LibGuides: Open Access eBooks &amp; Audiobooks: Introduction

What is Open Access?

Open access (OA) refers to digital content that is available free of charge for everyone. Originally associated only with scholarly journals that published free online, the concept has been extended to other types of content such as eBooks and media. In some cases OA content may also be free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.

Yes, free eBooks! We've collected some of the best sites on the Web that offer open access or free eBooks available to anyone with Internet access. Some can be downloaded, some have to be read online.

Open Access Audiobooks

Get over 5,000 free audiobooks! Most of the open access audiobooks collections below are based on the incredible Project Gutenberg open access eBooks collection consists of classics like Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the Mysterious Affair at Styles, by Agatha Christie or Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy. They are are accessible for free through multiple podcast platforms, including Apple podcasts, Google podcasts and Spotify.

Open Access audiobooks are just getting started. These Project Gutenberg open audiobooks are the results of a collaboration between Project Gutenberg, Microsoft and MIT, converting Project Gutenberg open eBooks into open audiobooks using the new neural text to speech technology.

Librivox and Internet Archive

Librivox and Internet Archive have been at longer and have larger open audiobook collections.

Librivox open audiobooks have been narrated by real people and can be subscribed to though iTunes, RSS feed, Torrent or downloaded to your device.
Internet Archive open audiobooks include a mix of the open access Project Gutenberg and others with human narrators. Like Librivox, the open audiobooks are available in multiple downloadable formats, including Torrent, M3U and MP3.

Don't Forget About COM Library eBooks!

COM students, faculty and staff can access full text eBooks from eBook Central, EBSCO, Gale, Hoopla and more on or of campus 24/7.

Free Downloadable eBooks

Most of these eBooks can be downloaded to an eReader or eBook app in eBook formats such as ePub or mobi (kindle).

Amazon Kindle Free eBook Collections Free classics and out-of-copyright, pre-1923 books, as well as limited-time free promotional ebooks available for Kindle.
Barnes & Noble Free eBooks Use on your Nook, Nook software or Barnes & Noble eReader software or app.
Free-eBooks.net Discover fiction, from romance to mystery, or non-fiction, from business information to self-improvement.
Internet Archive Download free books and texts. The Internet Archive Text Archive contains a wide range of fiction, popular books, children's books, historical texts and academic books.
ManyBooks.net manybooks.net strives to provide eBooks in as many formats as possible.
Open Library Open Library is a project of the non-profit Internet Archive. The goal is one web page for every book ever published. Not every book listed has a free eBook version, but there are many available through Open Library and you can limit your search to eBooks.
Project Gutenberg One of the most comprehensive collections of electronic texts on the Internet. Many books can be downloaded for iPad, Kindle, Nook, Android, iPhone, iPod Touch, Sony Reader.