In the collection of the British Library there are two Gutenberg Bibles, two copies of the Magna Carta, five copies of William Shakespeare's First Folio and now something new: your e-mail messages.
Or at least ones like them. This month, the library, in partnership with Microsoft, has been collecting e-mail notes that ordinary Britons and others have sent -- 13,807 so far -- as a way of capturing a sense of life in the 21st century.
"E-mail is the first major upheaval in written English since the invention of the printing press," said Jonnie Robinson, a sociolinguistic and education specialist at the library who has been working on the project, known as Email Britain.
"And this is the first archive of its kind," he said. "We're looking at it as an electronic time capsule -- for social historians it's going to be an incredibly rich resource."
As the project's Web site explains, the library wants "memorable or significant e-mail" messages that fall into 10 categories: blunders, life-changing e-mails, complaints, spam, love and romance, humor, everyday e-mails, news, world around you and tales from abroad.
ORDINARY LIFE
Sometimes the messages detail the indignities of daily life:
"HAHA the temp in reception got fired after sending this," reads one.
"To: All Users
Subject: The person who ate my muffin!!!
It would have been better if U asked for one of my muffins, instead of just taking it without permission."
Sometimes little victories are recounted.
"I sent Mum on a mission to Topshop," reads one of the submitted pieces, referring to a British clothing store. "She has already had a glass of Bucks Fizz and has got us both the Kate Moss dresses!"
CHICKEN SANDWICH
As for complaints, this note was sent to a restaurant:
"I really really really ridiculously enjoy eating chicken and bacon sandwiches. They are, in my mind, the very pinnacle of humanity's pursuit for culinary perfection. Unfortunately however, a Chicken and Bacon and Salad sandwich that I purchased today from your Brighton store, not only was an insult to man's greatest edible achievement, but also taints your own brands impeccable reputation for excellence and customer satisfaction."
And here is a description of a life-changing moment:
"Last night Dave surprised me and took me on the London Eye [I thought I was going to his work do]. Anyway to cut a long story short [involving me thinking we were going to Pizza Express!] he asked me to marry him -- after lots of really girly behaviour of sobbing my heart out I nodded my head!!"
Robinson said that the library is famous for its collections of "official history." What's great about the collection of e-mail, he said, is that "it's a democratic resource" that shows how people really lived.
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