Introduction    

Project introduction

The first books   The hypertext, the digital book, the internet and the on-line library

It could be said that the first ever  "books"  were actually written by natural forces a million years ago: the material used was DNA and it was this that established the reference today for the transmission of information and knowledge . A Universal Library  where Nature managed itself exclusively and freely until mankind, armed with present-day technological development,  intervened with banks of germoplasma, cells and genes, and storage of  seeds, pollen, embryos and apical meristems in an attempt to preserve the genetic diversity that has been put in danger by mankind itself.

The skill and wisdom of Nature differed greatly from the first attempts of human beings to transmit and materialize knowledge . 5.000 years ago, a shepherd took a great step forward when he wrote down on the number of animals in his flock on a little board made of clay. Soft clay was  used for a long time as a means to transfer legends and knowledge. The papyrus rolls of theEgyptians represented an easier and more practical solution to the beginning of the book's history. In Greece and Rome it was given an important cultural dimension. The best reference is the Library of Alexandria, founded in 304 B.C., with more than half of a million  papyrus rolls.

Using modern terms, it could be said that a considerable amount of "technology" went in to the way papyrus was made and was protected from damp in beautiful wooden boxes, clay jugs full of protective cedar oil.

Over 4.000 years ago Nature provided China with ingredients such as birch barks, palm leafs on bamboo...or even  paper. The pothi -skilled technique was perfected in India whereby palm leaves were boiled in milk and dried- while writing with a paintbrush on large silk bands was developed in China around the 4th century B.C. The great number of Books started to reflect the need of  mankind to transmit and collect information or, sometimes, to destroy it; at times of  war, books were sometimes confiscated to make tents and  tarpaulins for covered wagons.

This worthy obsession was reflected in a street in Baghdad which gathered more than a hundred shops of scribes and merchants of religious, literary and scientific manuscripts at the peak of and empire which extended from the Pyrenees to the Indus. Experienced scribes of arabesques, poetry, medicine, the Koran, copied in every hamlet. Caliphs measure their power and influence according to the number and quality of scribes in their court.

In Africa, Europe or America,  animal skins  (from calves, bisons, lambs, goats, chamoises ...) were used -through very similar techniques- to produce parchment papers  ready to make signs, shapes and pictures in Asia Minor, in Indian tribes,  and in the Aztec books (amoxtli).

Europe, still immerse in the era of barbaric destruction, is re-emerging within the peace of monasteries and abbeys. Monks -in their  scriptorium-  copied texts tirelessly from the Bible and other ancient Greek and Roman works, together with plenty of illustrations which transformed the book into beautiful and splendid gifts given to each other by the nobility.

The original paper discovered in China was developed further by using  mashed vegetables, old dresses and clothes, and cords used by Arabs to get the paste necessary to make it. It was not until the middle of the 19th Century that in Europe the technique using wood, learned from the Turks during the Crusades in the 13th Century, took over from the original formula using material.

Just one major development had yet to take place: the printing press, and the possibility of easily reproducing hundred of copies from the same book, beyond the copyists, scribes and wooden boards. Gutenberg's discovery in Germany in 1440 (40 years earlier in Korea) marked the beginning of prosperous era for the spreading of knowlege and culture.

A real industry of metal letters spread by Gutenberg's invention all over Europe: Strasburg, Paris, Venice... spectacular rooms full of machines vibrated with the force of steam energy and  the unmistakable smell of ink. The immortal works, patiently preserved by monks, scribes and caliphs were reproduced at an amazing speed. Thus books became the main way of transmitting and spreading knowledge around the population. Nevertheless, the alchemy of photogravure, the bindings of printed books, met with many problems.

The control and censoring of top political and religious institutions in the vast majority of countries sometimes led to the burning of books, autos-da-fé or control, but even they failed to stop the obstinate and tireless spreading of culture. The number of books increased steadily and as well as the religious works, books on law, medicine, botanics and mechanics, which, in turn, led to the publication of the first encyclopedias that served to extend the vast knowledge already available.

