Hello all,
since the beginning of 2006 the German Wikisource is evolving in a very positive way and I would like to share some news with you.
== Digitization of a precious 16th-century handwritten mathematical schoolbook == In may 2006 Wikimedia Germany (the "Verein") financed the digitizing of a handwritten mathematical schoolbook called "Drei Register Arithmetischer ahnfeng zur Practic". The precious 16th-century manuscript has been scanned at the Center for Retrospective Digitization of the Lower Saxony State and University Library in Goettingen. Today about a quarter of the 210 pages has been transcribed and annotated in the German Wikisource. Actually a project in the German Wikiversity is dealing with the analysis of the book.
* http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Wikisource:Pressemitteilungen/Rechenbuchprojek... (press report) * http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Drei_Register_Arithmetischer_ahnfeng_zur_Pract... (example page) * http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Drei_Register_Arithmetischer_ahnfeng... (the new DjVu-extension on Commons) * http://de.wikiversity.org/wiki/A_und_B_haltten_einen_Stich_umb_Pley_und_Papy... (example from the project in the german Wikiversity)
== Third volume of the "Zimmerische Chronik" transcribed == At the beginning of September 2006 the third volume of the so called "Zimmerische Chronik" (a chronicle written by count Froben Christoph von Zimmern in the 16th century and published 1881 by the german historian Karl August Barack) had been transcribed. The transcription of the 4-volume work is one of the biggest projects in the German Wikisource. The e-text-edition was initiated by a historian of the University of Freiburg im Breisgau, who actually acts as a scientific advisor for the project.
* http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Zimmerische_Chronik
== First publication of a handwritten letter of Fredrick Accum == Today German Wikisource announces the first publication of a handwritten letter of the german chemist Fredrick Accum to his brother Philip (April 26th 1816). Accum emigrated to London in 1793 and became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at the Surrey Institute around 1803. Fredrick Accum, who is largely forgotten today, is one of the pioneers of the commercial production of coal gas for gas lighting. In his letter he gives a lively picture of the economic condition in London after the end of the napoleonic wars.
* http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Brief_Friedrich_Accums_an_seinen_Bruder_vom_26... * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Accum
To faciliate the work of the german Wikisource community in the future, the german "Verein" provided a budget of 1.500 EUR (about 1.900 USD) for the digitizing of old books and manuscripts. The members of the community themselves will decide conjointly how to spend this money on new projects.
Greetings, Frank Schulenburg
Board member of Wikimedia Germany Phone +49 (0)551 2726447 Frank.Schulenburg [at] wikimedia.de