Changes
update
{{for|books created by the Book Creator software from Wikipedia articles|Wikipedia:Books}}
{{Selfref|See [[:Category:Wikibooks]] for Wikipedia administration pages related to Wikibooks.}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox Website
| name = Wikibooks
| logo = [[File:Wikibooks-logo-en.svg|135px|Wikibooks logo from 2009 to the present]]
| screenshot = [[File:Wikibooks screenshot 2009 - visible.png|250px|border|Detail of the Wikibooks main page. All major Wikibooks projects are listed by number of articles.]]
| caption = Screenshot of wikibooks.org home page
| url = {{URL|https://www.wikibooks.org/}}
| commercial = No
| type = Textbooks wiki
| language = multilingual
| registration = Optional
| owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
| author = [[b:User:Karl Wick|User Karl Wick]] and the Wikimedia Community
| launch date = {{start date and age|2003|07|10}}
| current status = Active
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 2,200 ({{as of|2018|10|01|alt=October 2018}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web |title=Wikibooks.org Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa |url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikibooks.org |website=www.alexa.com |accessdate=1 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Wikibooks growth.png|thumb|right|Growth of the eight largest Wikibooks sites (by language), July 2003–Jan 2010]]
'''Wikibooks''' (previously called ''Wikimedia Free Textbook Project'' and ''Wikimedia-Textbooks'') is a [[wiki]]-based [[Wikimedia project]] hosted by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] for the creation of [[free content]] [[e-book]] [[textbooks]] and annotated texts that anyone can edit.
== History ==
The wikibooks.org domain was registered on {{start date|2003|07|19}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikibooks.org Whois Record|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/wikibooks.org|publisher=DomainTools, LLC|accessdate=22 January 2013}}</ref> It was launched to host and build free textbooks on subjects such as [[organic chemistry]] and [[physics]]. Two major sub-projects, Wikijunior and [[Wikiversity]], were created within Wikibooks before its official policy was later changed so that future incubator-type projects are started according to the Wikimedia Foundation's new project policy.
In August 2006, Wikiversity became an independent Wikimedia Foundation project.{{Citation needed|reason=over simplified explanation|date=October 2016}}
Since 2008, Wikibooks is included in [[BASE (search engine)|BASE]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.base-search.net/Record/a54c9de5aeca8c528f687d1e1d3827e4a5c3eb8638dc57a0557413f8c3206069/|title=Suchmaschine BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine): Wikibooks: Viquillibres : Portada|website=www.base-search.net|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>
In June 2016, [[Compete.com]] estimated that Wikibooks had 1,478,812 unique visitors.<ref>[http://siteanalytics.compete.com/wikibooks.org/ "Site Profile for wikibooks.org"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608021108/http://siteanalytics.compete.com/wikibooks.org/ |date=2010-06-08 }}, ''compete'', retrieved July 19, 2016</ref>
=== Wikijunior ===
Wikijunior is a subproject of Wikibooks that specializes in books for children. The project consists of both a magazine and a website, and is currently being developed in English, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Arabic. It is funded by a grant from the Beck Foundation.
== Book content ==
[[File:Development of "Mathe für Nicht-Freaks" from Sep 2009 to June 2016.webm|thumb|Visualization of the development in the German Wikibook project [[b:de:Mathe für Nicht-Freaks|Mathe für Nicht-Freaks]]]]
While some books are original, others began as text copied over from other sources of free content textbooks found on the Internet. All of the site's content is released under a [[Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike]] license (or a compatible license). This means that, as with its sister project, Wikipedia, contributions remain copyrighted to their creators, while the licensing ensures that it can be freely distributed and reused subject to certain conditions.
Wikibooks differs from [[Wikisource]] in that Wikisource collects exact copies and original translations of existing free content works, such as the original text of [[Shakespeare|Shakespearean plays]], while Wikibooks is dedicated either to original works, significantly altered versions of existing works or annotations to original works.
