View source for Wikisource

{{Short description|Free online library on a wiki}}
{{for|linking to or citing Wikisource|Wikipedia:Wikisource|selfref=y}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2025}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Wikisource
| logo = [[File:Wikisource-logo.svg|100px|The current Wikisource logo]]
| collapsible = yes
| caption = Detail of the Wikisource multilingual portal main page
| logo_alt = Wikisource logo, depicting an iceberg
| screenshot = [[File:Wikisource 2024.png|250px|Detail of the Wikisource multilingual portal main page.|class=notpageimage]]
| url = {{URL|https://wikisource.org}}
| commercial = No
| type = [[Digital library]]
| language = [[Multilingual]] ({{NUMBEROF|active|wikisource}} active sub-domains)<ref name="Sitematrix" />
| registration = Optional
| owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
| author = User-generated
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2003|11|24}}<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates>{{cite book|title=How Wikipedia Works|first1=Phoebe|last1=Ayers|first2=Charles|last2=Matthews|first3=Ben|last3=Yates|publisher=No Starch Press|year=2008|isbn=978-1-59327-176-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0/page/435 435–436]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/howwikipediawork00ayer_0/page/435}}</ref>
| current_status = Online
}}

'''Wikisource''' is an online wiki-based [[digital library]] of [[free-content]] [[source text|textual sources]] operated by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]]. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one for each language. The project's aim is to host all forms of free text, in many languages, and translations. Originally conceived as an archive to store useful or important historical texts, it has expanded to become a general-content library. The project officially began on November 24, 2003, under the name '''Project Sourceberg''', a play on [[Project Gutenberg]]. The name Wikisource was adopted later that year and it received its own [[domain name]].

The project holds works that are either in the [[public domain]] or [[freely licensed]]: professionally published works or historical source documents, not [[vanity press|vanity products]]. Verification was initially made offline, or by trusting the reliability of other digital libraries. Now works are supported by online scans via the ProofreadPage extension, which ensures the reliability and accuracy of the project's texts.

Some individual Wikisources, each representing a specific language, now only allow works backed up with scans. While the bulk of its collection are texts, Wikisource as a whole hosts other media, from comics to film to [[audiobook]]s. Some Wikisources allow user-generated annotations, subject to the specific policies of the Wikisource in question. The project has come under criticism for lack of reliability but it is also cited by organisations such as the [[National Archives and Records Administration]].<ref name="NationalArchivesMention">{{cite web | url = https://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/transcribe/ | title = Transcribe {{!}} Citizen Archivist | access-date = 4 October 2013 | archive-date = 31 October 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131031144924/http://www.archives.gov/citizen-archivist/transcribe/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, there are Wikisource subdomains active for {{NUMBEROF|active|wikisource}} languages<ref name="Sitematrix">[[Wikimedia]]'s [[MediaWiki]] [[:mw:API:Sitematrix|API:Sitematrix]]. Retrieved {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} from [[:c:Data:Wikipedia statistics/meta.tab|Data:Wikipedia statistics/meta.tab]]</ref> comprising a total of {{NUMBEROF|articles|totalactive.wikisource|N}} articles and {{NUMBEROF|activeusers|totalactive.wikisource|N}} recently active editors.<ref name="Siteinfo">[[Wikimedia]]'s [[MediaWiki]]  [[:mw:API:Siteinfo|API:Siteinfo]]. Retrieved {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} from [[:c:Data:Wikipedia statistics/data.tab|Data:Wikipedia statistics/data.tab]]</ref>

==History==
The original concept for Wikisource was as storage for useful or important historical texts. These texts were intended to support [[Wikipedia]] articles, by providing primary evidence and original source texts, and as an archive in its own right. The collection was initially focused on important historical and cultural material, distinguishing it from other digital archives like Project Gutenberg.<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates />
[[File:Wikisourcelogo.jpg|thumb|alt=Composite photograph showing an iceberg both above and below the waterline.|The original Wikisource logo]]
The project was originally called Project Sourceberg during its planning stages (a play on words for Project Gutenberg).<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates />

