Marshall-Lyon CountyPublic Library
E-Books |
|
| Free E-Books Software | There are a lot of different formats and readers in the world and you must decide which one suits your needs best. You do not need an e-book reader, however, to make use of e-books. You can read books on a computer, and even download look-alike software for each device. For example, you can read "Kindle" books on an I-Pad, or i-books and Kindle books on your Mac or PC. You just need the right software. Here's some resources to get you started: | |
| Keep in mind that while there are rich resources of free materials, you'll almost always have to purchase the "best sellers" and "hot" new titles. However, even the most commercial sites (such as Barnes and Nobles, Amazon.com and I-Tunes e-book store) will have "free" classics--many of which come from the sites listed below. Commercial sites will generally require registration (and they may be tracking your 'free purchases' in order to offer you 'deals' later. Many are totally reputable, but it's always 'buyer beware.' Most of the sites below, however, do not require registration. | ||
| If you just want to download e-books to read on your computer, choose a .pdf or .html file. | ||
| Free E-Books | Project Gutenberg — "the place where you can download over 33,000 free ebooks to read on your PC, iPad, Kindle, Sony Reader, iPhone,Android or other portable device." This is one of the earliest and most respected sites for digital books. | |
| Internet Archive — An extremely rich archive of sound, film and digital books in many formats. All Free. | ||
| Google Books — The original project was 'big news" because of it's massiveness. Now, Google has opened a bookstore, but there are still many 'free,' out-of-copyright books available. | ||
| Bartleby — Another old resource which " publishes thousands of free online classics of reference, literature and nonfiction." | ||
| Net Library — "Public (free) and private (for paying members) collection of eBooks for reading online." Free if you have a Minnesota Library card. Go to ELM and look for NetBooks. | ||
| Digital Book Index — A very useful site which searches many other reputable sites (including University sites). The digital format of the text is stated so you'll know if it's one you can use. It also has links to e-book reader software. Most is free (and what's not is clearly stated). | ||