1. Who is your library designed for?
2. What distinguishes FEB-web from other digital library projects?
3. When will FEB-web post all the texts listed?
4. How can I find out when new content is posted or other changes are made to FEB-web?
5. Do you plan to publish any contemporary authors?
6. What is the best way to cite the texts on FEB-web – should I cite FEB-web or the original publication?
7. How can I print out the texts on FEB-web?
8. Can I copy FEB-web to my hard drive and use it without connecting to the Internet?
9. Is the Library for sale on CD-ROM? If so, where can I buy it, and how much does it cost?
10. Can I buy the books on FEB-web?
11. Whom should I notify about any mistakes or problems I discover?
12. What on Earth is a DSE?
13. I can’t view any of the Cyrillic texts – what do I do?
14. When I open texts that reproduce Russian pre-reform orthography, some of the characters show up as little boxes. How can I get these texts to display properly?
15. Do I have to install any special fonts? Where can I get them?
16. Do I need any special software to use FEB-web?
17. Which browser is best for viewing FEB-web?
18. I really like your project. How can I get involved?
19. How can I exchange banners or links with you?
20. Can I use FEB-web to find the provenance of quotations?
21. Does the lexical search function cover all the texts on FEB-web?
22. How does the English-language version of FEB-web differ from the Russian-language one?
23. What transliteration system do you use?
24. What cataloging format do you employ?
25. How do you intend to reproduce medieval Russian texts?
26. What kind of indexes and bibliographical apparati will be available and when?
27. Where can I get more information about the content, structure, and functional capabilities of FEB-web?

1. Who is your library designed for?
   For anyone interested in Russian literature. The scholarly principles we adhere to in creating the Digital Scholarly Editions (see question 2) make it possible to use FEB-web for educational purposes as well as research.
   
   
2. What distinguishes FEB-web from other digital library projects?
   The main thing that distinguishes FEB-web from most other digital libraries is that FEB-web is a scholarly library. FEB-web abides by the following principles: 1) our content is selected in a systematic fashion; 2) we strive for a complete and exhaustive collection of information on various topics; 3) we also strive for authenticity in preparing our digital versions of primary texts; 4) all the texts on FEB-web are accompanied by precise bibliographical descriptions; 5) FEB-web is structured according to a well-defined concept, which informs its construction at all levels; 6) FEB-web has unique functional capabilities designed specifically for our users. (See "About" for more details.)
   
   
3. When will FEB-web post all the texts listed?
   Over the next few years, new content will be posted about twice a month- sometimes more, sometimes less.
   
   
4. How can I find out when new content is posted or other changes are made to FEB-web?
   FEB-web maintains a "News" section, where we regularly post announcements about new content and other changes. Or, subscribe to our mailing list to receive regular email updates.
   
   
5. Do you plan to publish any contemporary authors??
   If you mean contemporary prose or poetry — no. If you mean new scholarly works on the topics FEB-web is devoted to — quite probably.
   
   
6. What is the best way to cite the texts on FEB-web — should I cite FEB-web or the original publication?
   Well, you can cite the original publication information in the bibliographical description of the FEB-web version of the text. You should keep in mind, however, that despite FEB-web's commitment to authentic digital reproductions of print media, our digital texts are nonetheless only reproductions. So the best thing is to cite the FEB-web text as a reprint, i.e. to cite both the publication information of the source edition and the FEB-web electronic publication of that edition.
   
   
7. How can I print out the texts on FEB-web?
   We haven't yet developed a printer-friendly format, but it's on the way. For now, you can either select the appropriate frame and use the print functions in your browser or copy and paste the needed text to your word processor.
   
   
8. Can I copy FEB-web to my hard drive and use it without connecting to the Internet?
   You can copy individual texts, but you can't copy the whole Library because it's designed to work on the web, and not locally.
   
   
9. Is the Library for sale on CD-ROM? If so, where can I buy it, and how much does it cost?
   Not yet, but maybe later.
   
   
10. Can I buy the books on FEB-web?
    No.
    
    
11. Whom should I notify about any mistakes or problems I discover?
    The appropriate staff-members. You can find their addresses in "Contact us".
    
    
12. What on Earth is a DSE?
    DSE is short for "Digital Scholarly Edition". For more information, see "About us", where there's a couple sections describing the DSE.
    