In 2001, there was a dispute on Wikipedia regarding the addition of primary-source materials, leading to [[edit war]]s over their inclusion or deletion. Project Sourceberg was suggested as a solution to this. In describing the proposed project, user The Cunctator said, "It would be to Project Gutenberg what Wikipedia is to [[Nupedia]]",<ref name=Cunctator /> soon clarifying the statement with "we don't want to try to duplicate Project Gutenberg's efforts; rather, we want to complement them. Perhaps Project Sourceberg can mainly work as an interface for easily linking from Wikipedia to a Project Gutenberg file, and as an interface for people to easily submit new work to PG."<ref>{{cite web |author=The Cunctator |date=2001-10-16 |title=Primary sources Pedia, or Project Sourceberg |url=http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary/Project_Sourceberg&direction=prev&oldid=54333 |publisher=[[Wikipedia]] |access-date=2012-03-24 |archive-date=2018-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120024745/https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary%2FProject_Sourceberg&direction=prev&oldid=54333 |url-status=live }}</ref> Initial comments were skeptical, with [[Larry Sanger]] questioning the need for the project, writing "The hard question, I guess, is why we are reinventing the wheel, when Project Gutenberg already exists? We'd want to complement Project Gutenberg&mdash;how, exactly?",<ref>{{cite web |last=Sanger |first=Larry |author-link=Larry Sanger |date=2001-10-17 |title=Primary sources Pedia, or Project Sourceberg |url=http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary/Project_Sourceberg&oldid=54338 |publisher=[[Wikipedia]] |access-date=2012-03-24 |archive-date=2022-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409012446/https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary%2FProject_Sourceberg&oldid=54338 |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Jimmy Wales]] adding "like Larry, I'm interested that we think it over to see what we can add to Project Gutenberg. It seems unlikely that primary sources should in general be editable by anyone &mdash; I mean, Shakespeare is Shakespeare, unlike our commentary on his work, which is whatever we want it to be."<ref>{{cite web |last=Wales |first=Jimmy |author-link=Jimmy Wales |date=2001-10-17 |title=Primary sources Pedia, or Project Sourceberg |url=http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary/Project_Sourceberg&oldid=54338 |publisher=[[Wikipedia]] |access-date=2012-03-24 |archive-date=2022-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409012446/https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary%2FProject_Sourceberg&oldid=54338 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The project began its activity at ps.wikipedia.org. The contributors understood the "PS" subdomain to mean either "primary sources" or Project Sourceberg.<ref name=Cunctator>{{cite web |author=The Cunctator |date=2001-10-16 |title=Primary sources Pedia, or Project Sourceberg |url=http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary/Project_Sourceberg&diff=prev&oldid=54331 |publisher=[[Wikipedia]] |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2016-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160314191731/https://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia_commentary%2FProject_Sourceberg&diff=prev&oldid=54331 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, this resulted in Project Sourceberg occupying the subdomain of the [[Pashto Wikipedia]] (the [[ISO 639-1|ISO language code]] of the [[Pashto language]] is "ps").

Project Sourceberg officially launched on November 24, 2003, when it received its own temporary URL, at sources.wikipedia.org, and all texts and discussions hosted on ps.wikipedia.org were moved to the temporary address. A vote on the project's name changed it to Wikisource on December 6, 2003. Despite the change in name, the project did not move to its permanent URL ([[oldwikisource:|http://wikisource.org/]]) until July 23, 2004.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tim |last=Starling |date=2004-07-23 |url=http://wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Wikisource:Scriptorium&diff=11750&oldid=11747 |title=Scriptorium |publisher=Wikisource |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2013-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015060038/http://wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Wikisource:Scriptorium&diff=11750&oldid=11747 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==Logo and slogan==
Since Wikisource was initially called "Project Sourceberg", its first logo was a picture of an [[iceberg]].<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates /> Two votes conducted to choose a successor were inconclusive, and the original logo remained until 2006. Finally, for both legal and technical reasons—because the picture's license was inappropriate for a Wikimedia Foundation logo and because a photo cannot scale properly—a stylized vector iceberg inspired by the original picture was mandated to serve as the project's logo.

The first prominent use of Wikisource's slogan—''The Free Library''—was at the project's [[:oldwikisource:Main Page|multilingual portal]], when it was redesigned based upon the Wikipedia portal on August 27, 2005, (historical version).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=158605 |title=Wikisource.org |publisher=Wikisource.org |date=2005-08-27 |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2013-11-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110052505/http://wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=158605 |url-status=live }}</ref> As in the Wikipedia portal the Wikisource slogan appears around the logo in the project's ten largest languages.

Clicking on the portal's central images (the iceberg logo in the center and the "Wikisource" heading at the top of the page) links to a ''[[:oldwikisource:Wikisource|list of translations]]'' for ''Wikisource'' and ''The Free Library'' in 60 languages.

