03 October 2000

Welcome to the ninth release by Zaphod, proprietor of the New Age Library. We at the new age library (henceforth refered to as NAL) have as our goal the QUALITY release of classic (and some not so classic) science fiction in e-book format.
Our ninth release is a quickie short story scan, just to let the public know we haven't given up. There are a number of projects ongoing, but few finished releases for the last two weeks, so here's something to tide you over:

Neutron Star by Larry Niven

This story was scanned from the short story collection of the same name by Zaphod, and proofed by SeaGull. We'll be releasing the short stories from this collection one at a time over the next little while as fillers between releases of novels.

FAQs:

Q:	What do you mean by quality?
A:	Many (if not most) of the scans we've seen are unformatted raw text files, fresh from the scanner. OCR errors make the reading experience much less enjoyable. Our releases are spell checked, proof read, and compared to the original for an absolute minimum of errors. In addition, cover scans will be included with each release, and each release will come in two flavours...Word for Windows, and plain old text.

Q:	Can I download this file if I don't own a paper copy?
A:	No. Buy the book ya cheap bastid. The e-book versions are intended solely as a back-up copy for the personal use of those entitled to have a copy (ie: those who have made sure the author got paid). If you don't have the paper copy, delete this file now.

Q:	Isn't scanning, proof-reading, etc a hell of a lot of work?
A:	Yes, it is. If you want to help NAL, contact Zophar at zopharnal@hotmail.com. Put NAL as the subject of your e-mail, or it will be ignored.
NAL is looking for members with scanners, a large SF library, a good OCR proggy (which we can supply), and some time to dedicate to preserving classic SF. If you don't own a scanner, you can still help as a proof reader. Mail Zophar. We are particularly interested in proof readers who own the dead tree editions (ie: paper) of ongoing projects, since it helps enormously to have the paper copy as a reference when proof reading (see the 'What's next for release' list below.) Proof readers will be e-mailed approximately 100 pages of the raw OCR text, and are expected to remove page headers and footers, spell check, correct OCR errors, correct formatting errors, and return the proof read text in a timely manner (generally within 7 days of getting it). If you have a favourite book you would like to see in e-text format, mail Zophar with a request. Requests that are accompanied by a proof read text file will be given priority..:)

Note by SeaGull: At present we are re-evaluating our software and our procedures for scanning and proof-reading, thanks to a few helpful suggestions from various people. The goal is to make the raw scans as error free as possible...those of you working on the Footfall project will be especially glad to NOT see another raw text with 20-30 errors per page...
(In our defence, the only dead-tree copy we could find was in pretty bad shape...)

Q:	What's next on the release list?
A:	The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell by Harry Harrison
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You by Harry Harrison
Footfall by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Telempath by Spider Robinson
Vault of the Ages by Poul Anderson
Time Pressure by Spider Robinson
Night of Power by Spider Robinson
Gateway (and the other four Heechee books) by Frederick Pohl
Callahan's Legacy by Spider Robinson
Time Enough for Love by Robert A Heinlein
A Jungle of Stars by Jack L Chalker
The Well World Series (all 5 of 'em) by Jack L Chalker
Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A Heinlein
Friday by Robert A Heinlein
Nightfall by Isaac Asimov and Robert Silverberg
Battle Circle Trilogy by Piers Anthony
Cities in Flight by James Blish

Q:	What has NAL released so far?
A:	Voyage from Yesteryear by James P Hogan
The Gripping Hand by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Spirals (Short Story) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Double Star by Robert A Heinlein
The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
Callahan's Lady by Spider Robinson
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A Heinlein
The Door Into Summer by Robert A Heinlein
Neutron Star (Short Story) by Larry Niven

Q:	Where can I get NAL releases?
A:	Try #bookwarez on DalNet or GalaxyNet, or alt.binaries.e-books on usenet. All NAL releases are regularly posted to usenet. After what happened to the Bookwarez site a while back, we'll pass on www.

Q:	Who IS NAL anyway?
A:	Zaphod, Zophar and SeaGull. If you have a collecton of (preferably hard-cover-they scan much better) science fiction, a scanner, and some time on your hands, e-mail zopharnal@hotmail.com for membership details.