Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Loeb Classical Library

http://ryanfb.github.io/loebolus/

It seems that all of the (first edition only?) LCL volumes are now downloadable, either by one enormous, all-inclusive download or by individual works.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlaendischen Gesellschaft (ZMDG)

http://www.youtube.com/user/ASORTV?feature=c4-feed-u

The good news is that open access to this venerable journal runs almost uninterrupted from 1847-2003. The site also contains annual reports and supplements.

ASOR channel on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/user/ASORTV?feature=c4-feed-u

Seems like this should have happened a good while ago, nevertheless it's here: a YouTube channel by ASOR. Today's top video is on my favorite archaeological site: Hazor.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Ebla Digital Archives

http://virgo.unive.it/eblaonline/cgi-bin/home.cgi

From the home page:

The aim of the Ebla Digital Archives [ EbDA ] database is to provide a digital edition of the entire corpus of cuneiform texts belonging to the Ebla Royal Archives. Texts are reproduced in the same sequence as in the individual volumes of the series Archivi Reali di Ebla – Testi published by the “Italian Archaeological Mission to Siria” of the Sapienza University of Rome. Compared with the hard copy publication, the digital edition provides harmonized transliterations, corrections and numerous collations made over the years by the team of epigraphers who cooperate with the Mission.
The project is presented as a work in progress. The ARET volumes currently included in the database will be gradually followed by other volumes published in the past years. Additional texts or portions of texts that have appeared in other series, in monographs or in journals will be also included in the database. Any suggestion by interested users will be highly appreciated.

J. Paul Getty Trust Open Content Program

http://www.getty.edu/about/opencontent.html

Obtaining permission to use copyrighted images can be inconvenient, so the Getty Trust's willingness to make available its images to the world wide audience for "fair use" without permission is welcome news.

From the home page:

The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required.

Please see the related press release and Getty president and CEO Jim Cuno's announcement on The Getty Iris for additional information.
Why Open Content?

The Getty adopted the Open Content Program because we recognized the need to share images of works of art in an unrestricted manner, freely, so that all those who create or appreciate art—scholars, artists, art lovers, and entrepreneurs—will have greater access to high-quality digital images for their studies and projects. Art inspires us, and imagination and creativity lead to artistic expressions that expand knowledge and understanding. The Getty sincerely hopes that people will use the open content images for a wide range of activities and that they will share the fruits of their labors with others.
Access to Open Content Images

Initially, the images available through the Open Content Program are of works in the J. Paul Getty Museum's collections. Over time, images from the Getty Research Institute and the Getty Conservation Institute will be added. Museum images can be found on the Museum's Collection webpages or on the Getty Search Gateway. Those available as open content images are identified with a "Download" link. Images provided are JPEG files at a minimum of 300 DPI. See the Guidelines for Successful Printing (PDF) for more information on file format.

If you need new photography, resizing, or color correction, you can request those services by Contacting Museum Rights & Reproductions. A fee (PDF) will be charged for this service.
Public Domain and Rights

Open content images are digital surrogates of works of art that are in the Getty's collections and in the public domain, for which we hold all rights, or for which we are not aware of any rights restrictions. Rights restrictions are based on copyright, trademark, privacy and publicity laws, and contractual obligations. If an image you want is not designated as an open content image, it is because one or more of the above identified legal rights restricts our ability to make that content available under this program. While the Getty reviews the metadata about each picture before making it available as an open content image, there may be some underlying rights that were unknown to us. For that reason, we strongly recommend that users consider the possibility that rights of third parties may be involved, and permission for those rights may need to be obtained by the user for the proposed use.
Fair Use

Open content images can be used for any purpose without first seeking permission from the Getty. Images of many other works in the collections are also on our website in varying formats. The Getty supports fair use of images when the applicable legal criteria are met. For more information on use of digital images of works in the Getty's collections, please refer to the Getty's Terms of Use.
Attribution to the Getty

Please use the following source credit when reproducing an image:
Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.
When using open content images, you should not suggest or imply that the Getty endorses, approves of, or participated in your projects.
Publications Using Open Content Images

While there are no restrictions or conditions on the use of open content images, the Getty would appreciate a gratis copy of any scholarly publications in which the images are reproduced in order to maintain the collection bibliography. Copies may be sent to the attention of:
Open Content Program
Registrar's Office
The J. Paul Getty Museum
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1000
Los Angeles, CA 90049

Frequently Asked Questions

Get answers to frequently asked questions about the Getty's Open Content Program.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004

http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/

From the home page:

UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004, includes almost 2,000 books from academic presses on a range of topics, including art, science, history, music, religion, and fiction.
Access to the entire collection of electronic books is open to all University of California faculty, staff, and students, while more than 700 of the titles are available to the public. Print versions of many of the electronic books can be purchased directly from the publishers.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Oqimta: Studies in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature

http://www.oqimta.org.il/english/HomePage.aspx

From the home page:

Oqimta is a digitized research journal devoted to all spheres and types of talmudic and rabbinical literature – Halakha and Agada 

The articles in this journal undergo academic appraisal and redaction, and are published in the accepted languages for Judaica research. 

