250,000 of the British Library’s out-of-copyright books from 1700 to 1870 will be digitized by Google, both sides confirmed today. This means the whole world will get access to important tomes, pamphlets and periodicals spanning some 40 million pages, via Google Books and the British Library’s website. More »

Gizmodo

Got a Kindle? Get thee to the British Library! Not only are they giving away a ton of old 19th-century literature in e-book form, but they’re a special “first edition” e-book with the original typeface and illustrations baked in. The 1800s encompass nearly all of my favorite literature, so this is actually making me want a Kindle pretty bad right now. Original typefaces! O lawd!

If Dickens and Austen aren’t your thing (pity) there are lots of other great works as well. None of the articles describing the project list more than a few titles, but I’m guessing you are likely to have some Dumas, Jules Verne, Arthur Conan Doyle, and of course Melville. Whatever the case, they’re going to be beautiful copies that make good use of those high contrast e-ink screens.

The project is funded by Microsoft, which donated “a very generous amount” to the library to enable the giveaway. They’ll be made available in the spring, at which time I’ll probably post again because I love love love this.

Ever find yourself wandering around Manhattan with nothing but a netbook in your backpack? Who doesn’t, right? Well, if that’s the case, get thee to the New York Public Library. It seems there’s a new Wi-Fi room that’s the bee’s knees.

The room officially goes by the name of the Edna Barnes Salomon Room, though it will by the end of the day be forever known as The Wi-Fi Room. The room, which re-opens today, is there for people who want to surf the Web, read stuff online, etc.

And, starting next week, you’ll even be able to borrow a laptop with which to surf, I don’t know, Marca and El Mundo Deportivo all day long.

Karl Marx : The Reading Room in the British Library :: [Who?] : The Wi-Fi Room?