==Tools built==
[[File:Side på Wikikilden.png|thumb|alt=Screen shot of Norwegian Wikisource. The text can be seen on the left of the screen with the scanned image displayed on the right.|The ProofreadPage extension in action]]
A [[MediaWiki]] extension called ProofreadPage was developed for Wikisource by developer ThomasV to improve the vetting of transcriptions by the project. This displays pages of scanned works side by side with the text relating to that page, allowing the text to be [[Proofreading|proofread]] and its accuracy later verified independently by any other editor.<ref name=Springer2010>{{cite book|title=Computers Helping People with Special Needs|chapter=Wiki, a New Way to Produce Accessible Documents|first1=Alex|last1=Bernier|first2=Dominique|last2=Burger|first3=Bruno|last3=Marmol|editor1-first=Klaus|editor1-last=Miesenberger|editor2-first=Joachim|editor2-last=Klaus|editor3-first=Wolfgang|editor3-last=Zagler|editor4-first=Arthur|editor4-last=Karshmer|publisher=Springer|year=2010|isbn=978-3-642-14096-9|pages=22–24}}</ref><ref>[[mw:Extension:Proofread Page|Proofread Page extension]] at MediaWiki. Retrieved 2011-09-29.</ref><ref>[[oldwikisource:Wikisource:ProofreadPage|ProofreadPage]] at Wikisource.org. Retrieved 2011-09-29.</ref> Once a book, or other text, has been scanned, the raw images can be modified with [[image processing]] software to correct for page rotations and other problems. The retouched images can then be converted into a [[Portable Document Format|PDF]] or [[DjVu]] file and uploaded to either Wikisource or [[Wikimedia Commons]].<ref name=Springer2010 />

This system assists editors in ensuring the accuracy of texts on Wikisource. The original page scans of completed works remain available to any user so that errors may be corrected later and readers may check texts against the originals. ProofreadPage also allows greater participation, since access to a physical copy of the original work is not necessary to be able to contribute to the project once images have been uploaded.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

==Milestones==
[[File:New Law College-Wikisource2.jpg|thumb|A student doing proof reading during her [[:s:Wikisource:Internship project at New Law College, Pune|project]] at [[New Law College (Pune)|New Law College]] in Pune, India ]]
Within two weeks of the project's official start at sources.wikipedia.org, over 1,000 pages had been created, with approximately 200 of these being designated as actual articles. On January 4, 2004, Wikisource welcomed its 100th registered user. In early July, 2004 the number of articles exceeded 2,400, and more than 500 users had registered.

On April 30, 2005, there were 2667 registered users (including 18 administrators) and almost 19,000 articles. The project passed its 96,000th edit that same day.{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

On November 27, 2005, the [[:s:en:|English Wikisource]] passed 20,000 text-units in its third month of existence, already holding more texts than did the entire project in April (before the move to language subdomains).

On May 10, 2006, the <span class="plainlinks">[//fr.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Portail:Philosophie&oldid=91377 first Wikisource Portal]</span> was created.

On February 14, 2008, the English Wikisource passed 100,000 text-units with [[Wikisource:Six Months at the White House/LXXIV|Chapter LXXIV]] of ''[[Wikisource:Six Months at the White House|Six Months at the White House]]'', a memoir by painter [[Francis Bicknell Carpenter]].<ref>[[:Wikisource:Wikisource:Scriptorium/Archives/2008-04#100K|"100K"]] discussion on Scriptorium. ''English Wikisource''. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2011-09-29.</ref>

In November, 2011, 250,000 text-units milestone was passed.

