View source for Project Runeberg

{{Short description|Nordic digital cultural archive}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox website
| name             = Project Runeberg
| logo             = Projekt Runeberg logo.png
| url              = {{URL|https://runeberg.org/}}
| commercial       = No
| type             = [[Digital library]]
| language         = Swedish, English
| founded = {{Start date and age|1992|6|paren=yes}}<ref name="Runeberg_Foundation">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=June 1992 |language=en |quote=Start of Gopher Service at Lysator: The 1992 Nordic University Computer Clubs' Conference (NUCCC) is hosted by Lysator in Linköping. At the final session it is decided that all clubs should start Internet information services to display their activites towards each other. ''Lars Aronsson maintains Lysator's Gopher server and tries to figure out how to fill the menus with interesting information.''}}</ref>
| country_of_origin = {{flag|SWE|name=Sweden}}
| founder = Students of Lysator computer club at [[Linköping University]]
| key_people = Lars&nbsp;Aronsson
| editors =
| registration     = Optional
| launch_date      = {{bulleted list|
|<code>gopher.lysator.liu.se</code><br/>{{Start date and age|1992|12|13|paren=yes|br=yes|df=yes}} (Gopher)<ref name="Runeberg_Launch">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=July 1992 |language=en |quote=Start of Project Runeberg: Lars Aronsson collects some existing datafiles with poems by Viktor Rydberg and Erik Stagnelius under a menu called "Project Runeberg" in Lysator's Gopher server. The idea to start a project like this has been around for almost a year. The inspiration comes from Project Gutenberg, USA. The first files to be retrieved from the new "Projekt Runeberg" menu of Lysator's Gopher server at 8:10 PM on December 13, 1992, are the first verses of Fänrik Ståls sägner. ''This time counts as the start of the project.'' The next two editions to be accessed are Nordic Words (at 8:11 PM) and Bibeln (at 8:38 PM).}}</ref>
|<code><noWiki>http://runeberg.org</noWiki></code><br/>{{Start date and age|29 October 2002|paren=yes|br=yes}} (Website)<ref name="Runeberg.org_Launch">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=October 29, 2002 |language=en |quote=UppLYSning: […] Linköping University and ''Lysator have also okayed our use of the domain name runeberg.org'' and our 10th anniversary celebrations are planned for December 13th.}}</ref><ref name="Runeberg.org_Fatabur">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=December 3, 2003 |language=en |quote=Fatabur: Project Runeberg's own server Fatabur is installed in LYSATOR's computer room and the domain name runeberg.org is pointed to its IP address 130.236.254.104.}}</ref>
}}
| current_status   = Online
}}

'''Project Runeberg''' ({{langx|sv|Projekt Runeberg}}) is a digital-archive initiative for digitization of written works significant to the culture and history of the [[Nordic countries]], with a focus on  Scandinavian literature and writings.<ref name="ne">Ingemar Breithel, Ed., 2015, "Posten: Projekt Runeberg" [''in Swedish''; Engl., "Entry: Project Runeberg"], at ''[[Nationalencyklopedin]]'' (online encyclopedia), see [http://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/lång/projekt-runeberg], retrieved 22 April 2015. {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name="Boldemann03">Marcus Boldemann, 2003, ""Kultur: Ugglan" hoar gratis på nätet" [''in Swedish''; Engl., Culture: "'The owl' hoots for free online"], ''[[Dagens Nyheter]]'' (online), 23 April 2003, see [https://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/ugglan-hoar-gratis-pa-natet/]. Retrieved 22 April 2015.</ref> The ''Projekt Runeberg'' was founded by Swedish students of [[Linköping University]], which began digitizing Nordic-language literature as early as 1991<ref name="Runeberg_beginnings"/> – The project takes its name from the Finnish national poet [[Johan Ludvig Runeberg]] and is a word-play of similar-natured [[Project Gutenberg]].

== Nature ==
''Projekt Runeberg'' is a digital cultural archive initiative that publishes free electronic versions of books and to digitize and archive written cultural works of literature, with a focus of Scandinavian and comparable Nordic origin with given cultural significance or historical importance.

