What are Librivox audiobooks? How do you find an audiobook on a subject you’re interested in?
Librivox audiobooks are totally free audiobooks in the public domain that were recorded by volunteers. You can use Century Past to search for a Librivox audiobook on almost any topic, or in any genre. Then just listen online, or download it to your device.
What are Librivox Audiobooks?
Librivox is a non-profit community of volunteers that has been recording public domain books since 2005. As of 2026, the collection contains more than 21,000 audiobooks. Most were originally published before 1930 and were selected for recording by the volunteers who narrated them. While the majority are in English, recordings are also available in many other languages. Because it is assumed that most books in the collection have little value in today’s market, only Librivox has produced an audio version.
All Librivox audiobooks are free. You can listen online or download them to your computer, tablet, or phone.
Where to Find Librivox Audiobooks Recordings
The complete collection is available through two primary websites:
You can also access Librivox audiobooks recordings through apps available for Android and Apple devices, as well as through various YouTube channels. Simply search for “Librivox.”
The Challenge of Searching by Subject
Finding a specific author or title on the Librivox website is easy. Finding audiobooks on a particular topic can be more difficult.
Librivox provides a Genre/Subject browsing system, but exploring it can be time-consuming. The Internet Archive Librivox Collection also allows subject searching, but the results depend on keywords entered by individual volunteers. Because volunteers did not use a standardized set of subject terms, many relevant books may be missed.
For example, a search for “World War One” might not find books described as “WWI,” “First World War,” or “The Great War.”
How Century Past Helps
Century Past includes Librivox audiobook sections on many of its fiction and nonfiction pages. These sections use carefully developed searches that combine multiple keywords and subject variations to locate relevant Librivox recordings.
For example, a visitor interested in historical romance can browse a variety of specialized topics rather than relying on a single keyword search. This approach often uncovers recordings that would be difficult to find through a standard Librivox or Internet Archive search.
Start Your Librivox Audiobooks Search on Century Past
To find Librivox audiobooks by subject:
- Browse the Subject Directory.
- Explore the A to Z Index.
- Use the search box at the top right of every Century Past page.
Finding Books by a Favorite Librivox Reader
Narration styles and recording quality can vary because Librivox recordings are made by volunteers. If you discover a reader whose work you particularly enjoy, you can easily find other books they have recorded.
On the Librivox website, enter the reader’s name or forum name in the search box. If the reader appears in the results, click the name to view the recordings associated with that volunteer.
Under each title, Librivox indicates whether the recording is “solo” or “collaborative.” A solo recording was read entirely by that volunteer. A collaborative recording includes multiple readers, and the volunteer may have contributed only one chapter or a few chapters. You can also change the sort order to see the reader’s most recent recordings.
Related Pages on Century Past
Here are CenturyPast.org pages with books or other resources on related subjects. Use the top Menu to look through our 400+ pages.