==Library contents==
[[File:Wikisource Inclusion Venn Diagram.svg|thumb|alt=A Venn diagram of the inclusion criteria for works to be added to Wikisource. The three overlapping circles are labelled "Sourced", "Published" and "Licensed". The area where they all overlap is shown in green. The areas where just two overlap are shown in yellow (except the Sourced-Published overlap, which remains blank)|Wikisource inclusion criteria expressed as a [[Venn diagram]]. Green indicates the best possible case, where the work satisfies all three primary requirements. Yellow indicates acceptable but not ideal cases.]]
Wikisource collects and stores in [[Digitizing|digital format]] previously published texts; including novels, non-fiction works, letters, speeches, constitutional and historical documents, laws and a range of other documents. All texts collected are either free of copyright or released under the [[Creative Commons|Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License]].<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates /> Texts in all languages are welcomed, as are translations. In addition to texts, Wikisource hosts material such as [[comics]], [[film]]s, recordings and [[Spoken word|spoken-word]] works.<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates /> All texts held by Wikisource must have been previously published; the project does not host "[[vanity press]]" books or documents produced by its contributors.<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates /><ref>{{cite web
 |title=Mission statement
 |url=https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement
 |publisher=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]
 |access-date=2011-07-08
 |archive-date=2008-01-17
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080117000000/http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Mission_statement
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title=Wikisource
 |url=http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikisource
 |publisher=[[Wikimedia Foundation]]
 |work=Wikimedia.org
 |access-date=2011-07-08
 |archive-date=2011-07-13
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713065136/http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikisource
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |title=What is Wikisource?—What do we exclude?
 |url=http://wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:What_is_Wikisource%3F#What_do_we_exclude.3F
 |publisher=Wikisource
 |work=Wikisource.org
 |access-date=2011-07-08
 |archive-date=2011-07-09
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709021034/http://wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:What_is_Wikisource%3F#What_do_we_exclude.3F
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref><ref name=Boot />

A scanned source is preferred on many Wikisources and required on some. Most Wikisources will, however, accept works transcribed from offline sources or acquired from [[List of digital library projects|other digital libraries]].<ref name=ayersmatthewsyates /> The requirement for prior publication can also be waived in a small number of cases if the work is a source document of notable historical importance. The legal requirement for works to be licensed or free of copyright remains constant.

=== Annotations and translations – the difference to Wikibooks ===
The only original pieces accepted by Wikisource are annotations and translations.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wikipedia Reader's Guide: The Missing Manual|first=John|last=Broughton|publisher=O'Reilly Media, Inc.|year=2008|isbn=978-0-596-52174-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780596521745/page/23 23]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780596521745/page/23}}</ref> Wikisource, and its sister project [[Wikibooks]], has the capacity for [[Annotated novel|annotated editions]] of texts. On Wikisource, the annotations are supplementary to the original text, which remains the primary objective of the project. By contrast, on Wikibooks the annotations are primary, with the original text as only a reference or supplement, if present at all.<ref name=Boot>{{cite book|title=Mesotext|first=Peter|last=Boot|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-90-8555-052-5|pages=34–35}}</ref> Annotated editions are more popular on the German Wikisource.<ref name=Boot /> The project also accommodates translations of texts provided by its users. A significant translation on the English Wikisource is the [[Wikisource:Wikisource:WikiProject Wiki Bible|Wiki Bible]] project, intended to create a new, "laissez-faire translation" of [[The Bible]].<ref name=newsweek>{{cite news | work = [[Newsweek]] | url = http://www.newsweek.com/id/141516 | first = Matthew | last = Philips | date = June 14, 2008 | title = God's Word, According to Wikipedia | access-date = September 29, 2011 | archive-date = April 16, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090416105241/http://www.newsweek.com/id/141516 | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Structure==
===Language subdomains===
A separate [[:s:he:עמוד ראשי|Hebrew version]] of Wikisource ([[:s:he:עמוד ראשי|he.wikisource.org]]) was created in August 2004. The need for a language-specific [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] website derived from the difficulty of typing and editing Hebrew texts in a [[Bi-directional text|left-to-right]] environment (Hebrew is written right-to-left). In the ensuing months, contributors in other languages including [[German language|German]] requested their own wikis, but a December vote on the creation of separate language domains was inconclusive. Finally, a [[:oldwikisource:Wikisource:New vote on language subdomains|second vote]] that ended May 12, 2005, supported the adoption of separate language subdomains at Wikisource by a large margin, allowing each language to host its texts on its own wiki.

An initial wave of 14 languages was set up on August 23, 2005.<ref>[//wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log/Archive_5#August_23 Server admin log for August 23, 2005]; a fifteenth language (sr:) was created on August 25 (above).</ref> The new languages did not include English, but the code en: was temporarily set to redirect to the main website ([[oldwikisource:|wikisource.org]]). At this point the Wikisource community, through a mass project of manually sorting thousands of pages and categories by language, prepared for a second wave of page imports to local wikis. On September 11, 2005, the wikisource.org wiki was reconfigured to enable the [[:s:|English version]], along with 8 other languages that were created early that morning and late the night before.<ref>See the [//wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log/Archive_5&oldid=6091#September_11 Server admin log for September 11, 2005, at 01:20 and below (September 10) at 22:49.]</ref> Three more languages were created on March 29, 2006,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log/Archive_7#March_29 |title=Server Admin Log/Archive 7 - March 29 |publisher=Wikitech |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2015-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402075225/https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log%2FArchive_7#March_29 |url-status=live }}</ref> and then another large wave of 14 language domains was created on June 2, 2006.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log/Archive_7#June_2 |title=Server Admin Log/Archive 7 - June 2 |publisher=Wikitech |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2015-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402075225/https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Server_admin_log%2FArchive_7#June_2 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Languages without subdomains are locally incubated. {{as of|September 2020}}, 182 languages are [[:oldwikisource:Category:Main Pages|hosted locally]].