It is patterned after the similar-named English-language cultural initiative [[Project Gutenberg]] and its similar effort, whereas the project's name is a word-play of the fact that old Nordic literature are often being written in [[Runes|Nordic Runes]], and PG's ties to the name of German inventor [[Johannes Gutenberg]] – Inventor of the printing-press, which works eventually helped to quickly accelerate the spread of the Bible.

The initiative seeks to publishes free electronic versions of formerly digitized books and writings as Ebooks in various formats such as EPub or PDF.

== History ==
The Runeberg-project itself was initiated by Swedish students around [[Lars Aronsson]] and other colleagues of the [[Lysator]] Academic Computer Club at the [[Linköping University]], Sweden, which began systematically digitizing and archiving Nordic-language literature around June 1992,<ref name="Runeberg_Launch"/> while efforts started as early as July 1991,<ref name="Runeberg_beginnings">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=July, 1991 |language=en |quote='''Swedish Bible Typing Starts''': In LysKOM, Linus Tolke makes the announcement that he has started to digitize (keyboard entry) the text of the Swedish Bible of 1917. Per Cederqvist later heads this activity in 1993 and 1994 as a part of Project Runeberg.}}</ref> when student Linus Tolke announced on the computer-club's conference-system ''LysKOM'', to have  started digitizing the ''Gospel of John'' of the [[Bible translations into Swedish#Translations used by the Church of Sweden|Swedish Bible of 1917]] (''1917 års Bibelöversättning'').<ref name="Bible_translation">{{Cite web |first=Linus |last=Tolke |title=The Bible in Swedish on g... |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=July 21, 1991 |language=en |quote='''From LysKOM in July 1991''': Written on July 21st, 1991, this article from LysKOM is the first known evidence of systematic literature digitization activities in LYSATOR. The author, Linus Tolke, is also known as the creator of SvenskMUD.}}</ref>

The Project began archiving its first Nordic-language literature pieces (parts of the ''[[The Tales of Ensign Stål|Fänrik Ståls Sägner]]'', of Nordic dictionaries and of a Bible from 1917) in December 1992.<ref name="comp_Visi">{{Cite web | title = Visionär med oviss framtid | trans-title = Visionary with an uncertain future | first = Pär | last = Rittsel | work = Computer Sweden | date = 11 April 2003 | access-date = 2016-10-03 | url = http://computersweden.idg.se/2.2683/1.33386 | language = sv | quote = De första texterna, en del av Fänrik Ståls Sägner, nordiska ordlistor och Bibeln från 1917, lades ut till Lucia 1992.}}</ref>

As of 2015 it had accomplished digitization to provide graphical facsimiles of old works such as the ''[[Nordisk familjebok]]'', and had accomplished, in whole or in part, the text extractions and copy-editing of these as well as esteemed Latin works and English translations from Nordic authors, sheet music and other texts of cultural interest. The project provides an extensive project-timeline with given milestones, beginning in 1991 being maintained since.<ref name="Runeberg_Timeline">{{Cite web |author=Runeberg-Staff |title=Project Runeberg Timeline (About Project Runeberg) |url=https://runeberg.org/admin/timeline.html |access-date=2025-07-25 |website=Runeberg.org |date=July 17, 2025 |orig-date=July 1992 |language=en}}</ref>

== Technology ==
By 2001, technology – [[image scanning]] and [[optical character recognition]] techniques – had improved enough to allow full digitization and text extraction of important target texts, e.g., of both print editions of the ''[[Nordisk familjebok]]'' (45,000 pages).<ref name=Boldemann03 /> Project Runeberg is hosted by an academic computer group, [[Lysator]], at [[Linköping University]], in [[Linköping]] in southern [[Sweden]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://runeberg.org/admin/|title=About Project Runeberg|website=runeberg.org|language=en|access-date=2017-10-13}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Open content]]
* [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [[List of Danish online encyclopedic resources]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website|https://runeberg.org/}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Nordic literature]]
[[Category:Swedish digital libraries]]
[[Category:Johannes Gutenberg]]
[[Category:Mass digitization]]
[[Category:Open access projects]]
[[Category:Public domain books]]
[[Category:Full-text scholarly online databases]]
[[Category:Educational projects]]
[[Category:Accessible information]]