IEU Universe › Global Knowledge

BOOKS, TEXTBOOKS & CULTURAL COLLECTIONS

Global Open Library

Find independent book portals and digital collections, and learn how access and reuse rights differ.

Choose a collection type

Open textbooks

Learning texts with open or no-cost access labels.

Open books

Scholarly books and monographs in discovery directories.

Journal directories

Independent discovery of journals; listing is not an IEU endorsement.

Digital collections

Public culture, heritage and historical collections.

Book discovery

Catalogues and previews where full text may vary.

OPEN TEXTBOOKS, BOOKS & BOOK DISCOVERY

Open Library & Books

OpenStax

Openly licensed textbooks from Rice University initiative.

open educational textbooksSciencesBusinessHumanities
Visit OpenStax

Open Library & Books

Open Textbook Library

Search and access textbooks under open licences.

open textbooksSciencesBusinessEducation
Visit Open Textbook Library

Open Library & Books

Directory of Open Access Books

Directory of peer-reviewed open-access scholarly books.

open access book discoveryHumanitiesSocial SciencesResearch
Visit Directory of Open Access Books

Open Library & Books

OAPEN Library

Open-access scholarly monographs and books.

open access booksHumanitiesSocial SciencesResearch
Visit OAPEN Library

Open Library & Books

LibreTexts

Open instructional text collections across disciplines.

open educational librarySciencesEngineeringBusiness
Visit LibreTexts

Open Library & Books

Project Gutenberg

Large collection of public-domain literature; local copyright law applies.

public-domain ebooks; region-dependentHumanitiesLanguages
Visit Project Gutenberg

Open Library & Books

HathiTrust Digital Library

Scholarly digitized books and bibliographic discovery.

free catalog; full-text variesHumanitiesResearch
Visit HathiTrust Digital Library

Open Library & Books

JSTOR Open Content

Open-access and public domain scholarship through JSTOR.

open and mixed contentHumanitiesSocial Sciences
Visit JSTOR Open Content

Open Library & Books

Google Books

Book search and preview; not all books are freely available.

free discovery; content access variesHumanitiesResearch
Visit Google Books

INDEPENDENT JOURNAL DIRECTORIES

CULTURAL & DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

Europeana

European digital culture and heritage discovery.

free digital discovery; reuse licences varyCultureHumanities
Visit Europeana

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

UNESCO World Heritage Centre

UNESCO-listed heritage information and resources.

free world heritage informationCultureGeography
Visit UNESCO World Heritage Centre

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

Smithsonian Open Access

Smithsonian public digital collections and media.

open digital collectionsCultureSciences
Visit Smithsonian Open Access

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

The Met Open Access

Metropolitan Museum of Art public domain content.

open artwork data and images subject to termsArtsHumanities
Visit The Met Open Access

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

Google Arts & Culture

Cultural museum collections and interactive exhibits.

free public browsing; content licences varyArtsCulture
Visit Google Arts & Culture

World Heritage & Cultural Knowledge

Wikimedia Commons

Multimedia files with per-file rights and attribution information.

free browsing; each file licence variesHumanitiesSciences
Visit Wikimedia Commons

Access is not the same as a licence

Open access describes reading access. An open licence grants specified reuse rights. Public domain status depends on applicable copyright law. A preview is only the portion made visible by its provider.

Check the exact item’s licence, author, edition, permitted uses and jurisdiction before copying or adapting it.

Cite an online book

Record author or editor, year, exact title, edition, publisher, stable URL or DOI and access date when required by your style guide. Use the metadata shown by the source rather than guessing missing details.

Citation and writing guidance ›