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Open Floodgate - Insert Content
April 25, 2007

There are a number of online libraries out there - the International Children's Digital Library (ICDL) has long been a favorite - but more recent entrants to the "library" field have a new twist. An example of this new style of "social library" is Open Floodgate. Founder Tina Seelig, a children's book author and game creator, writes about why she felt the need to create an online publishing channel to supplement the normal paths she used. "I launched OpenFloodgate because I saw an opportunity to help artists share their work with the world...Clearly, there are millions of people of all ages and nationalities who are generating fascinating work. My goal is to build an easier way for all of them to share their creations with those who are anxious to read them." [Seelig]

The result is an online library where anyone can publish their work. Authors (or artists) retain full control over their content and can establish viewing/downloading permissions, how the work is displayed on the page, and even which users (or groups) are allowed to access their work. This last capability may be the most important for a school library looking for a way to showcase writing. A "Club" could be created and access limited to only a selected number of e-mail addresses. This way, a small writing club could post their works and have other club members read and comment. This usage sort of reminds me of FanFiction.Net, but without all of the copyright infringement. So whether you are looking to publish or just find some interesting works to read, you might want to give Open Floodgate a try.

Posted by Chris Harris on April 25, 2007 | Comments (0)