The project is working towards completion of textbooks on numerous subjects, which founders hope will be followed by mainstream adoption and use of textbooks developed and housed there.
== See also ==
* [[WikiToLearn]]
* [[CK-12 Foundation]]
* [[Digital library]]
* [[European Library]]
* [[Free High School Science Texts]]
* [[Global Text]]
* [[ibiblio]]
* [[LibriVox]], an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks.
* [[Open Content Alliance]]
* [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [[Universal library]]
* [[b:Wikibooks:What is Wikibooks?|Wikibooks:What is Wikibooks?]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |year=2005 |title=All Systems Go: The Newly Emerging Infrastructure to Support Free Books|author=Ben Crowell|url=http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/infrastructure.html|accessdate=June 18, 2006}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ednews.org/articles/an-interview-with-curtis-bonk-a-look-at-wikibooks-and-wikibookians.html |title=An Interview with Curtis Bonk: A Look at Wikibooks and Wikibookians |publisher=EducationNews.org |date=2009-07-14 |author=Michael F. Shaughnessy}}
== External links ==
* [[b:Main Page|English Wikibooks' Main Page]]
* [[b:Wikijunior|Wikijunior Main Page]]
* [https://www.wikibooks.org/ Wikibooks' multilingual portal]
* [[m:List of Wikibooks|Wikibooks Language Editions: list of Wikiboks for various languages ordered by size.]]
* [[m:Wikibooks|Wikibooks page on Meta-Wiki]]
* [http://news.com/Wikibooks+takes+on+textbook+industry/2100-1025_3-5884291.html Wikibooks takes on textbook industry]
{{Wikimedia Foundation}}
{{E-book digital distribution platforms}}
{{ebooks}}
[[Category:Digital libraries]]
[[Category:E-book suppliers]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2003]]
[[Category:Multilingual websites]]
[[Category:Wikimedia projects]]
[[Category:Educational websites]]
[[Category:Advertising-free websites]]
[[Category:E-book sources]]
{{Selfref|See [[:Category:Wikibooks]] for Wikipedia administration pages related to Wikibooks.}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox Website
| name = Wikibooks
| logo = [[File:Wikibooks-logo-en.svg|135px|Wikibooks logo from 2009 to the present]]
| screenshot = [[File:Wikibooks screenshot 2009 - visible.png|250px|border|Detail of the Wikibooks main page. All major Wikibooks projects are listed by number of articles.]]
| caption = Screenshot of wikibooks.org home page
| url = {{URL|https://www.wikibooks.org/}}
| commercial = No
| type = Textbooks wiki
| language = multilingual
| registration = Optional
| owner = [[Wikimedia Foundation]]
| author = [[b:User:Karl Wick|User Karl Wick]] and the Wikimedia Community
| launch date = {{start date and age|2003|07|10}}
| current status = Active
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 2,200 ({{as of|2018|10|01|alt=October 2018}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web |title=Wikibooks.org Traffic, Demographics and Competitors - Alexa |url=https://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikibooks.org |website=www.alexa.com |accessdate=1 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Wikibooks growth.png|thumb|right|Growth of the eight largest Wikibooks sites (by language), July 2003–Jan 2010]]
'''Wikibooks''' (previously called ''Wikimedia Free Textbook Project'' and ''Wikimedia-Textbooks'') is a [[wiki]]-based [[Wikimedia project]] hosted by the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] for the creation of [[free content]] [[e-book]] [[textbooks]] and annotated texts that anyone can edit.
== History ==
The wikibooks.org domain was registered on {{start date|2003|07|19}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wikibooks.org Whois Record|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/wikibooks.org|publisher=DomainTools, LLC|accessdate=22 January 2013}}</ref> It was launched to host and build free textbooks on subjects such as [[organic chemistry]] and [[physics]]. Two major sub-projects, Wikijunior and [[Wikiversity]], were created within Wikibooks before its official policy was later changed so that future incubator-type projects are started according to the Wikimedia Foundation's new project policy.