Oqimta will be appearing once a year, in digitized form, and is available free of charge to the reading public. Articles that have completed the publication process will be uploaded to the site prior to the finalization of the issue, and can be found on the "In Publication" page.

We are pleased to present the inaugural issue: Oqimta 1 (5773 [2013]) containing thirteen articles. We take this opportunity to invite you to subscribe to our mailing list (see subscribe), and to send us your submissions (see Instructions for Authors).
Editor: Shamma Friedman
Assistant Editor: Alexander J. Tal
Editorial Board: Yeshayahu Gafni, Avraham (Rami) Reiner
Publisher: Ruben A. Knoll
POB 10141 Ramat Gan 5200102 Israel
Copyright © All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Ex oriente

http://www.exoriente.org/about/

This site relates to matters of early society such as sedentarization. It has a section of articles that can be downloaded freely.

From the "about" page:
ex oriente e.V. is a scientific society founded in 1994 by researchers of the Institutes of Near Eastern Archaeology and Ancient Oriental Studies at the Free University of Berlin. We are an independent organization encouraging interdisciplinary and transnational cooperation on the study of environmental history, ancient technologies, and the means of production and subsistence in the Near and Middle East.

In contrast to traditional research interests of the discipline in Germany, we focus on the lifeway of the people in early societies. The natural environment of the Near East provided conditions that allowed for substantial advances in human cultural development, including:
  • sedentarization
  • domestication of plants and animals
  • irrigation and pastoralism
  • urbanization
  • emergence of states.
This trajectory was characterized by a continuing emergence of new technologies and subsistence economies. This often involved the adoption of adaptive strategies to compensate for excessive exploitation of natural resources that changed or destroyed environmental conditions. The early examples of enduring human impacts on their surroundings have clear modern analogies in terms of environmental and developmental politics. Thus, the aim of ex oriente is also to make a clear connection between prehistoric and early historical times with present-day environmental and social developments. Research on prehistoric territorial behavior and environmental destruction, conditions under which stratified societies and early patterns of conflict arose, can offer insights into modern developmental problems.

Our activity focuses on the period from the Paleolithic until the early historical epochs, paying special attention to:
  • innovative, rational and standardized technological procedures for the production of stone tools
  • development of various environmentally adaptive and effective agricultural and herding subsistence economies
  • mass production ceramic manufacture and associated developments of storage facilities
  • establishment of long-distance trade networks and market systems
  • the resulting emergence of complex societies
Work in more recent periods will receive consideration if it deals with technological or environmental topics.

In order to accomplish these aims, ex oriente fosters a closer cooperation between the field of archaeology and those of zooarchaeology, paleobotany, geology, geography, ethnography, and philology, especially with researchers form the Near and Middle East. These efforts are expressed in the promotion of fieldwork and analysis (e.g., excavations, surveys, and laboratory research) and by the organization of workshops and symposia. In addition, ex oriente also publishes research results in the society's series SENEPSE ("Studies in Early Near Eastern Production, Subsistence, and Environment"), co-produces the newsletter "NEO-LITHICS: A Newsletter of Southwest Asian Lithics Research". By the end of 2000, ex oriente starts of new series of final excavation reports dealing with the Neolithic of Southwest Asia ("bibliotheca neolithica Asiae meridionalis et occidentalis").

Sunday, August 4, 2013

American Journal of Archaeology -- Open Access Materials

http://www.ajaonline.org/openaccess

From the home page:

Open Access

Follow the links below to access vetted and edited open access content published in the AJA.
 Editor's Picks
 Book Reviews and Books Received 
 Museum Reviews
 Print-Published Content
 Supplementary Content
 Volume Indexes
See also:
  • The AJA on JSTOR where all pre-1923 volumes are available for free download.
  • JSTOR's Register and Read service for free read-online access.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database

http://www.sahd.div.ed.ac.uk/

From the home page:

The Semantics of Ancient Hebrew Database project aims to provide a structured and critical survey of scholarly literature on the vocabulary of classical Hebrew. As it grows, it will offer an in-depth resource to complement traditional dictionaries, and also provide pointers to further research. This international, cooperative project involves a growing number of research centres with coordination provided by Leiden.

Read the foundational description of the project (1994).

The currently participating centres include the following universities: Azusa Pacific, Bonn, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Florence, Oxford, Leiden, Leuven, Paris, Rome, and Sydney.