How to find free digital books online. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step methods for locating millions of free digital books online. It directs you to the most effective search techniques for major digital libraries and catalogs. The difference between public domain and in copyright books is explained, and how it affects your search.
Table of contents
Understanding Access: Public Domain vs. In Copyright
It is essential to understand the difference between freely accessible materials and books that must be borrowed:
- The Public Domain: These are works whose copyrights have expired, making them free for anyone to use, copy, and sell.
- Works In Copyright: These texts are not in the public domain, and free legal versions are not as widely available. The best source for these, the Internet Archive, uses a Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) model, which allows it to lend a single digital copy for a limited time, similar to a physical library. The Internet Archive is likely the largest legal source of free digital versions of books in copyright.
Three Major Online Libraries – How to Find Digital Books Free Online
Here are three free online libraries, each with millions of books.
A. The Internet Archive – How to Find Free Digital Books Online
- The Internet Archive provides public domain books to read and download, and copyrighted books to read via Controlled Digital Lending.
- Use the Century Past page “How to Search Internet Archive for Books” for detailed advice.
- Use the curated Century Past directories “Subject Group Directory” or “A to Z Index” to find our webpage covering your broad subject, which contains dozens of more precise topics. Click a topic to see search results, usually at Internet Archive.
- Internet Archive’s Open Library has its own interface and search tool.
- Note: Some in-copyright books in the Internet Archive database are no longer available for lending, per their publisher’s request. They now say “Removed“.
B. HathiTrust Digital Library
- Public Domain: HathiTrust has millions of complete books that you’re free to read and download.
- In Copyright: HathiTrust has a collection available for employees of member institutions (i.e. universities).
C. Google Books
- Public Domain: Google Books has complete books to read and download.
- In Copyright: Google Books often allows you to preview a text by reading portions of it.
D. Other Online Libraries
There are numerous other digital collections, often at universities, libraries, or museums. Some directories to digital libraries are:
Conducting Subject Searches – How to Find Free Digital Books Online
Broad search terms of one or two words may work at your local library, but at a library holding millions of books they can give you hundreds of books to sort through. It is better to use a search tool that allows you to be more specific about your subject, and to restrict variables such as the year of publication.
- Library of Congress Advanced Search: The Library of Congress (LOC) is an enormous physical book library with a relatively easy online search tool. Use it to find titles that fit your needs, which you can then search for at online digital libraries or simply put into Google Search.
- Open Library, sponsored by Internet Archive, has a simple search tool that covers a huge database of books. You can find appropriate titles here – many of which are not held at Internet Archive or Open Library – and search for them elsewhere.
- Century Past Free Online Library: Our site allows you to go to a page on a broad subject and browse through many more precise topics within that subject. Simply clicking on a topic carries out a search, almost always within Internet Archive. Use the Subject Group Directory or the A to Z Index to locate your broad subject page.
- Internet Archive: Go to the Century Past page “How to Search Internet Archive for Books” for advice on subject searches.
Buying Used Physical Books Online
Our Century Past Book Buying page provides links to several large online retailers of used books. We do NOT receive compensation from book retailers.
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.