Library FAQS
This is a list of answers to common questions asked about the library.
Storing the Library
How to store an electronic/digital library in the event of a Solar/Manmade EMP which destroy electronic/digital equipment.
Reader Programs
These are the two most common programs used to read the Library files. Adobe reader is a commercial program and read only PDFs. Sumatra is a free and open source program which reads not only PDFs but a variety of other formats.
But any program which will display and print PDF files should work just fine.
—>WARNING!!!<—
Many of these books are from an age before Attorneys and Government Agencies existed to protect us from ourselves, the world and ensure that we’d all live forever and never suffer a scratch, bruise or other injury.
These books have been collected over the years primarily for their Historical value in teaching us about the way prior generations lived.
ALWAYS keep in mind that the knowledge, techniques and skills in these books come from a century ago, sometimes earlier. They date from a time before we understood such things as disease vectors and the toxicity of substances such as mercury. While we’ve included the medical and food related books because there are many valuable, tried and true techniques that have been forgotten over time, they do contain formulas, recipes and knowledge that we now know to be dangerous and harmful. Before considering using any of these techniques or applying the skills and knowledge in them, apply common sense and modern knowledge. If you’re in any doubt about the safety of something in these books either consult an expert or don’t use them.
COPYRIGHTS:
All of the books listed are Public Domain or have expired Copyrights so you are free to download and print them. All of them are in PDF format and are primarily from page scans of original printed book sources. In many cases there is also an EPUB version available.
BLACK AND WHITE PDF vs COLOR PDF:
In many cases there are both color and B/W PDF versions of books. In the majority of cases the color information in the PDF relates only to the yellowing of the paper or the color of covers or front papers. In the majority of cases we will provide the B/W version of the book because it makes it easier to print a readable copy and the file size is smaller. Few people have the resources to print entire books in color, especially when the color is simply yellowed paper background. In cases where color is an integral part of the book such as illustrations of plants or flowers we will post the color version of the PDF. If there is a particular book that is in a B/W format for which you have need of the color PDF (if there is one) please contact me and I’ll try to obtain it for you and email it or make it available in the Library.
REVIEWS AND ERRORS:
If you download and read the books from the Library, we’d like to ask that you submit reviews of any you find particularly useful or NON-useful. We’ll be publishing User Book Reviews in our weekly Newsletter along with our own Reviews and lists of new additions. If you encounter any books that have corrupted files, broken links, misnamed books, books in the wrong category, etc., please let us know. You can email your Book Reviews and comments to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or leave them on our Contact Us page.
SOURCES:
The books have been procured form a wide variety of sources, predominantly Universities and historical research collections throughout the world. Some are on obscure sites related to the subject of the book. Others come from various government agencies as well as national and international non-government organizations. Yet others come from private collections. You’ll notice the Google, Microsoft and other company imprints on some of the documents. These companies, in support of online library projects, have funded the scanning and digitizing work at many organizations and institutions through the world.
In most cases if there are multiple versions of a book we will only include the latest one published. In some cases we will included multiple copies of a book from different years if the information in them varies significantly or the changes in information vary significantly from one edition to another. It is often quite interesting and educational to see What information changed and Why. In some cases an earlier version of a book may contain chapters and sections of information that is left out of a later book which itself contains additional information not in the earlier edition.
CONTRIBUTIONS and SUGGESTIONS:
If you have any books you’d like to contribute to the collection please send them to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or email the location of a document we can add.