As of {{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}, there are Wikisource subdomains for {{NUMBEROF|languages|wikisource}} languages of which {{NUMBEROF|active|wikisource}} are active and {{NUMBEROF|closed|wikisource}} are closed.<ref name="Sitematrix" /> The active sites have {{NUMBEROF|articles|totalactive.wikisource|N}} articles and the closed sites have {{NUMBEROF|articles|totalclosed.wikisource|N}} articles.<ref name="Siteinfo" /> There are {{NUMBEROF|users|totalactive.wikisource|N}} registered users of which {{NUMBEROF|activeusers|totalactive.wikisource|N}} are recently active.<ref name="Siteinfo" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Top ten Wikisource language projects by mainspace article count:<ref name="Siteinfo" />
!No.!!Language!!Wiki!!Good!!Total!!Edits!!Admins!!Users!!Active users!!Files
{{for nowiki|<!-- Caution: no not remove this linebreak --> 
|<nowiki>
|- style="text-align: right;"
| {{{i}}}
| {{Mw lang|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}}} 
| [[:s:{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}:|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}]]
| {{NUMBEROF|articles|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|pages|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|edits|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|admins|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|users|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|activeusers|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}
| {{NUMBEROF|files|{{Wikipedia rank by size|{{{i}}}|wikisource}}.wikisource|N}}</nowiki>|count=10 }} 
|}

===wikisource.org===
During the move to language subdomains, the community requested that the main [[oldwikisource:|wikisource.org]] website remain a functioning wiki, in order to serve three purposes:

# ''To be a multilingual coordination site for the entire Wikisource project in all languages.'' In practice, use of the website for multilingual coordination has not been heavy since the conversion to language domains. Nevertheless, there is some policy activity at the [[:oldwikisource:Wikisource:Scriptorium|Scriptorium]], and multilingual updates for news and language milestones at pages such as [[:oldwikisource:Wikisource:2007|Wikisource:2007]].
# ''To be a home for texts in languages without their own subdomains, each with its own local main page for self-organization.''<ref>For an automatic list of local main pages, see [[:oldwikisource:Category:Main Pages|Category:Main Pages]]; for a formatted list, see the '''wikisource.org''' section of the [[:oldwikisource:|Wikisource portal]].</ref> As a language incubator, the wiki currently provides a home for over 30 languages that do not yet have their own language subdomains. Some of these are very active, and have built libraries with hundreds of texts (such as [[Volapük]]).
# ''To provide direct, ongoing support by a local wiki community for a dynamic multilingual portal at its Main Page, for users who go to [[:oldwikisource:|http://wikisource.org]].'' The current [[:oldwikisource:|Main Page portal]] was created on August 26, 2005, by [[:oldwikisource:User:ThomasV|ThomasV]], who based it upon the Wikipedia portal.

The idea of a project-specific coordination wiki, first realized at Wikisource, also took hold in another Wikimedia project, namely at [[Wikiversity]]'s [[:v:Beta:Main Page|Beta Wiki]]. Like wikisource.org, it serves Wikiversity coordination in all languages, and as a language incubator, but unlike Wikisource, its [[:v:Beta:Main Page|Main Page]] does not serve as its multilingual portal.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wikiversity.org/ |title=Wikiversity.org |publisher=Wikiversity.org |access-date=2011-07-05 |archive-date=2010-08-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100812152016/http://www.wikiversity.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:The Impact of Wikipedia - Andrea Zanni.webm|thumb|right|Personal explanation of Wikisource from a project participant]]

