A free, open source, online digital library dedicated to the "acoustical liberation of books in the public domain", as stated on their website. The aim is to create audiobooks of material in the Public Domain in the United States and make these available for download in audio (MP3 and Ogg Vorbis) format.
Established in August 2005, by Montreal-based writer Hugh McGuire, it is run by volunteers from all over the world. The majority of books are in English, but they have also recorded books in 45 other languages. They record fiction, non-fiction, drama, poetry and religious texts, as well as a limited – due to copyright restrictions – number of contemporary books. There is even a recording of the first 500 digits of pi available.
The site’s discussion forum allows readers as well as listeners to provide feedback and make suggestions regarding which books should be recorded next.
The files are hosted by the Internet Archive, but are also distributed through iTunes, as well as other independent online and offline parties. As a collaborative culture project with volunteer-led content, it has gained interest from the Project Gutenberg, Creative Commons and has received some media attention, being recommended by BBC, MSNBC, Wired, PC Magazine among others.