The Library Information Exchange! - A new group that aims to be the Freecycle of swapping information stored away in libraries

[WildVirtue]

The Library Information Exchange!​

It's a longshot idea to get off the ground, but I'm hoping this group may become as active as any other freecycle group, just rather than swapping physical items locally, we'll be swapping digital items internationally.

You simply offer your services to find some rare piece of information stored away in some library local to your area. And then you can request information stored away in libraries internationally and hope someone is willing and able to go for you.

For instance, lots of university special collections archives have non-copyrighted information where they just haven't got round to digitalizing every item or haven't got round to building public website posts to show off every item.

As well, it can sometimes be impossible to make sense of the difference between various obscurely listed items in an archive, and library staff may only have time to send files rather than answering long questions, so you might need a person to go down there with instructions to see it in person for you.

Finally, in situations where you're only allowed to request scans of a couple of folders per month online, you might intrigue someone into requesting a scan of an archived folder on a subject you're both interested in, and then be able to pool your resources to see what both your scans add up to.

On Facebook, Reddit & Discord:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/522160072632411

https://www.reddit.com/r/LibraryInfoExchange/

https://discord.gg/Fcs35D9rVx

 

[Colinleath]

You know about libgen.is already?

Re: your project, it would probably be best to contact a professor or student at that library who shares an interest in the document.

Or a librarian. Or ask someone on craigslist? Pay someone on fiverr?

But who knows, maybe it is possible to create a network of library lovers to do this. . . Looks like there are people on the discord.

Back in the day i used to use inter library loan to avoid buying books. But these days i can get most of what I want digitally.

 

[WildVirtue]

You know about libgen.is already?

Re: your project, it would probably be best to contact a professor or student at that library who shares an interest in the document.

Or a librarian. Or ask someone on craigslist? Pay someone on fiverr?

But who knows, maybe it is possible to create a network of library lovers to do this. . . Looks like there are people on the discord.

Back in the day i used to use inter library loan to avoid buying books. But these days i can get most of what I want digitally.

I tried all the above besides fiverr, but nothing came of it.

I'm also building a resource list of similar projects, so feel free to leave your suggestions in a reply and I'll keep updating the list

Index​

Swapping Items

• Paperback Swap
• r/Scholar
• Trash nothing
• The Great British Reuse Map
• Little Free Library

Online Libraries

• BookZZ
• Libgen
• Sci-Hub
• Project Gutenberg

Search Tool

• WorldCat
• PubMed
• Crossref
• dx.doi.org

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Swapping Items​

Paperback Swap

Lets you send books you have but no longer want for credits you can then use for books other people have but don't want. Sending books through the mail isn't even that expensive since you get a discounted Media Mail rate.

Keep in mind, if you want to get rid of your copy of Fifty Shades of Gray you'll have to wait until like 300 other people are able to find someone who wants their copy. Also, if you think you can just order up a popular book like Ready Player Two, you'll have to wait until 100 other people find someone with a copy they want to give up. That will likely take a while, fortunately giving you enough time to upgrade your reading standards.

Standard Members ($20 a year) request books with Book Credits only and never pay Swap Fees. Limited Members ($12 a year) can make 30 requests per year using Book Credits only without paying any Swap Fees. A la Carte members (free) pay a 49-cent Swap Fee plus Book Credit for each request.

r/Scholar

This subreddit is for requesting and sharing specific articles available in various databases. And it has over 86,000 Members.

Trash nothing

Provides a new web interface designed to make freecycling groups quicker, easier and more accessible.

The Great British Reuse Map

Are you unsure what the easiest option is to find or donate reused items? Well now there’s a map and article to explain all your options, including:

• Food Banks, Real Junk Food Projects & Food Not Bombs Events
• Reuse Centres
• Free Item Gifting Organisations
• Free Item Gifting Facebook Groups
• Repair Cafes

Little Free Library

Promotes neighborhood book exchanges, usually in the form of a public bookcase. More than 90,000 public book exchanges are registered with the organization and branded as Little Free Libraries.

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Online Libraries​

BookZZ

Z-Library is one of the largest online libraries in the world that contains over 9,945,695 books and 84,837,000 articles. We aim to make literature accessible to everyone.

