Today, EPUB and MOBI (also known as Kindle) formats are the most common. Free software for conversion, called ebookmaker (previously called epubmaker) is used to create derivative formats. This helps to assure compatibility for different reader devices. UPLOADING A NEW EBOOK Volunteers upload the master format for their completed eBook to the Project Gutenberg server, where it undergoes automated and manual checks before the new eBook is posted and announced online. Prior to the upload, the copyright clearance must be completed. Upon uploading, automated checks include: HTML checks for validity of the HTML encoding (via the W3C validator); HTML checks for internal link structure; Spelling checks (English, with limited support for other languages); Typo/scanno checks (seeking common scanner/OCR errors, such as “he” for “be” and vice-versa); Conversion checks. The conversion check consists of using the ebookmaker application to automatically generate derived formats. Ideally, resulting files will include: Plain text in UTF8 encoding; Automatically generated HTML (if HTML is not the master format). EPUB and MOBI For HTML, EPUB and MOBI, pairs of files are generated: one with images, and one without. The set of files without images is intended to be friendlier to readers with limited bandwidth, or without the necessary storage space for any images included with the eBook. After uploading, a team of human experts — known as the “whitewashers,” after a scene in Mark Twain’s “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” — does final formatting, attaches the Project Gutenberg header and footer, and uploads the new item to the server at www.gutenberg.org. CATALOGING AND MIRRORING The Project Gutenberg catalog database includes metadata from within each eBook: the author, title, available file formats, upload/publication date, language, etc. Human catalogers eventually add additional metadata, including Library of Congress Subject Headings. This catalog is available for free download in machine readable form (XML/RDF or MARC). Organizations that desire to redistribute Project Gutenberg’s content, freely and without limitations, are invited to do so. The catalog may be used for this purpose, and various mechanisms are available to automatically maintain a copy of the collection itself (i.e., “mirroring”), including for generated content. “NO SWEAT OF THE BROW COPYRIGHT” An important innovation during the evolution of Project Gutenberg was to clarify the notion of “authorship” and its critical role for establishing copyright. In early days, it was common to think that applying HTML markup, or reformatting, or spelling changes, qualified an item for a new copyright. Historically, some print publishers even claimed new copyrights simply for typesetting a new edition.