Wikibooks 329006 225826121 2008-07-15T16:05:32Z JAnDbot 1725149 robot Removing: [[yi:וויקיביבליאטעק]] {{Cleanup|date=August 2007}} {{Infobox Website | name = Wikibooks | logo = [[Image:Wikibooks-logo-en.svg|135px|Wikibooks logo]] | url = [http://www.wikibooks.org/ www.wikibooks.org] | commercial = No | type = Textbooks wiki | language = multilingual | registration = Optional | slogan = Think free. Learn free. | owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]] | author = [[Jimmy Wales]] {{Fact|date=April 2008}} and the Wikimedia Community | launch date = [[July 10]], [[2003]] }} '''Wikibooks''' (previously called '''Wikimedia Free Textbook Project''' and '''Wikimedia-Textbooks''') is a [[Wikimedia Foundation]] [[wiki]] for the creation of [[free content]] [[b:WB:WIW|textbooks and annotated texts]] that anyone can edit. ==History== Wikibooks was launched on [[July 10]], [[2003]], in response to a request made by [[Wikipedia]] contributor Karl Wick for a project to host and build free textbooks such as [[organic chemistry]] and [[physics]]. Two major sub-projects [[Wikijunior]] and [[Wikiversity]] were created within Wikibooks before Wikibooks' official policy was later changed so that future incubator type projects are started according to the Wikimedia Foundation's [[Meta:New project policy|new project policy]]. In August 2006, Wikiversity became an independent Wikimedia Foundation project. Wikijunior has been proposed as a full Wikimedia sister project. Some discussion for its creation as a sister project reached the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, but it was an incomplete proposal{{Fact|date=December 2007}}. The Internet domain name http://wikijunior.org/ was registered by the Wikimedia Foundation in anticipation of Wikijunior's becoming a sister project later. ==Book Content== [[Image:Wikibooks growth.png|thumb|Growth of the seven largest Wikibooks sites (by language), July 2003&nbsp;– Jan 2008]] While some books are original, others began as text copied over from other sources of free content textbooks found on the Internet. All of the site's content is covered by the [[GNU Free Documentation License]]. This means that, as with its sister project, Wikipedia, contributions remain copyrighted to their creators, while the [[copyleft]] licensing ensures that the content will always remain freely distributable and reproducible. Wikibooks differs from [[Wikisource]] in that content on Wikibooks is expected to be significantly changed by participants. Raw source documents such as the original text of [[Shakespeare|Shakespearean plays]] are hosted on Wikisource instead. The project is working towards completion of several textbooks in numerous [[human language]]s, which founders hope will be followed by mainstream adoption and use of text developed and housed there. ==Criticisms== Wikibooks has many incomplete texts, and many argue that even the comprehensive texts (books rated at the highest level) are of poor quality. The [[Wiki|wiki model]] encourages the creation of abortive book projects that linger indefinitely without being improved or deleted, and it can be extremely hard for a visitor of the Wikibooks site to find any high-quality{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, completed books. Wikibooks also inherits all the [[criticism of Wikipedia|criticisms levelled towards wiki-process editing]] in general. The counter arguments to these criticisms are that Wikibooks content is available for almost continuous peer review, and thanks to the wiki-style editing, this project also inherits all of the strengths of wikis. For popular titles and items that gather interest from several participants, the quality of the content tends to improve rapidly. Noted books that have achieved this are all highly technical books{{Fact|date=October 2007}}, especially related to computers and the Internet, as well as linguistic books related to (human) language learning. ==Similar projects== *[[Project Gutenberg]] *[[wikiHow]] - a for-profit site with a collection of how-to guides ==See also== *[[Digital library]] (or [[Virtual library]]) *[[e-book]] *[[Elibrary]] *[[ibiblio]] *[[Open Content Alliance]] *[[The European Library]] *[[Universal library]] *[[Global Text]] ==External links== * [[m:Wikibooks|Wikibooks page on Meta-Wiki]] * [[b:Main Page|English Wikibooks' Main Page]] * [http://www.wikibooks.org/ Wikibooks' multilingual portal] * [http://news.com.com/Wikibooks+takes+on+textbook+industry/2100-1025_3-5884291.html Wikibooks takes on textbook industry] * [[m:List of Wikibooks|Wikibooks Language Editions]] ==References== <references /> * {{cite web|title=All Systems Go: The Newly Emerging Infrastructure to Support Free Books|work=Ben Crowell|url=http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/infrastructure.html|accessmonthday=June 18 |accessyear=2006}} {{Wikimedia Foundation}} {{Wikipediahistory}} [[Category:Internet properties established in 2003]] [[Category:Digital libraries]] [[Category:Wikimedia projects|Books, Wiki]] [[Category:Wikis]] [[ang:Wicibēc]] [[ar:ويكي الكتب]] [[bg:Уикикниги]] [[ca:Viquillibres]] [[cs:Wikiknihy]] [[da:Wikibooks]] [[de:Wikibooks]] [[el:Wikibooks]] [[es:Wikilibros]] [[eo:Vikilibroj]] [[fa:ویکی‌نسک]] [[fr:Wikibooks]] [[ko:위키책]] [[ig:Wikibooks]] [[id:Wikibooks]] [[is:Wikibækur]] [[it:Wikibooks]] [[he:ויקיספר]] [[ka:ვიკიწიგნები]] [[lt:Vikiknygos]] [[hu:Wikikönyvek]] [[mt:Wikibooks]] [[ms:Wikibuku]] [[cdo:Wiki Gáu-kuŏ-cṳ̆]] [[nl:Wikibooks]] [[ja:ウィキブックス]] [[no:Wikibooks]] [[nn:Wikibooks]] [[pl:Wikibooks]] [[pt:Wikilivros]] [[ru:Викиучебник]] [[sco:Wikibooks]] [[sq:Wikibooks]] [[simple:Wikibooks]] [[sk:Wikiknihy]] [[sl:Wikiknjige]] [[fi:Wikikirjasto]] [[sv:Wikibooks]] [[th:วิกิตำรา]] [[vi:Wikibooks]] [[tr:Vikikitap]] [[zh-yue:維基書本]] [[zh:維基教科書]]