gutenberg_org@mastodon.social)

Happy Public Domain Day 2026 (Jan. 1) from Duke Law School's Center for the Study of the Public Domain. To read more about the public domain

via Duke University School of Law

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh9f_k7fQPA&t=33s

More information here:
https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2026/

#books #literature #publicDomainDayCountdown

The original knights of Camelot return

Games can’t really be copyrighted as such, but their texts and visual elements can be. That leaves some games in an intellectual property limbo, like Camelot, a strategy game published in 1930 that’s now long out of production.

By John Mark Ockerbloom

https://everybodyslibraries.com/2025/12/13/the-original-knights-of-camelot-return/

About Camelot:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camelot_(board_game)

#games #publicDomainDayCountdown

Belle da Costa, the woman who concealed her origins in 1905 and ended up running New York’s most legendary library

The Morgan Library in New York pays tribute to its first director, who navigated a racist society and went on to lead the cultural institution for over two decades

by Use Lahoz

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2025-12-09/belle-da-costa-the-woman-who-concealed-her-origins-in-1905-and-ended-up-running-new-yorks-most-legendary-library.html

#books #librarians #publiclibrary

Esther Lederberg (December 18, 1922 – November 11, 2006) pioneered bacterial genetics, discovering lambda phage and F factor, inventing replica plating and furthered the understanding of the transfer of genes between bacteria by specialized transduction. She founded Stanford's Plasmid Reference Center. Despite groundbreaking work, she never got tenure and her discoveries are often credited to her Nobel laureate husband.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esther_Lederberg

#microbiology #womeninStem

One of the World’s Oldest Calculators Was Up for Auction. Then, Scientists Rallied and Temporarily Blocked Its Sale

French scholars argued that the 17th-century Pascaline should go to a public collection and stay within the country. But a Paris court may take months to make a final decision on the device’s fate

by Margherita Bassi

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/one-of-the-worlds-oldest-calculators-was-up-for-auction-then-scientists-rallied-and-temporarily-blocked-its-sale-180987748/?utm_source=smithsoniandaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=editorial&lctg=93133550

Origin of modern calculating machines by J. A. V. Turck at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69386

#books #calculating_machines

Explore 1,100 Works of Art by Georgia O’Keeffe: They’re Digitized and Free to View Online

https://www.openculture.com/2025/10/1100-works-of-art-by-georgia-okeeffe.html

#art

Project to bring voices of enslaved people to life

"The National Archives is working with international academics to make the largest collection of first-person testimony of enslaved people from the Caribbean in existence – the Reports of the Protectors of Slaves – accessible to researchers anywhere in the world"

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/about/news/project-to-bring-voices-of-enslaved-people-to-life/

#history #slavery

#OTD In 1858, Swedish writer Selma Lagerlöf was born.

"She published her first novel, Gösta Berling's Saga, at the age of 33. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, which she was awarded in 1909. In 1914, she was the first woman to be granted a membership of the Swedish Academy"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selma_Lagerl%C3%B6f

Books by Lagerlöf at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/1717

#books #literature

The Wonderful Public Domain of Oz

https://blog.archive.org/2025/11/17/the-wonderful-public-domain-of-oz/

Baum's books at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/42

Ruth Plumly Thompson's books at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/34661

#books #literature

Mary Wollstonecraft, The Woman Who Laid the Foundation for Feminism

"Think 18th-century feminism must be outdated? Think again—there is still so much to learn from the life and writing of Mary Wollstonecraft."

https://www.thecollector.com/mary-wollstonecraft-woman-laid-foundation-feminism/

Wollstonecraft at PG:

https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/84

#books #literature

Music and Musicians in the Medieval Persianate World

From royal courts to wine-filled gatherings, music played a vital role in medieval Persianate culture. Two remarkable texts — one practical, one theoretical — reveal how musicians lived, performed, and understood their art.

By Timur Khan

https://www.medievalists.net/2025/11/music-and-musicians-in-the-medieval-persianate-world/

Music at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/677

#books #music #literature

Einstein’s Divorce Letters and the Cruel List of Marital Demands He Imposed on His First Wife

https://www.openculture.com/2025/10/einsteins-divorce-letters-and-the-cruel-list-of-marital-demands-he-imposed-on-his-first-wife.html

Mileva Marić and Albert Einstein

#history #scientists

"The moment of discovery" does not always exist: the scientist's work is too tenuous, too divided, for the certainty of success to crackle out suddenly in the midst of his laborious toil like a stroke of lightening, dazzling him by its fire.

In: Eve Curie - Madame Curie - Chapter XII (p. 158)

~Marie Curie #BOTD in 1867.

#physics #radioactivity #womeninStem

4 Famous Historical Siblings Who Deserve Recognition

"They may have received all the fame, but some of history’s most impactful players had brothers and sisters who made their own mark. Here are four famous historical siblings."

https://www.thecollector.com/famous-historical-siblings-deserve-recognition/

Maria Anna Mozart

#history

Project Gutenberg CEO Greg Newby helped put a trove of literature online

by John Last

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-greg-newby-project-gutenberg-ceo-literature-public-domain-hacker/?intcmp=gift_share

You are deeply missed @gbnewby. Thanks for keeping us together!

#ebooks #publicdomain

43 of the Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language

From Washington Irving to Kristen Roupenian

by Emily Temple

https://lithub.com/43-of-the-most-iconic-short-stories-in-the-english-language/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_id=01K79MGEGZH9P99XV5TYYXXQ4V&_kx=3MZUehzXM-41qlWAMPUiuNZadX2p0SByuNf_t0eMLB0.U5D8ER

Short stories at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/bookshelf/634

#books #literature

Famous Medieval Words and Their Surprising Origins

Words like castles, Vikings, and even medieval itself instantly evoke the Middle Ages. Some of these terms were used by people of the time, while others were coined centuries later to describe their world. Each carries traces of history, revealing how language has preserved — and reimagined — the medieval past.

https://www.medievalists.net/2025/10/medieval-words-origins/

Medieval words at PG:
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=medieval+words

#books #literature

Louvre robbery: Could a 50-year-old maths problem have kept the museum safe?

An audacious heist at the Louvre saw thieves make off with priceless crown jewels in broad daylight – here is how a decades-old geometry problem can help museums boost their security.

By Kit Yates

https://www.bbc.co.uk/future/article/20251030-louvre-robbery-the-50-year-old-maths-problem-that-can-boost-museum-security

#art #culture #mathematics

The Americas’ oldest book is an intricate work of Maya astronomy

Created in the 11th or 12th century, the Códice Maya de México (the Maya Codex of Mexico) is the oldest of these works and the only one to predate the arrival of the conquistadors in the 16th century.

https://aeon.co/videos/the-americas-oldest-book-is-an-intricate-work-of-maya-astronomy

#books #astronomy

Public Domain Stories

Explore Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original Sherlock Holmes adventures — preserved and shared by https://www.gutenberg.org/.

https://sherlockholmes.com/pages/public-domain-stories

#books #literature #publicdomain