Wikisource

Wikisource:eBook


Wikisource BooksCreate a book · About printed books · Bookshelf · Help for beginners · eBook · Help for experts · Preparing for export · Questions · Discuss  
←
eBook

Moving Wikisource books to your eReader. See aslo Help:Reading offline

Overview edit

Every book on Wikisource is available in electronic format so that it can be read on your computer. Most Wikisource books originate as scans of published works which are then converted to HTML by our volunteers (see Help:Beginner's guide to adding texts). There is an increasing popularity of handheld devices for reading electronic books most of which require the book to have proper formatting of which there are several formatting types.

There are a multitude of sources for eBooks, chances are the maker of your eBook has a place where you can buy (or get free) books for your reader. If not, you may have discovered sources for free books like Project Gutenberg and Internet Archive, your local library may also offer eBooks for loan.

What separates Wikisource from the rest of the electronic library world is that our works represent electronic version of the books as they were produced originally (typos and all). Our proofreading & validation process's goal is to accurately recreate the original work. There will be some difference in the layout of the book during conversion to from the restrictions of paper page of a finite size, to a electronic format that can take any shape. We also have several works that just are not available any place else.

If you would prefer to read one of the Wikisource works from your eReader, rather then from your computer there are a couple options:

First; find one for sale. because all of our works are in the public domain some of the works have been converted to formats for different eReaders by individuals who then offer them for sale.
You can do the second for free; and it's not that hard. Take anything you find here and convert it yourself to the format you need and move it to your eReader.

Helping you convert and move the work is what this page is here to help you with.

Grouping pages edit

Items that you want to move to your eReader may either be on a single page on Wikisource or on several pages. Where there are several pages like chapters of a book that you would like to be combined before moving to your eReader, see Help:Books for an introduction to creating books and using the book tool on Wikisource. The newest validated works can be found in Indexes validated by date

Formats edit

How to convert to popular format. If you encounter difficulties or a format is not listed ask for help at Wikisource:Scriptorium/Help.

Wikisource Direct Download edit


Download then convert edit

In cases where the work can not be directly converted to the desired file type, it must first be downloaded in one the formats above then that file converted. There are a number of options for converting that depend on what resources you have and what device you will ultimately be loading the file to.


  • LRF - Conversion not required; Sony Reader file format (BBeB extensions: LRS and LRF or LRX.) All these devices should be able to read ePub or PDF files.
  • MOBI - See Wikisource talk:EBook only kindle is known to need MOBI over other formats.
  • PDB - See Wikisource talk:EBook Device should also read EPUB
  • RTF - Conversion probably not required; device that reads .rtf can use "Open Document" above, can use text reader (i.e. word) to save the OD as RTF
  • TXT - Conversion probably not required; device that reads .txt can use "Open Document" above, can use text reader (i.e. word) to save the OD as TXT

Devices edit

How to move to popular devices. If you encounter difficulties or a device is not listed ask for help at Wikisource:Scriptorium/Help

  • iPad
    1. In Safari, open Wikisource page eg. "en.wikisource.org/wiki/Black_Beauty"
    2. Click "Download as EPUB" link in the sidebar
    3. Click "Open in iBooks" button
    4. The EBook will appear in your iBook Library
  • Kindle
    • With wifi
    1. On your PC, export (download) the Wiki book as .rtf
    2. Email the .rtf (or .txt) as an attachment to YourAccountName@kindle.com (see Settings | Device options | Personalize your Kindle)
    3. After a couple of minutes the document will appear in your Kindle home screen ready to read
    • With USB cable connected to your PC
    1. On your PC, export (download) the Wiki book as .rtf
    2. Connect the USB cable to your Kindle and copy the .rtf (or .txt) into the Kindle's \Documents folder
    3. The document will appear in your Kindle home screen ready to read
  • Nook -
    1. Export (download) the Wiki book as .EPUB
    2. Save to your computer
    3. Connect Nook to Computer with MicroUSB cable
    4. Drag file to appropriate folder on Nook
  • Smart Phone -
    • Multiple devices, multiple apps, multiple file types. Answers not inferable from above are beyond the scope of this page.
  • Sony eBook -
    • Without Wireless
      1. Install Reader Library software to your computer from https://ebookstore.sony.com/reader/
      2. Export (download) the Wiki book as .EPUB
      3. Save to your computer
      4. Find the book with the Reader Library software
      5. Right click and drag the book from Library to the left nave area
    • With Wireless - If you have either of the wireless versions of the Sony Reader (PRS-T1 or PRS-T2) you can directly export from Wikisource to your device without a computer.
      1. In the Browser application open Wikisource page e.g. "en.wikisource.org/wiki/Black_Beauty". Wikimedia will automatically parse this as the mobile version "en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Black_Beauty".
      2. Scroll to the bottom of the browser page and open the section called Wikisource™
      3. Click the link "Desktop". This will give you a menu bar on the left hand side
      4. Scroll back up to the section "print/export" (click to expand if it is collapsed)
      5. Click "Download as EPUB"
      6. Wait for the download to complete before doing anything else on the Reader
Retrieved from "https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Wikisource:EBook&oldid=11631718"