As a public service, Penny Systems has today published a website eb11.co.uk which contains roughly half the articles from the 29 volumes of Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition published in 1910–1911 and which is therefore out of copyright.

The digitisation of the Encyclopædia is being performed by volunteers working for the Gutenberg project. As more volumes are digitised they will be added to the website.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. It was developed during the encyclopaedia’s transition from a British to an American publication. Some of its articles were written by the best-known scholars of the time. This edition of the encyclopaedia is now in the public domain, but the outdated nature of some of its content makes its use as a source for modern scholarship problematic. Some articles have special value and interest to modern scholars as cultural artefacts of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Penny Systems provides IT services to authors and publishers. Using the expertise gained in converting the ebook “History of the Universe” by Wyken Seagrave into the website with the same name, Penny Systems was able to create the new site in only two days. They would like to work with other publishers who have dictionaries or encyclopaedias they want to publish on-line. They should write to enquiries@pennysystems.co.uk.

Penny Systems are working to upgrade the site and make it mobile friendly. Other planned improvements include adding links from authors’ initials to their details. They would like to hear of any faults which users find with the site. They should write to enquiries@pennysystems.co.uk