2024-04-12

Here are the notes about the weekly meeting of the Knowledge Standards Foundation. View notes from previous meetings.

Attendees

Larry, John, LaCroix, Manon, Robert, Henry, Nancy, Tim

Summary

Larry set topic: Next steps for the KSF

Notes

Sergei: estimates $500K annual budget to make project sustainable

Larry: wants to keep going even if not working full-time for KSF

John: can’t keep doing what we’re doing

Henry: could add one or two encyclopedias a month to encyclosearch.org as a volunteer

Larry: we want to send email out to public sharing our expenses etc.

Manon: series of shorter emails

Sergei: try GoFundMe

GiveSendGo - Pricing and Fees: The #1 Free Christian Fundraising Site

Sergei: membership model; https://www.overleaf.com/ for example

Larry: let’s list member benefits, what does package look like

Sergei: sent proposal to Mamo some time ago

John: you have to give members something in return

Sergei: idea is a ChatGPT trained on encyclopedia sources

Larry: we did POC, need to demonstrate more results

John's idea: go the AI route, AI needs encyclopedia data, we could provide it to them for a fee

(Jason’s idea: medallion architecture)

Manon: gov’t grant?

Larry: off the table

Sergei: gov’t funds basic science research

John: application RFPs are dense, very difficult to appy

Manon: there are people who specialize in doing the work

Larry: grant writer

John: look at worst case scenario to eliminate risk

LaCroix: minimize overhead, what can be self-hosted?

Larry: Sergei’s ZWINode is in that vein

Manon: sell a thumb drive with public domain encyclopedias

Larry: has started, taking him considerable time; wants to finish what he started (Gutenberg)

Manon:

• Node 1
• Promote ZWI to archive.org

Larry: back to what to announce about what public can expect for maintenance of what the project has produced

Sergei: enhub.org needs 2TB storage

Sergei: will write his plan up in his own words

John: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xA3kDJD0m14RMQmU9SIR8a1uZJIpLsMKNPlkuLpMtHA/edit#gid=869769818

Tim: https://encycloreader.org/files

Tim: A handful of encyclopedia bibliographies I’ve found so far. My sort from first half of a WorldCat best match sort. I can get any of these through interlibrary loan on my ppld.org library card. That card also gives me access to the UCCS Kraemer Family Library.

1. Kister, Kenneth F. Encyclopedia Buying Guide, 1975-1976 : A Consumer Guide to General Encyclopedias in Print. R.R. Bowker, 1976.
2. Graff Hysell, Shannon, editor. Recommended Reference Books for Small and Medium-Sized Libraries and Media Centers. 2011th ed., Volume 31 /, Libraries Unlimited, 2011.
3. Ricci, Seymour de. Notes on the Bibliography of Encyclopedias, by Seymour De Ricci. 1932.
4. John Crerar Library. A List of Cyclopedias and Dictionaries: With a List of Directories. August, 1904. Printed by Order of the Board of Directors, 1904.
5. Louisiana. Department of Education. Office of Educational Support Services. Bureau of Special Projects. 1995-96 Encyclopedia, Encyclopedic Reference, and Louisiana-Related Materials Catalog. The Bureau, 1995.
6. Swann Galleries, and Immanuel Kant. Early Printed Books : Bibles … Dictionaries & Encyclopedias … English Plays … Incunabula … Law : The Property of the Newberry Library, Kansas City Public Library, and Others. Swann Galleries, 1995.
7. CRAIG, Hardin. A Bibliography of Encyclopedias and Dictionaries Dealing with Military, Naval and Maritime Affairs, 1577-1961 … 2nd Edition. Rice University Fondren Library, 1962.
8. Library Association of Australia. Children’s Libraries Section. Victorian Division. Children’s Encyclopaedias. Library Association of Australia, 1966.

John: Here’s [a couple of starter lists]

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Reference_works_in_the_public_domain
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_encyclopedias_by_date