Text libraries: where public-domain books come from
Three libraries of public-domain texts, read on their own terms pages: Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks and Wikisource. Each says why its texts are free and what its own terms add. As of 2026-09-25.
| Library | Why texts are free | Own terms | Outside the U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Gutenberg | Books not restricted by U.S. copyright law, usually because the term has expired | Its licence also governs use of the Project Gutenberg trademark | Readers outside the United States are told to check their own country's laws |
| Standard Ebooks | Texts and cover art believed to be in the U.S. public domain | Its own work dedicated to the public domain, so each ebook file is public domain | Not stated on the page read |
| Wikisource | Hosted works must be free to use for any purpose, commercial included | Contributions released under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL | Not stated on the page read |
Inclusion rule. Libraries whose own terms pages were read. Order. The order they are listed in on this site.
1What the libraries have in common
All three rest on the U.S. public domain or on free licences, not on the law of every country. Project Gutenberg says so directly and tells readers elsewhere to check their own laws.
Their own additions differ: Standard Ebooks puts its editorial work in the public domain; Wikisource releases contributions under CC BY-SA 4.0; Project Gutenberg's licence governs its trademark.
For an adaptation, the safest source is a text whose original term has run out where the film will be shown, in an edition whose own terms allow reuse.
The libraries do not promise that a text is free everywhere, and none offers to answer for it. Their pages describe the basis they work on and leave the decision for other countries to the reader.
2Each library
3From book to screen, one tool's way
Once the rights in “Text libraries” are settled, SceneMixer describes the adaptation itself like this:
That is SceneMixer's core design: characters live in a persistent asset library with locked reference art, and every segment that features a character is generated against those references — same face in episode 1 and episode 50.
SceneMixer, The AI Micro Drama Production Pipeline — “Can AI keep the same actors across 50 episodes?” (read 2026-10-13)
Sheets are generated inside a project, from the cast that analysis found, because their purpose is to be reused by that project's shots.
SceneMixer, AI Character Sheet Generator — “Can I generate a sheet without a script?” (read 2026-10-13)