    
13. I can't view any of the Cyrillic texts — what do I do?
    You should select the Cyrillic (Windows) encoding (sometimes called Windows 1251) in your browser. The encoding settings are listed in the "View" menu of Explorer. Next, make sure that Unicode is supported on your browser. If the text still doesn't display properly, and you are using an older version of Windows (95 or 98), that probably means you need to enable multi-language support. To do this, go to "Add/Remove Programs" in the Control Panel and look at the "Windows Setup" tab to see if "Multilanguage Support" is enabled. If it's not, enable it. If you're still having problems, make sure that you have the necessary fonts — New Times Roman version 2.76 or higher and, to read texts in pre-reform orthography, Palatino Linotype. (see question 15)
    
    
14. When I open texts that reproduce Russian pre-reform orthography, some of the characters show up as little boxes. How can I get these texts to display properly?
    This happens when the text uses characters that require Unicode support and the installation of special fonts. In most cases, the problem should disappear once you install the needed fonts. (see Question 15)
    
    
15. Do I have to install any special fonts? Where can I get them?
    To view texts in Russian, French, German, and other languages, you need Times New Roman in a version no older than 2.76. Windows users who want to view texts with pre-reform Russian characters (e.g. iat') should install Palatino Linotype.
    
    
16. Do I need any special software to use FEB-web?
    No.
    
    
17. Which browser is best for viewing FEB-web?
    FEB-web works best in Explorer 5.0 and higher. You can certainly use other browsers, but some of the texts don't display correctly in other browsers, and some of the FEB-web functions don't work. Make sure that JavaScript and Active Scripting are enabled on your browser.
    
    
18. I really like your project. How can I get involved?
    We welcome any kind of involvement or support and we're anxious to establish contact with anyone interested in FEB-web. Please do contact us! Whether you're interested in forming an institutional partnership or in helping us translate and format texts for the English-language version, get in touch with the Editor of the English-language Version of FEB-web ([email protected]). If you'd like to get involved with the core FEB-web staff in Moscow, get in touch with the Editor-in-Chief ([email protected]) or the General Director ([email protected]).
    
    
19. How can I exchange banners or links with you?
    We're glad to exchange links — as long as it's really an exchange. Just contact the editors. We'd also be glad to include your site on our links page if it's of interest to FEB-web users.
    
    
20. Can I use FEB-web to find the provenance of quotations?
    Absolutely — just enter the quote into the lexical search engine in one of the Digital Scholarly Editions.
    
    
21. Does the lexical search function cover all the texts on FEB-web?
    At present, the lexical searches are possible only within the various DSE. We hope to have a global search function (i.e. of the whole site) up and running soon.
    
    
22. How does the English-language version of FEB-web differ from the Russian-language one?
    Both versions operate on the same bank of digitized texts, almost all of which are in Russian. There are four differences: 1) in the English-language version, everything the user sees is in English except the digitized texts; 2) the entire bibliographical apparatus of English-language FEB-web is presented in Latin transcription; 3) for now, some sections are available only in the Russian-language version; 4) only the English-language version has the few pages (e.g. on transliteration) that are relevant only for English-language users. Other than that, they're identical.
    
    
23. What transliteration system do you use?
    FEB-web employs the Library of Congress transliteration system, minus diacritics (see the table for details). This is the system most commonly used in English-language electronic bibliographies and catalogs, and the system most familiar to anglophone scholars and students.
    
    
24. What cataloging format do you employ?
    FEB-web catalog entries, including transliterated ones, are presented in the standard Russian cataloging format (GOST 7.1-84).
    
    
25. How do you intend to reproduce medieval Russian texts?
    The primary texts will be presented as scanned images. Transcriptions and reconstructions of those texts — in the same way as other texts on FEB-web.
    
    
26. What kind of indexes and bibliographical apparati will be available and when?
    FEB-web employs three different kinds of reference apparati on three different levels: on the lowest level are the bibliography/index sections of the individual DSE; on the intermediate level are bibliography/index sub-sections for each thematic section (e.g. "18th-century Literature" or "Folklore"); and the entire site is linked to a global bibliography/index apparatus. The bibliography/index sub-sections of each thematic section integrate the indexes of the individual DSE that make up that section. These are summary bibliographies and indexes of all the constituent DSE (name, letter, geographical, and other indexes). The global bibliography/index apparatus, in turn, integrates all these section bibliographies and indexes.
    
    
27. Where can I get more information about the content, structure, and functional capabilities of FEB-web?
    We're happy to answer any questions you might have. Feel free to contact the FEB-web specialists listed in "Contact Us".