Libgen

Library Genesis (LibGen) is the largest free library in history: giving the world free access to 84 million scholarly journal articles, 6.6 million academic and general-interest books, 2.2 million comics, and 381 thousand magazines.

Sci-Hub

The first website in the world to provide mass & public access to research papers

Project Gutenberg

Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for you to enjoy.

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Search Tool​

WorldCat

WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions, in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative.

PubMed

PubMed comprises more than 33 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Crossref

For metadata searches.

dx.doi.org

To resolve a DOI name.

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[Colinleath]

Where is this library you want something from?

There are many travelers on this site; perhaps someone here would undertake the quest.

OLIO – The #1 Free Sharing App - https://olioex.com/ is another sharing site (started for food and then expanded)

 

[WildVirtue]

OLIO – The #1 Free Sharing App - https://olioex.com/ is another sharing site (started for food and then expanded)

Added it to the list, much appreciated.

Where is this library you want something from?

There are many travelers on this site; perhaps someone here would undertake the quest.

It's in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but anyone can request scans of it online.

Truth Versus Lies
Author: Theodore John Kaczynski
ISBN 10: 1893956008 ISBN 13: 9781893956001
Publisher: Context Books
Date Published: 1999

It's this book that went to the printers, but they hit stop the press on the first day and never distributed it due to a conflict over edits. I've got a scanned version of the 1st draft, but it's got missing text due to scanning blotches, so I need to see the most recent draft by Context Books to figure out the missing text.

Requesting Scans Online​

Here’s a registration form to to be able to request items:
Aeon - Registration - https://aeon.lib.umich.edu/aeon/Aeon.dll?Action=10&Form=79

And here’s the request form for the Kaczynski archive:
Aeon - EAD Requests (umich.edu)

You just have to:

• Tick box 67, where there's a 3rd draft of the TVL book in folders 1 & 2, called “Truth versus Lies, Pages 171 – 263”.
• Then after the list of boxes, tick "Duplication".
• Then where it says "Other Detail, Inclusive Pages, Etc." Write "I'd like scans of folder numbers 1 & 2, called Truth versus Lies, Pages 171 – 263” & “Truth versus Lies, Pages 264 – 333".

You can only request 2 items per month, but I’ve already requested the first part, so we can simply combine them together afterwards.

It might also be good to get scans of Envelope X, in box 73, folder 10, which contains full names of the abbreviated names from the book.

As well as potentially the Context Books correspondence, in box 12, folders 3 & 4. Apparently letters #71 & #72 in that folder has information about ways he would have liked the book to be edited for a 2nd draft, which I guess they either didn't do or did do, but added edits he didn't like.

There's tons of other interesting material you could request also, for instance there's two short autobiographies he wrote that are in box 68, folders 7 & 8.

And here's the full archive contents list: Ted Kaczynski Papers 1996-2014 (umich.edu)

Visiting the Reading Room​

It's just the same registration form to to be able to request items or visit the reading room:
Aeon - Registration - https://aeon.lib.umich.edu/aeon/Aeon.dll?Action=10&Form=79

And the same request form for booking the reading room:
Aeon - EAD Requests (umich.edu)

You have to submit your request at least one week in advance of your visit. And here's the address:

Sixth Floor, Room 660
Hatcher Library South
913 S. University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1190

You definitely have permission to take photos as the archive curator confirmed on the website blog article The Ted Kaczynski Papers:

 

[Colinleath]

Sounds like an interesting mission should anyone want to undertake it!

You've got the instructions well spelled out.

If the library was in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Haifa I'd give it a shot.

 

[WildVirtue]

If the library was in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Haifa I'd give it a shot.

Much appreciated, I'm in the same position in the UK. It would be so much easier to just go through it all in the reading room.

But besides going in person, if anyone who sees this would like to request scans of items from the university website and then compare notes on what we get back, just let me know.

 

[Tony Pro]

I think this is a concept well worth developing. I frequently find myself staring frustratedly at Worldcat when it says the book I so desperately need is sitting unappreciated in a library 3 states away. I’m still grateful to the redditor at UCLA who scanned an entire book for me in exchange for me getting him a Charizard plushie off his amazon wishlist.