There’s a library lurking in your computer
Where to find it: www.bartleby.com.
Who runs the site: Bartleby was born in 1993 as a personal
research project. Since its incorporation in 1999, it has become
the Web’s best source for reference materials and literature,
according to CEO Steven H. van Leeuwen. Today the site carries
margin ads for Amazon, Quicken, Ebay and their ilk, but the
advertising does not detract from the stunning usefulness of the
site. The curious name is a giveaway for serious readers.
There’s a library lurking in your computer
Where to find it: www.bartleby.com.
Who runs the site: Bartleby was born in 1993 as a personal research project. Since its incorporation in 1999, it has become the Web’s best source for reference materials and literature, according to CEO Steven H. van Leeuwen. Today the site carries margin ads for Amazon, Quicken, Ebay and their ilk, but the advertising does not detract from the stunning usefulness of the site. The curious name is a giveaway for serious readers. The site takes its handle from Herman Melville’s novel, “Bartleby, the Scrivener.” In case you’re not near a computer where you can access Bartleby.com, a scrivener is a copyist. The first classic book published on the site was Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.”
Who is likely to use the site: The most obvious users are students looking for a quick way to sound well-read and erudite. But the site is worth a berth on anyone’s bookmarks list. The home page is topped with tabs labeled “reference,” “verse,” “fiction” and “nonfiction.” Navigating is as simple as that. A featured author or two and a few pithy quotes round out the home page. It’s when users begin clicking the tabs that the site reveals its marvels. This is an easily navigable first-class library on your PC.
Pros: Getting around the site is child’s play. If you get confused ask any 7-year-old for help. A click to the reference tab reveals several dictionaries, thesauri, Gray’s “Anatomy of the Human Body” (don’t look at the illustrations too closely just after lunch), Post’s definitive “Etiquette,” a couple of editions of the Bible, and even the “Fannie Farmer Cookbook.” It also contains inaugural addresses, famous speeches and a lot more. The fiction and nonfiction categories are a classics fan’s feast. And verse? I’m no authority, but there are a lot of poems and stuff there. For those who spend much of their day communicating with words (and today that’s most of us), Bartleby is worth running in the background just as a go-to reference. In less time than it takes to pull a book off a shelf, the source of a famous quote can be authoritatively named, tough words can be deciphered and catchy synonyms are just a click away.
Cons: First, the site looks pretty dull – words on a page. The Web has grown into something resembling Las Vegas more than a college reading room, filled with flashing lights, pop-ups, interactive features and invitations toward sensory overload. Bartleby.com looks like a college reading room.
There’s also the issue of contemporary content. Readers looking for Cicero, Melville, Thomas Paine, Thomas Hobbes or Plato are in luck. Those looking for Dan Brown might have to keep looking. The issue isn’t Bartleby’s. The site is very up-front about its mission: reference and classic literature. The site deals mostly with materials that are already in the public domain. If you want something that’s got a fresh copyright, you’re still going to have to pay for it.
