Christian Classics Ethereal Library
Encyclopedia
The Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) is a digital library
that provides free electronic copies of Christian
scripture and literature
text
s.
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 and is currently supported by Calvin College
.
The purpose of the CCEL is simply "to build up Christ's church and to address fundamental questions of the faith." The documents in the library
express a variety of theological views, sometimes conflicting with those of Calvin College.
CCEL stores texts in Theological Markup Language
(ThML) format and automatically converts them into other formats such as HTML
or Portable Document Format
(PDF). Although they use mainly Public Domain
texts, they claim copyright
on all their formatting
. Users must login to their website to download all formatted versions of the text.
CCEL is funded by advertisements
, sales of cd-roms (available since 1997), sales of some books not freely downloadable, and individual gifts. Calvin College has also provided them with space, network access, and significant financial support.
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.
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.
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.
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
that provides free electronic copies of Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
scripture and literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
text
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
s.
CCEL is a volunteer-based project founded and directed by Harry Plantinga, a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
at Calvin College.
It was initiated at Wheaton
Wheaton College (Illinois)
Wheaton College is a private, evangelical Protestant liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago in the United States...
college in 1993 and is currently supported by Calvin College
Calvin College
Calvin College is a comprehensive liberal arts college located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is an educational institution of the Christian Reformed Church and stands in the Reformed tradition of Protestantism...
.
The purpose of the CCEL is simply "to build up Christ's church and to address fundamental questions of the faith." The documents in the library
Digital library
A digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats and accessible by computers. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks...
express a variety of theological views, sometimes conflicting with those of Calvin College.
CCEL stores texts in Theological Markup Language
Theological Markup Language
The Theological Markup Language is a "royalty-free" XML-based format created in 1998 by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library to create electronic theological texts. Other formats such as STEP and Logos Library System were found unacceptable by CCEL as they are proprietary, prompting the...
(ThML) format and automatically converts them into other formats such as HTML
HTML
HyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
or Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
(PDF). Although they use mainly Public Domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
texts, they claim copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
on all their formatting
Formatted text
Formatted text, styled text or rich text, as opposed to plain text, has styling information beyond the minimum of semantic elements: colours, styles , sizes and special features .-Terminology:...
. Users must login to their website to download all formatted versions of the text.
CCEL is funded by advertisements
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
, sales of cd-roms (available since 1997), sales of some books not freely downloadable, and individual gifts. Calvin College has also provided them with space, network access, and significant financial support.
As of 2006, the library was recording about 200,000 page views per day and providing about 2 TB
Terabyte
The terabyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. The prefix tera means 1012 in the International System of Units , and therefore 1 terabyte is , or 1 trillion bytes, or 1000 gigabytes. 1 terabyte in binary prefixes is 0.9095 tebibytes, or 931.32 gibibytes...
of information (equivalent to over a million books) in a month.
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.
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.