Answers To Your Questions

Plus, continuing education outside the classroom, the fantasy novels that inspired Dungeons and Dragons, and a brand-new holiday! [Archive]() [Donate]( [Blog]() [Jobs]( [Volunteer]( March 2020 Browsing the Archive Why the National Emergency Library? Last week, the Internet Archive launched a [National Emergency Library]( of 1.4 million digitized books, available to borrow without our normal waitlist. It is an emergency measure at an extraordinary moment in time, when virtually every library in the nation has closed, cutting off access to hundreds of millions of books for teachers, professors, and students. To answer the many questions from our patrons and authors, we'd like to share this response. [YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED]( Building the Virtual Classroom Close to one billion students cut off from classrooms worldwide. Libraries closed across all 50 states. Seven million US students without internet access. The COVID-19 pandemic could trigger "a quiet brain drain," or a call-to-arms to unlock distance learning for every student. Internet Archive's founder and Digital Librarian, Brewster Kahle, sees hope for a leap forward in building the infrastructure for vital virtual classrooms. [READ MORE]( Calling All Adventurers When Gary Gygax created Dungeons and Dragons—arguably the most popular role-playing game in the world—he included a recommended reading list in the first version of the game. What is this legendary "Appendix N"? How has it shaped fantasy RPGs in the years since? And where can you read the fantasy fiction that gave birth to D&D? Click below, brave travelers, to find the answers you seek... [ROLL FOR INITIATIVE]( Once Lost, Now Found When a grieving husband who recently lost his wife to cancer searches for her online, his journey leads him inevitably to the Wayback Machine, that vast repository of email, memes, and memory. What he discovers of his wife and their shared digital past allows him to hold on to the woman he loves. Meet Julie Lindner, who comes into focus through shards of music, random posts, and her love for tacky postcards. [RECOVERING MEMORIES]( ef%bb%bf/?iax=newsletter033120%7cimglnk Happy 404 Day! This Saturday—4/04—we're celebrating the people and tools that fight back against dreaded "Page Not Found" errors. For the first-ever 404 Day, we interviewed one of the most prolific users of the Wayback Machine to find out how ordinary users can fight back against link rot, preserve online records, and make sure that the web will always have a memory. Consider this your invitation! [CELEBRATE WITH US](ef%bb%bf/?iax=newsletter033120%7cctalnk) Pi In The Sky Ever wanted to hear the first 50 digits of pi recited in Klingon? Morse Code? Pirate speech? What about backwards, in one breath, or to the tune of "Modern Major General" by Gilbert and Sullivan? Or maybe you'd rather hear it as a lullaby, radio transmission, or infomercial. In honor of Pi Day a few years ago, Librivox volunteers created a series of recordings that paid tribute to the number—rapping, singing, laughing, and even eating their way through the first 50 digits. [Listen to their interpretations here!]( 14th Century Quarantine Reading The Decameron is a classic of medieval Italian literature—a collection of a hundred folk tales, tragedies, romances, and humorous stories created by Giovanni Boccaccio. The book's framing device follows seven women and three men quarantined in a countryside villa during the Black Death; to pass the time each of the ten people tells the others ten stories. If that sounds oddly familiar and you're looking for a way to pass the time yourself, [read this historic work of literature here](. A note from our partners at Better World Books: Stuck inside? Stay in and [use code SAVE20]( to get 20% off two or more used books that ship from [Better World Books]( with free expedited shipping. Each book purchased results in a donation to someone in need—that's Book for Book™. * Marketplace and New Books not eligible for promotions. Free Expedited Shipping valid only on items shipping within the US. Expedited Shipping times: 2-6 business days (includes 1-2 days for order fulfillment). Valid for orders placed between 03/20/20 at 9:00 AM ET and 04/20/20 at 11:59 PM ET. Cannot be used with other promotions. What We're Reading FORBES: [Vint Cerf on Digital Preservation and How The Internet Archive is Helping]( THE NEW YORKER: [The National Emergency Library Is a Gift to Readers Everywhere]( VICE: [You Can Now Access 1.4 Million Books for Free Thanks to the Internet Archive]( ATLAS OBSCURA: [The Intrepid Mother and Son Who Unraveled a Geographic Hoax]( NPR: ['National Emergency Library' Lends A Hand — And Lots Of Books! — During Pandemic]( FAST COMPANY: [1996’s campaign websites didn’t change history. They’re just hilarious]( INSIDER: [The Internet Archive launched a public no-wait digitized library of over 1 million books]( THE STAR: [Keep calm and bask in nostalgia]( THE CURRENT: [Ten great reads for music fans on the Internet Archive]( If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Internet Archive, we would greatly appreciate your support. Thank you for helping us provide Universal Access To All Knowledge. 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