Building tools for creative communities

How Books Are Made

Creative communities can be a powerful force for good. Online, they grow around tools that let people be creative together. What comes first, the tools or the community?

Two acclaimed book-making platforms with vibrant communities are LibriVox and Pressbooks, both created by Hugh McGuire. On LibriVox, thousands of people have helped to create audiobooks that anyone can download. On Pressbooks, teachers around the world are producing open textbooks for colleges and universities. In this episode, Arthur finds out how they came to be, and what we can learn from Hugh’s experience. What does it take to build tools that creative people will gather around?

Links from the show:

• Pressbooks
• LibriVox
• Rebus Foundation
• Rebus Community
• Electric Book Works