Wikipedia co-founder [[Larry Sanger]] criticised Wikisource and sister project [[Wiktionary]] in 2011, after he left the project, saying that their collaborative nature and technology means that there is no oversight by experts, and alleging that their content is therefore not reliable.<ref>{{cite book|title=Wikipedia: The Company and Its Founders|first=Jennifer Joline|last=Anderson|publisher=ABDO|year=2011|isbn=978-1-61714-812-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wikipediacompany0000ande/page/92 92–93]|url=https://archive.org/details/wikipediacompany0000ande/page/92}}</ref>

[[Bart D. Ehrman]], a New Testament scholar and professor of religious studies at the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]], has criticised the English Wikisource's project to create a user-generated translation of the Bible saying "Democratization isn't necessarily good for scholarship."<ref name=newsweek /> [[Richard Elliott Friedman]], an Old Testament scholar and professor of Jewish studies at the [[University of Georgia]], identified errors in the translation of the [[Book of Genesis]] as of 2008.<ref name=newsweek />

In 2010, Wikimedia France signed an agreement with the {{Lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]|italic=no}} (National Library of France) to add scans from its own ''Gallica'' digital library to French Wikisource. Fourteen hundred public domain French texts were added to the Wikisource library as a result via upload to the [[Commons:|Wikimedia Commons]]. The quality of the transcriptions, previously automatically generated by [[optical character recognition]] (OCR), was expected to be improved by Wikisource's human proofreaders.<ref>{{cite web|title=La BNF prend un virage collaboratif avec Wikisource|trans-title=BNF takes a collaborative turn with Wikisource|language=fr|date=April 8, 2010|access-date=2011-09-29|work=ITespresso|publisher=NetMediaEurope|url=http://www.itespresso.fr/la-bnf-prend-un-virage-collaboratif-avec-wikisource-34562.html|archive-date=2011-10-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008064444/http://www.itespresso.fr/la-bnf-prend-un-virage-collaboratif-avec-wikisource-34562.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wikimédia France signe un partenariat avec la BnF|trans-title=Wikimedia France sign a partnership with the BnF|language=fr|date=April 7, 2010|work=Wikimédia France|url=http://www.wikimedia.fr/wikim%25C3%25A9dia-france-signe-un-partenariat-avec-la-bnf|access-date=2011-09-29|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929162757/http://www.wikimedia.fr/wikim%C3%A9dia-france-signe-un-partenariat-avec-la-bnf|archive-date=September 29, 2011}}</ref><ref>[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2010-04-12/News and notes#French National Library to cooperate with Wikisource|"French National Library to cooperate with Wikisource"]], ''[[Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost|Wikipedia Signpost]]''. 2010-04-12.</ref>
{{wikisource portal|National Archives and Records Administration Collection}}
In 2011, the English Wikisource received many high-quality scans of documents from the US [[National Archives and Records Administration]] (NARA) as part of their efforts "to increase the accessibility and visibility of its holdings." Processing and upload to Commons of these documents, along with many images from the NARA collection, was facilitated by a NARA [[Wikimedian in residence]], Dominic McDevitt-Parks. Many of these documents have been transcribed and proofread by the Wikisource community and are featured as links in the National Archives' own online catalog.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikimedia and the new collaborative digital archives|first1=Dominic|last1=McDevitt-Parks|first2=Robin|last2=Waldman|work=The Text Message|publisher=[[National Archives and Records Administration]]|url=http://blogs.archives.gov/TextMessage/2011/07/25/wikimedia-and-the-new-collaborative-digital-archives/|access-date=2011-09-29|date=July 25, 2011|archive-date=2011-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913015100/http://blogs.archives.gov/TextMessage/2011/07/25/wikimedia-and-the-new-collaborative-digital-archives/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Internet Archive]] – non-profit digital library
*[[Open Library]] – an online database and repository of books, created by the Internet Archive

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}

'''Wikisource'''
* {{Official website}}
* [[Wikipedia:List of Wikisources]]
* [[s:Wikisource:For Wikipedians|Wikisource:For Wikipedians]]

'''About Wikisource'''
* [[:wikimedia:Danny Wool on Wikisource|Danny Wool on Wikisource]] ([[:wikimedia:|Wikimedia Foundation]] article).
* [[oldwikisource:User:Angela|A personal perspective on the history of Wikisource]] by Angela Beesley
* [[:m:Talk:Wikisource/Archives/2003#Historical discussion|Early discussions and plans for the project]] (Meta)

{{Wikimedia Foundation}}
{{ebooks}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Aggregation-based digital libraries]]
[[Category:Ebook suppliers]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2003]]
[[Category:Multilingual websites]]
[[Category:Proofreading]]
[[Category:Wikimedia projects]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]