The Library is part of the Libre Self-Publication facility.

The Self-Publication facility is a feature for uniform management and publication of various types of content. Most commonly the content consists of documents, but the facility can equally manage other forms of content such as software, music, images and videos.

The Self-Publication facility automatically generates the Library, along with its various content indexes and bibliographies. Any document or other content placed under Self-Publication management automatically becomes part of the appropriate listings, indexes and bibliographies.

The Libre Self-Publication facility is a standard feature of the By* Services, available to all By* account holders.

Library content

The Library is the central repository for all Libre content residing at this website. Libre content is any form of information (writing, software, music, images, videos) that is published under copyleft, a form of copyright permitting verbatim copying.

Each item of content placed under Self-Publication management is assigned a primary publication site. This is the site where the content originates and is maintained under Libre Self-Publication management. An item of content may also have one or more duplicate sites, where it is automatically replicated by the Self-Publication facility. Any changes or revisions to the content are reflected both at the primary publication site, and at all duplicate sites. So in general, content published at this website may be content originating here (i.e. this is the primary publication site), or content duplicated from elsewhere (i.e. from a different primary publication site).

The Libre Self-Publication facility is most commonly used for the creation and publication of new Libre content, but pre-existing content of one form or another may be brought into the Libre Self-Publication framework. This process is referred to as republication. The pre-existing content may be Libre or non-Libre, and it may already exist in varying manners and degrees of publication. In terms of authorship it may have been authored by the site owner himself or herself, or it may have been authored by others. But the basic meaning of republication is to take content that has already been created and exists in some manner, and bring it under Libre Self-Publication management. The site where the content is initially republished under Libre Self-Publication management becomes the primary publication site for the (now Libre) content. Thus we can say that content for which this is the primary publication site consists of original content (created and owned by the site owner), plus republished content (created and/or owned and/or published elsewhere).

All content published in the Library carries one of the following tags to indicate its category:

• PLPC. Permanent Libre Published Content (PLPC) is published material that is intended to be maintained permanently. It may be updated, but when updates are made, the old revision is archived. The permanence of PLPC content is assured by multiple mirroring of all By* Libre Content. The Library automatically creates a hidden website folder at /PLPC, listing all PLPC-tagged content.
• RECORD. Information that is intended to be maintained permanently but in read-only form (i.e. not updated) is tagged RECORD. Examples might be a presentation made at a conference, an open letter, or an email transcript. The Library automatically creates a hidden website folder at /Records, listing all RECORD-tagged content.
• DRAFT. Content that represents work-in-progress, that is not intended to be cited, is tagged DRAFT. The Library automatically creates a hidden website folder at /DRAFT, listing all DRAFT-tagged content.
• REPUB. Previously existing content brought under Libre Self-Publication management is tagged REPUB. The Library automatically creates a hidden website folder at /Repub, listing all REPUB-tagged content.
• SW. Software published in source form is tagged SW. The Library automatically creates a hidden website folder at /SW, listing all SW-tagged content.

Library indexes

Published content for which this is the primary publication site is listed in tabular format in the Site Index, and in bibliographic format in the Site Bibliography.

The totality of content published at this site, whether originating here (i.e. this is the primary publication site) or duplicated here (i.e. from a different primary publication site), is listed in tabular format in the Full Index, and in bibliographic format in the Full Bibliography.

All software published at this site, if any, is listed in tabular format in the Software Index.

Libre formats

The Self-Publication facility makes use of Libre Formats exclusively, except where a Libre Format is not generally available. A Libre Format is one whose format specification is readily available, and for which implementation of the format is not subject to any restrictive patents. Based on this definition, there are typically multiple available processors and viewers for Libre Formats.

The Library uses the following revisable Libre Formats (frequently used for source documents):

• TeX/LaTeX, a document markup language and preparation system
• ODP (Open Document Presentation)

The Library uses the following non-revisable Libre Formats (frequently used for output documents):

• HTML, with various legitimate extensions
• PDF (Portable Document Format)
• PS (PostScript)

Proprietary formats are avoided and discouraged. In particular, the Library will specifically reject known proprietary formats, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel.

A variety of Libre Content generation tools are available to create and manage content. These are part of the Libre Services Integration Platform (LSIP).