centive lies in the belief that literary works in the public
domain should be freely accessible to as many people as possible for as
long as possible. By digitising everything in 'plain vanilla ASCII' as
well as many other formats, the eBooks are readable by over 99% of
computer operating systems. By avoiding proprietary formats whenever
possible, Project Gutenberg also helps to guarantee the long-term
survival of the bit streams of the eBooks. The combination of open
formats and the proliferation of copies downloaded around the world
should ensure that the Project Gutenberg eBooks currently in existence
are still accessible far into the future.

Chapter 1: The ERPANET Project
The European Commission and Swiss Confederation funded ERPANET Project
(1) (Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network) works to
enhance the preservation of cultural and scientific digital objects
through raising awareness, providing access to experience, sharing
policies and strategies, and improving practices. To achieve these
goals ERPANET is building an active community of members and actors,
bringing together memory organisations (museums, libraries and
archives), ICT and software industry, research institutions, government
organisations, entertainment and creative industries, and commercial
sectors. ERPANET constructs authoritative information resources on
state-of-the-art developments in digital preservation, promotes
training, and provides advice and tools.

ERPANET consists of four partners and is directed by a management
committee, namely Seamus Ross (HATII, University of Glasgow; principal
director), Niklaus B