Finding Free Literary Resources: Digital Libraries and Portals
This guide is intended to acquaint you with how to access literary resources free of charge.
Digital Libraries and Portals
The sites listed below include not only literary books and manuscripts, but archival resources of many kinds in a variety of formats. Although you can locate many resources through these portals that can be freely downloaded, some are subject to copyright and may be viewed, read or listened to, but not downloaded.
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Digital Bodleian LibraryThe Bodleian Libraries are the research libraries of Oxford University. Digital Bodleian brings together in one collection many of the resources the library has been digitizing over the last twenty years. Over 650,000 digital objects (including maps, manuscripts, images, historical documents and records, etc.) are freely available and downloadable.
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Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)The DPLA is a kind of "catalog of catalogs," serving as a discovery tool for books, images, historical documents, arts objects, audiovisual materials that are housed in libraries, archives and museums. It provides direct access to those materials that are freely available in the public domain.
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Internet ArchiveSimilar to DPLA, the Internet Archive is a kind of "library of libraries." It is a non-profit digital library, providing free access to non-copyrighted books, movies, software, music, websites, etc. Many of these items have been digitized from libraries and museums all over the world.
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Internet Archive ScholarProvides full-text access to over 25 million freely-available and open access scholarly resources.
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LibGuides CommunityBrowse through LibGuides on a particular topic or individual and learn what various institutions recommend for their patrons. This includes archives, articles, books, tutorials, and websites. Unfortunately, while not all the information will be accessible to outside visitors, these LibGuides provide a way to learn what information is (or was) available.
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Library of Congress Digital Collections (LOC)In addition to being the largest library in the world and being the main research tool for the U.S. Congress, the LOC's resources are available to the public. The LOC provides a variety of finding aids, available from anywhere, as well as many digital materials on a wide-range of topics that can be examined and downloaded remotely.
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Media History Digital Library (MHDL)Especially useful for those interested in researching film, radio, and other related media from the early to mid 20th century.
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Smithsonian Libraries and ArchivesVisitors can browse through the Smithsonian's digitized collection which includes art, books, and manuscripts. The site also includes interactive exhibits and research guides.