Linux and OSS to Aid the Library of Congress

flakeman2 writes with a link to Linux.com article about Linux's new role at the Library of Congress. The national archive of books is looking to begin an ambitious digitization project, aimed at getting some rare and crumbling documents into the public record online. These will include "Civil War and genealogical documents, technical and artistic works concerning photography, scores of books, and the 850 titles written, printed, edited, or published by Benjamin Franklin. According to Brewster Kahle of the Internet Archive, which developed the digitizing technology, open source software will play an 'absolutely critical' role in getting the job done. The main component is Scribe, a combination of hardware and free software. 'Scribe is a book-scanning system that takes high-quality images of books and then does a set of manipulations, gets them in optical character recognition and compressed, so you can get beautiful, printable versions of the book that are also searchable,' says Kahle." Linux.com and Slashdot.org are both owned by OSTG.

Comments

Help the Library of Congress save American History

[JanusFury]

For the past few months Microsoft has been dispatching crack teams of special operatives into the past to alter the course of American History for their benefit, in hopes of eventually transforming the United States into the New Microsoft Empire. But little do they know, a world-weary Librarian and Ex-Marine at the Library of Congress won't stand for that shit. He's put together a team of agents in hopes of reversing the damage to the timestream before it becomes irreversable. Together with Agents Linus Torvalds (Technology Specialist - Special power: x-ray glasses), Donald Trump (Logistics Specialist - Special power: nuclear fusion comb-over) and Stephen Hawking (Quantum Physics Specialist - Special power: medusa glare), he just may be the only hope for American History's future.

It's only natural

[donglekey]

So many technologies have been made specifically to hold libraries of congress.

As a Christian, I oppose this

[Anonymous Coward]

I am a Christian, as were the Founding Fathers, who this established this country as a nation under GOD. They would be, as am I, deeply offended and disgusted to see the homosexual communist software known as Linux used in the hallowed halls of the Library of Congress.

Re:Help the Library of Congress save American Hist

[Anonymous Coward]

The leader of Microsoft's team of time-travelling commandos

Re:All copyrighted works should be held

[forkazoo]

At the same time, unless congress wants to hold and distribute material of questionable moral quality, the copyright law could be amended to limit the protections of copyright to those works that do actually further the arts and the sciences as defined in the constitution.

Sir, you pre-suppose that morally questionable articles do not serve to further the arts or the sciences. I protest most heartily. Every modern technology is served by serving pornography, as we all know. Let us firstly ponder the case of VHS and BetaMax to settle that matter in a stroke. As for the arts, I think it is clear to say that such works as the Seduction of Misty Mundae served to elevate the erotic art form in any manner of ways, at least so much as any diserotic work served to also further the diserotic arts. Or, should you feel a need for some further example, I might offer up the Lord of the G Strings as an additional point. Rather than endevouring the hold the plot to a dramatic study of youthful exploration, as in the case of Seduction, Lord served to offer up comedic commentary and parody against the institions of our society. In so doing it clearly also furthered the arts.

Fie apon you sir, that youw ould so readily dismiss Misty Mundae's films on mere moral grounds. Fie, indeed.

Now, I just need to torrent me a copy of Spiderbabe. I heard that shit is hot.

Re:Scribe?

[Ceriel Nosforit]

Ah, thank you. Clearly your google-fu is superior to mine. ;)