BookServer: A Plan to Build an Open Web of Books

The Internet Archive has just unveiled their ambitious project called BookServer, which will allow users to find, buy, or borrow digital books from sources all across the web. The system, built on an open architecture and using open book formats, promises that the books housed there will work on any device whether that's a laptop, PC, smartphone, game console, or one of the myriad of e-Readers like Amazon's Kindle.

The project's lofty goal is to essentially create an open web of books where anyone can publish their books and make their content available via search.

Today, a few booksellers have partnered with the BookServer system including Feedbooks, O'Reilly, Adobe, and the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project.

Web Of Books

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The Day It All Changed

Rarely, in my career have I been "blown away" by a demonstration. Tonight, "blown away" doesn't even begin to describe it. I should have seen it coming, but, I didn't. I was completely blindsided. I was blindsided by the vision of Brewster Kahle, the raw brilliance of his team, and the entire group of individuals and companies who played a role in Brewster's "convocation".

What I saw, was many of the dreams and visions of e-book aficionados everywhere becoming a demonstrable reality tonight. I say 'demonstrable', because by Brewster’s own admission, it's not ready for prime time, but the demonstration was enough to make my head spin with the possibilities. But you don't really want to know that, so let me do my best to just report what I saw.

Let's start from the beginning…

Tonight, Brewster Kahle, Internet Archive Founder and Chief Librarian, introduced what he calls his “BookServer” project.

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