Frequently Asked Questions

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Supporting Free Ebooks

How can I support free ebooks on Unglue.it?

Unglue.it's active program is Thanks-for-Ungluing. When a creator releases an ebook with a Creative Commons license, supporters can express their thanks by paying what they wish. You can also make a donation to the Free Ebook Foundation to support the site and its mission.

Thanks-for-Ungluing Campaigns:

Reward the courageous creators who've made their ebooks free to all.

Why Pay for Free eBooks?

If you want to reward the creators of an ebook, why not pay for a book? If you want to encourage other creators to make their books free, reward the creators who have already done so! Say thanks for ungluing the ebooks.

What is Thanks-for-Ungluing?

Thanks-for-Ungluing lets readers say thank you for free ebooks. The program is designed to help rights holders promote and benefit from their Creative Commons licensed ebooks. Creators participating in the Thanks-for-Ungluing program can request payment for ebooks on a pay-what-you-want basis. They set suggested prices as well as metadata and descriptions for their books.

How much of my "Thank You" contribution goes to the Creators?

There’s no charge creators to join. Unglue.it charge $0.25 + 8%, which includes credit card fees. So if you pay $1 for a book, 67 cents goes to the creator (or whoever holds commercial rights), and 33 cents, the entirety of our fee, goes to pay bank network fees. If you pay $10 for a book, the split is $8.95 for the creator, $0.60 for the bank network, and $0.35 to support unglue.it. Unglue.it doesn't process contributions less than $1.

What file formats are supported?

The website is designed to work with pdf, epub.

Why should libraries support Thanks-for-Ungluing books?

Libraries that participate in Thanks-for-Ungluing campaigns make these books more accessible to their users. In addition:

1. Libraries receive proof of conveyance letters that can be used as evidence that the rights holder has conveyed the Creative Commons License. Unglue.it is careful to validate the rights claims of the participating creators.
2. Unglue.it users that have joined a library participating in unglue.it are never asked for contributions if their library has already done so.
3. Catalog records will be available for all books participating in Thanks-for-Ungluing.

Where are the files hosted?

We prefer to link to files served from the Internet Archive, which has proven to be stable, reliable, and well managed.

Can self-published authors participate?

Yes, as long as we can confirm that they are the rights holder for the book and that the ebook files meet industry standards.

Donations & Tax Deductibility

Is my contribution tax deductible?

Donations to the Free Ebook Foundation are tax-deductible. Contributions to Thanks-for-Ungluing campaigns go directly to the rights holder and are generally not tax-deductible. Consult your tax advisor.

Can people contribute anonymously?

Yes. Anonymous donors are included in the total count of supporters, but their names and links are not included in the acknowledgements.