The Open Library

The Internet Archive has launched a demo of the Open Library, a project that seeks to gather all the information about all the world's books and make it publicly available as a giant books wiki.

What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book. First, the library must be on the Internet. No physical space could be as big or as universally accessible as a public web site. Second, it must be grandly comprehensive. It would take catalog entries from every library and publisher and random Internet user who is willing to donate them.

But most importantly, such a library must be fully open. Not simply 'free to the people,' but a product of the people: letting them create and curate its catalog, contribute to its content, participate in its governance, and have full, free access to its data. So let us do just that: let us build the Open Library.

(via Boing Boing)