Century Past Free Online Library has links to collections that, all told, contain hundreds of thousands of books, magazines, articles, maps, and images. The site is organized to help you find reading materials on your favorite topics.
Most of our books are hosted by Internet Archive. We also have books and magazines from HathiTrust and Google Books.
Everything on this site is free. We do not sell subscriptions or offer any premium services.
Century Past Collections
Nonfiction Books
Century Past makes it easy to pursue your interests in Internet Archive’s huge collection of over 7 million books. Every subject page on Century Past, found with our Book Subjects directory, contains dozens of related ‘topics’ that are links to collections on Internet Archive or, occasionally, on another major online library.
Some topic collections include hundreds or even thousands of books, so it is best to refine your search using filters. For tips on using filters at Internet Archive to narrow down your results, check out this FAQ. Additionally, many Internet Archive pages also feature audio and video materials related to each topic, which can be found in the left column of the Internet Archive page under ‘Media Type.’
Start with our Book Subjects directory, always available in the top-of-page Main Menu. Or instead, you can use the search feature (magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner) to locate specific subjects.
Many pages on Century Past also highlight vintage public-domain collections and modern textbooks. You’ll find links to related topics and pages at the bottom of each Century Past page.
Fiction
Many of the Internet Archive’s vast 7-million books are fiction. From popular novels, short stories, and poetry to literature, folklore, and children’s tales, there’s something for every reader. Century Past organizes these Fiction resources across 40+ dedicated webpages for easy navigation.
As with Nonfiction, visitors can find Fiction pages via our directory at Book Subjects on the Main Menu, at the top of every page. The headings ‘Comics & Graphic Novels’, ‘Drama’, ‘Fiction’, ‘Humor’, ‘Juvenile Fiction’ and ‘Poetry’ are dedicated to Fiction. Or instead, you can use the search feature (magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner) to locate specific Fiction content.
In addition, Fiction resources can be uncovered on most Nonfiction pages with a simple technique—check this FAQ for details.
Most ‘topics’ listed on our Fiction pages are links to book collections at Internet Archive. These collections sometimes contain hundreds or even thousands of books. Links to broad topics might lead to particularly large collections. To refine your search, consult the tips in this FAQ. On Internet Archive pages, you may also discover audio and video materials related to your topic under “Media Type” in the left column.
The majority of Internet Archive books were published between 1928 and 2017. These are protected by copyright, but you can read them online with a free log-in at Internet Archive. Vintage books published before 1928 are mostly in the public domain, so you can download them or read them online without logging on.
Magazines
We have more than 600 magazine titles, with many thousands of back-issues. Some titles offer current issues. Most of our magazines are from recent years, but some are from as early as the mid-1800s. Click “Magazines” in the top menu, where you’ll find links to 30+ subject pages.
Some magazines can only be read with a free Internet Archive log-on.
Newspapers
We have five pages of website collections of links to newspaper archives, and to major link collections for current newspapers and other online news sources. Each page covers a different region of the world. Click “Newspapers” in the top menu of every page.
Articles, Maps, and Photos – Collections
In the top-of-page menu click ‘Articles-Maps-Photos’. We currently have about 50 subject pages containing around 1,000 links to articles from newspapers and popular magazines. About half of these pages are history-related. Also on the ‘Articles- Maps-Photos‘ page are links to pages with large online collections of photos, maps, and other kinds of images.
The Great Lakes States Past and Present
The Great Lakes States collection (found in the top menu under ‘More‘) is concerned with five states around the U.S. Great Lakes. This collection has 90+ webpages with books & articles on many topics for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and for the entire Great Lakes region. Most books and articles are non-fiction, but we also have a webpage of novels for each Great Lakes state, and pages for maps, periodicals, and documents.
You will need a free Internet Archive log-on to read many of the items.
About the Site Owner
My name is Ted Lienhart, and I live in Wisconsin, USA. I have long-standing interests in history, books, and libraries, and I maintain this free online library for readers everywhere.
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Updated: January 2025