During this time of uncertainty and stress, there are online resources you can access to take your mind off worrisome newscasts and daily gloom. Many companies are providing free alternatives to support the homebound lifestyle. Here are a few free online reading (and audible) resources that you may want to try:
The Internet Archive has assembled the National Emergency Library, which is a collection of books that supports emergency remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation while universities, schools, training centers, and libraries are closed. The Emergency Library is meant to meet a specific, extraordinary need – universities, school, and libraries around the world are closed and people cannot access the physical materials within. While the Internet Archive serves the world, it operates in the United States and is taking the extraordinary measure to suspend waitlists on its lending collection through the duration of the US national emergency to meet the educational and inspirational needs of a global community of readers and learners. Its collection includes over 1.4 million eBooks from the 1920s-1990s, acquired and digitized by the Internet Archive, that are not covered by other ebook collections. It does not include textbooks. Anyone can set up an account and borrow for free for 14 days.
Audible, an Amazon company, has offered an array of audiobooks to the public. For as long as schools are closed, children and adults everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. The free books range from preschool-friendly to adult titles. Audible Stories can be accessed from virtually anywhere – on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Through University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries, Digital.Bodleian uses open standards and open software to give wider access to the Bodleian’s unique digital collections, including medieval and renaissance manuscripts, natural history collections, 19th century ephemera and much more.
Project Gutenberg is a library of over 60,000 free eBooks. Choose among free epub and Kindle eBooks, download them or read them online. You will find the world’s great literature here, with focus on older works for which U.S. copyright has expired. Thousands of volunteers digitized and diligently proofread the eBooks, for enjoyment and education. Project Gutenberg’s ebooks require no special apps to read, just the regular Web browsers or eBook readers that are included with computers and mobile devices.
EBSCO eBooks Academic Comprehensive Collection
EBSCO eBooks Academic Comprehensive Collection currently has 224,385 total unique unlimited user titles in the following subjects: business and economics; education; language arts and disciplines; political science; religion; literary criticism; medical; social science; philosophy; technology and engineering; world history. Publishers include: Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, John Wiley & Sons, Oxford University Press, Harvard University Press, Sage Publications, Cambridge University Press, University of California Press and State University of New York Press.
For more free access online, join us next time on the topic: Museum Virtual Tours!