LibGuides: Using eBooks: Free eBooks

Free eBook Collections

Many eBooks are available online because they are published open access or have moved into the public domain. Some popular options for searching for free eBooks are listed below.

HathiTrust Digital Library This link opens in a new window
HathiTrust Digital Library is a digital preservation repository which provides long-term preservation and access services for public domain and in-copyright content from a variety of sources, including Google, the Internet Archive, Microsoft, and in-house partner institution initiatives. HathiTrust can be used to search and access many public domain works.
** Note: UMSL is not a HathiTrust partner, so content will be limited to the public version (see below for more information).
NOTE: Since UMSL is not a HathiTrust partner, we cannot access all items in their collection. However, you can use the HathiTrust site to search within works still under copyright, making it a useful way of finding subjects in print works you might otherwise miss. If you find a book you need but cannot get to the full text through the HathiTrust, please search the MOBIUS catalog for available copies. If it is not available in MOBIUS, contact Interlibrary Loan.

View: Public domain and open access books can be viewed by anyone. Books still protected by copyright are available to be searched only to identify the page numbers of the search terms. They may not be viewed.

Print: To print, you must first download either a single page or the whole book as a PDF and then print from your PDF reader.

Download: You may download the full text of books in the public domain. The ability to download is restricted to current Cornell students, faculty and staff. Public domain works will display options to download either a single page or the whole book as a PDF. You will be prompted to choose Cornell as a partner institution and given the option to log in with your NetID and password.

Internet Archive: eBooks & Texts This link opens in a new window
The Internet Archive offers over 12 million freely downloadable books and texts. There is also a collection of modern eBooks that may be borrowed by anyone with a free archive.org account.

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)
The primary aim of DOAB is to increase discoverability of Open Access books. The directory will be open to all publishers who publish academic, peer reviewed books in Open Access and should contain as many books as possible, provided that these publications are in Open Access and meet academic standards.
Open Textbook Network
The Open Textbook Network promotes access, affordability, and student success through the use of open textbooks. UMSL is a member of the Open Textbook Network through MOBIUS.
Google Books
Google Books makes only selected pages of some ebooks available to you to read on a page-by-page basis (previews). Google Books offers the following text-viewing options: Full View, Limited Preview, Snippet View, or No Preview Available. More details about what you can see in these views.

In addition to the links above, some providers of subscribed/purchased eBooks also offer open access content.

eBook Open Access (OA) Collection (EBSCOhost) This link opens in a new window
This new EBSCO eBooks collection includes thousands of open access (OA) e-books from the world's most trusted university presses and scholarly publishers, helping librarians save time searching for high-quality OA content. With this collection, libraries gain access to a growing selection of full-text, DRM-free OA e-books on the EBSCOhost® platform at no cost.
The items in this collection should be stable, but could change in the future. You may wish to download the full text for retention.

JSTOR: Open Access Books
Over 9,000 open access books from a vareity of publishers.