Does anyone know how to translate the old descriptive notations into algebraic? Perhaps a website could be recommended? I’m attempting to build a chess library, and some of the “classic” books are written with old notations. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
You can do it in ChessBase. Input the game in descriptive and then change the display to algebraic. Learning to read descriptive notation seems a lot simpler, though.
Agreed that learning to read descriptive is easy and worth it. Here’s a link to help: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_notation
For that matter, there are enough errors in books that if you just copy stuff into Chessbase and let it translate, it’s likely to puke on some ambiguous moves. But if you do it yourself, you’ll be able to tell which move is meant from context.
The game scores to many classic books are available on the web. See, for example, DB Books.
Caution: while game scores aren’t subject to copyright, the collections of game scores may be, as effort went into the editorial selection. (Fischer’s games aren’t subject to copyright, but the raw PGN of the games in My Sixty Memorable Games may be.) But you can certainly make your own for personal use.
So learn descriptive, find or create a PGN file of the book in question, and enjoy!
I prefer descriptive!
All this talk about not knowing descriptive notation reminds me of my 27-year-old nephew not knowing how to dial a rotary phone. I’m getting old.
Bill Smythe
You still have a rotary phone?!?! 
This letter started it (more info here), but there is a little writer’s remorse as well. I learned the game and endgame technique back in the days of DN and, for example, learned a BP or RP on the 7th rank can draw against a queen because of the stalemate threat if supported by the king and the superior side’s king is too far away–I didn’t have to learn it four times. Same with rook on the 7th (or 2nd) rank. On the 2nd rank, a rook was either playing defense or was there in preparation to being doubled on the file. There was no need to give any extra study to it.
Have you taken a look at the following web-sites?
gambitchess.com/semi/dbbooks.htm
wwwu.uni-klu.ac.at/gossimit/c/book.htm
Steven Craig Miller