The encyclopedia was an important step in this sense. First of all, it represented a new concept of the book according to a new idea of culture: in contrast to the  dogmatic and narrow 17th Century view according to which a book should be read from the very beginning until the end, the  Diderot and D'Alembert Encyclopedia offered the possibility to start reading at any page, according to one's interests. This is, in a way, similar to navigating through the internet.

The Encyclopedia, for the first time, paid extraordinary attention to visual aspects, (hence the presence of graphs, diagrams etc) so providing the basis for an illustrated culture, encouraging useful knowledge.

The silent libraries ( "soul medicine" as the Library of Tebas called them) have always preserved, provided and classified  books for wise people and students. In the 18th century, libraries attracted all kinds of members of the population in a trend which has continued to progress as mankind itself progresses.

The printing press and a flourishing book industry have not been able to resist the environmental and preservation limitations imposed on them in all countries. Paper is degradable,  and many  valuable editions are under threat by dangers such as the excess of light, damp, mice and rats, insects, fungus and other unwelcome guests. In order to avoid this kind of damage, the silicon chip and the CD Rom  combine text and illustrations with two new aspects: image and sound.

The diffusion of culture and information is at a moment in which it requires new advanced tools that technology is ready to offer.

As we approach the new millennium, technological innovation goes from strength to strength, with new products encouraging global knowledge and information. While the traditional book and printing activity represented an important step in reducing costs and opening up new opportunities for more and more people to expand their cultural knowledge, so the new computing and communication technologies enhance text interactivity; they have re-defined creativity for all sorts of graphic illustrations without additional reproduction costs, and they have simplified immediate world-wide access to all sorts of material, making reprography unnecessary or optional.

In order to take advantage of the new technologies available we need to experience a cultural change which, although it is beginning, is far from reaching the desirable level among most countries and social classes. The new protagonists of this change are outlined below:

The hypertext -along with further applications such as database- enables information and knowledge to be rapidly connected. The limitations of traditional footnotes, with their supportive explanatory concepts, bibliographical references or the author's more detailed explanations have been vastly by hypertext. The fact that such explanations do not appear on the same page is the least important thing;, the greatest advantage is the fact that the reader chooses the information at his/her own will , without time or place limits.

A modern electronic edition of Biology text or book can offer its readers the chance of linking a reference with the complete work of The Origin of Species thus obtaining as much additional information as they require in seconds, without going to a library.

Readers can now enjoy the best Natural Sciences collection/s of the most prestigious museums in the world. Or enter a landscape or a complete film in which dinosaur life is faithfully presented. Or feel the sensation produced by 19yh century paleontology treatment, a page from an incunabulum or the picture and the research results on the molecular structure of DNA, constantly updated -even after the author has written the work- by a group of researchers working in a prestigious university far away from here.

The author then has at his/her service a huge amount of information available to be linked with his/her work and the reader has the possibility of both using it or not according to his/her needs and ability to understand the more complex areas of the work. Finally, the electronic support enables authors to correct mistakes, add or remove pieces of text, give format to the document, save data in a limited space and carry out many other tasks.

Undoubtedly, the hypertext would be very limited without the world wide web or internet, which enables us to overcome the barrier of distance by transferring a whole wealth of information -texts, images, sounds- all around the world by using the cable and signs provided by modern technology. The previous example of the Biology textbook, would be greatly restricted if we could not access a whole variety of links to information administered and maintained by other sources whose prestige and experience guarantee its authenticity. The internet has opened up a world of opportunities to libraries, readers and authors.

Linked information can be developed or altered more than was previously thought. Static information can become dynamic with the risks and advantages involved. The information "location" is less important, that is to say, an on-line text maintained at Harvard University offers much more information than a traditional book found on the shelves of the faculty library. The new relationship between space and time and knowledge is changing our habits. Not only as far as preferences are concerned, but also regarding what is expected from researchers or members of the public at large, who link information up with specific expectations.

The tool used to enjory reading has become irrelevant. Readers may choose paper, by printing off the file of their choice, computer screen, enabling them to use resources unavailable on paper, television screen or an electronic book. The latter is already a commercial reality and readers can choose thousands of works in book format one by one, and edit them according to their personal preferences and interests.