In August 2006, Wikiversity became an independent Wikimedia Foundation project.{{Citation needed|reason=over simplified explanation|date=October 2016}}
Since 2008, Wikibooks is included in [[BASE (search engine)|BASE]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.base-search.net/Record/a54c9de5aeca8c528f687d1e1d3827e4a5c3eb8638dc57a0557413f8c3206069/|title=Suchmaschine BASE (Bielefeld Academic Search Engine): Wikibooks: Viquillibres : Portada|website=www.base-search.net|access-date=15 January 2018}}</ref>
In June 2016, [[Compete.com]] estimated that Wikibooks had 1,478,812 unique visitors.<ref>[http://siteanalytics.compete.com/wikibooks.org/ "Site Profile for wikibooks.org"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100608021108/http://siteanalytics.compete.com/wikibooks.org/ |date=2010-06-08 }}, ''compete'', retrieved July 19, 2016</ref>
=== Wikijunior ===
Wikijunior is a subproject of Wikibooks that specializes in books for children. The project consists of both a magazine and a website, and is currently being developed in English, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Arabic. It is funded by a grant from the Beck Foundation.
== Book content ==
[[File:Development of "Mathe für Nicht-Freaks" from Sep 2009 to June 2016.webm|thumb|Visualization of the development in the German Wikibook project [[b:de:Mathe für Nicht-Freaks|Mathe für Nicht-Freaks]]]]
While some books are original, others began as text copied over from other sources of free content textbooks found on the Internet. All of the site's content is released under a [[Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike]] license (or a compatible license). This means that, as with its sister project, Wikipedia, contributions remain copyrighted to their creators, while the licensing ensures that it can be freely distributed and reused subject to certain conditions.
Wikibooks differs from [[Wikisource]] in that Wikisource collects exact copies and original translations of existing free content works, such as the original text of [[Shakespeare|Shakespearean plays]], while Wikibooks is dedicated either to original works, significantly altered versions of existing works or annotations to original works.
The project is working towards completion of textbooks on numerous subjects, which founders hope will be followed by mainstream adoption and use of textbooks developed and housed there.
== See also ==
* [[WikiToLearn]]
* [[CK-12 Foundation]]
* [[Digital library]]
* [[European Library]]
* [[Free High School Science Texts]]
* [[Global Text]]
* [[ibiblio]]
* [[LibriVox]], an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks.
* [[Open Content Alliance]]
* [[Project Gutenberg]]
* [[Universal library]]
* [[b:Wikibooks:What is Wikibooks?|Wikibooks:What is Wikibooks?]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |year=2005 |title=All Systems Go: The Newly Emerging Infrastructure to Support Free Books|author=Ben Crowell|url=http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/infrastructure.html|accessdate=June 18, 2006}}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.ednews.org/articles/an-interview-with-curtis-bonk-a-look-at-wikibooks-and-wikibookians.html |title=An Interview with Curtis Bonk: A Look at Wikibooks and Wikibookians |publisher=EducationNews.org |date=2009-07-14 |author=Michael F. Shaughnessy}}
== External links ==
* [[b:Main Page|English Wikibooks' Main Page]]
* [[b:Wikijunior|Wikijunior Main Page]]
* [https://www.wikibooks.org/ Wikibooks' multilingual portal]
* [[m:List of Wikibooks|Wikibooks Language Editions: list of Wikiboks for various languages ordered by size.]]
* [[m:Wikibooks|Wikibooks page on Meta-Wiki]]
* [http://news.com/Wikibooks+takes+on+textbook+industry/2100-1025_3-5884291.html Wikibooks takes on textbook industry]
{{Wikimedia Foundation}}
{{E-book digital distribution platforms}}
{{ebooks}}
[[Category:Digital libraries]]
[[Category:E-book suppliers]]
[[Category:Internet properties established in 2003]]
[[Category:Multilingual websites]]
[[Category:Wikimedia projects]]
[[Category:Educational websites]]
[[Category:Advertising-free websites]]
[[Category:E-book sources]]
