Christian Classics Ethereal Library
{{Primary sources|date=May 2023}}
{{short description|Digital library and website}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Christian Classics Ethereal Library
| url = {{URL|https://www.ccel.org/}}
| commercial = No (see text)
| type = Digital library
| registration = None
| owner = Calvin College
| author = Harry Plantinga
| launch_date = {{start date and age|1993}}
}}
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library that provides free electronic copies of Christian scripture and literature texts.{{Cite web |title=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0004026/ |access-date=2023-10-17 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}
Description
CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a professor of computer science at Calvin College. It was initiated at Wheaton College in 1993{{cite web |url=https://ccel.org/ |title=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |date=April 29, 2005 |access-date=July 28, 2008}} and is currently supported by Calvin University. It includes Hymnary.org.
The purpose of the CCEL is "To build up Christ's church by making available classic Christian books and promoting their use." The documents in the library express a variety of theological views, sometimes conflicting with those of Calvin University.
CCEL stores texts in Theological Markup Language (ThML) format and automatically converts them into other formats such as HTML or Portable Document Format (PDF).{{cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/about|title=About {{!}} Christian Classics Ethereal Library}} Although they use mainly Public Domain texts, they claim copyright on all their formatting.{{cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/about/copyright.html|title=CCEL Copyright Policy {{!}} Christian Classics Ethereal Library}} Users must log into their website to download all formatted versions of the text.
CCEL is funded by online advertisements, sales of CD-ROMs (available from 1997 to 2019),{{cite web|url=http://www.ccel.org:80/store|title=Store - Christian Classics Ethereal Library|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003045515/http://www.ccel.org:80/store|archive-date=October 3, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=May 15, 2023}} sales of some books not freely downloadable, and individual gifts. Calvin University has also provided them with space, network access, and significant financial support.{{cite web|last1=Plantinga |first1=Harry|url=https://www.ccel.org/info/ccel-story.html|title=The CCEL Story|date=July 1997|publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library|access-date=July 28, 2008}}
As of 2006, the library was recording about 200,000 page views per day and providing about 2 TB of information (equivalent to over a million books) in a month.{{cite web |title=CCEL Questions and Answers |url=https://www.ccel.org/info/faq |access-date=October 17, 2023 |publisher=Christian Classics Ethereal Library}}
A 2002 reviewer acknowledged that while the site is "intended to be a basic online theological library," it was actually much more valuable than that: it is "a treasure of primary sources for anyone teaching Western Civilization or more specialized courses in medieval or Reformation history." They also specifically noted that the ability to search the music "for specific note patterns" was valuable to musicologists.{{cite web |url=https://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/r/35/whm.html |title=Christian Classics Ethereal Library |access-date=July 28, 2008|last=Holt |first=Mack P. |date=October 2002 |work=World History Sources |publisher=Center for History and New Media, George Mason University }}
As of 2005, the primary users of the library fell into three main categories. These are university professors and their students using texts from the library as required reading without running up the students' bill for textbooks, people preparing sermons and Bible studies, and those reading for individual edification.{{cite news |first1=Neff |last1=David |title= Preaching Augustine |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/mayweb-only/52.0c.html |website=Christian Today |publisher=Christian History & Biography |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090215072103/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/mayweb-only/52.0c.html |archive-date=February 15, 2009 |access-date=May 15, 2023}}
See also
References
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External links
- {{Official website|https://www.ccel.org/}}
- {{cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home|title=Anthology of patristics citations of the Bible|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921163504/https://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home|archive-date=Sep 21, 2016|url-status=live}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.catholiccrossreference.online/fathers/index.php/rev%201:8|title=Patristic texts with cross-references to the Bible and internal search engine}} (based on CCEL patristic texts)
Category:1993 establishments in the United States
Category:American digital libraries
Category:Discipline-oriented digital libraries
Category:Internet properties established in 1993
Category:Libraries established in 1993