Internet Archive/Open Library and ebooks

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Difflugia
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Internet Archive/Open Library and ebooks

Post #1

Post by Difflugia »

The Internet Archive has temporarily removed the waitlists for all of the books that can be borrowed from its Open Library, ostensibly because most physical libraries in the country are closed. If you create an account, you can check out ten books for two weeks. If you digitally return them sooner, you can check out more. The checkout process requires Adobe Digital Editions software. If you create an Adobe accout, you can transfer the books to compatible ereader devices and software, but if you're willing to stick with a single computer or device, you don't need to create an account.

The books are all photographic scans of paper books as PDFs. That means that there are a number of books that either aren't otherwise available as ebooks or are out of print altogether.

Several author and publisher advocacy groups claim that the Open Library infringes copyright, but a number of university libraries support it and think it would survive a legal challenge. I'll leave it to individual consciences to ponder legality and ethics.

I find Internet Archive's search interface to be a bit irritating. Click on "Books" on the top bar of the search page before searching. Then after the search results come back, click on "Available to Borrow" on the left to weed out most of the clutter. A search for "Bible commentary" and filtered for borrowable items returns 568 hits, including about twenty volumes from the Anchor Bible series.

I'll also throw in that if you live in Michigan, the State has provided an electronic library for public use. Go to the Michigan eLibrary site at mel.org and click on "Electronic Resources." Click "E" and there is a list of five ebook collections (Academic, Business, High School, K-8, and Public Library). The Academic collection has an impressive collection of biblical scholarship, including many of the academic books published by T&T Clark. The books can either be read online without an account or checked out using Adobe Digital Editions if you create an account (you just need an email address). Fifty books can be checked out simultaneously for thirty days. The books aren't limited to a single user, so there are no waitlists there, either.

Boulevard
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Re: Internet Archive/Open Library and ebooks

Post #2

Post by Boulevard »

Are there libraries where all the currents of Christianity are described in normal language?

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