The Militant (logo) 
Vol.64/No.1      January 10, 2000 
 
 
Volunteers strive to put all Pathfinder books, pamphlets in electronic format  
 
 
BY TOM TOMASKO 
OAKLAND, California—"The prognosis is good to excellent" that all of Pathfinder's books and pamphlets will pass through the first step in being converted to electronic form by Jan. 1, 2000, said Warren Simons.

Simons is the organizer of a team of volunteers who scan books into computers. Pathfinder Press is on a campaign to covert all its titles to electronic form. Using modern computer-to-plate technology in publishing, it is quicker and cheaper to print books that are on compact disks than previous prepress methods. Other teams of volunteers are concentrate on proofreading, formatting, and preparing graphics for the books that are being scanned.

As of mid-December there are just 14 books left to scan and all those are now being worked on, Simons stated. Volunteers who have up to now been involved in scanning will soon be involved in other aspects of the work. Of the dozen scanners, three have asked to help format books and one wants to join the graphics team. The others are still giving some thought to it.

On another front of the campaign, Pathfinder reports that several college professors have ordered dozens of copies of the Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State by Frederick Engels. But the book — in which Engels uses discoveries by early anthropologists to show that early humanity did not know private property or the state, and that women were not an oppressed sex until the development of agriculture and the resultant surplus of food beyond daily necessities — is out of print.

The Reprint Project's steering committee has committed to get this book on a CD by the first week of 2000 so Pathfinder's print shop can deliver it in time to fill these orders. Bobbi Sack, who organizes the team of graphics volunteers, said, "We should pull out all the stops so this book can be printed in time. This important book has a gorgeous cover and getting it into the hands of so many students will result in sales of many more Pathfinder books."

Tom Tomasko is a member of the Reprint Project steering committee and a member of the International Association of Machinists Local 1781.  
 
 
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