The Internet Archive is a collection of books as well as archived audiovisual materials and old websites; access is for personal research and scholarship. Books in the public domain can be read without logging in. The Internet Archive has also scanned several modern ebooks (books that still have a copyright) that you need to create an account to access. Check out the following tabs for information on creating an account and accessing these resources!
1) Go to archive.org and click on “Sign Up” located at the top of the screen.
2) Fill in your information and select a password. If you have a Google account (aka Gmail), you can click on that button to use your Google account to sign in.
3) Click the blue “Sign Up” button at the bottom of the page.
4) You will receive a confirmation email. Once you receive that email, you will be able to borrow books and read them in the browser. Some books are also available for download after you download Adobe Digital Editions.
1) Search for the book you want using the search bar on the Internet Archive homepage.
2) Once you find the book, click on the title. The availability of the book will show up above the book viewer. If the book you have selected is a public domain book, you can read it without logging in. If the book’s copyright is still active, you will be prompted to login to borrow it.
If you must login, login into your account by clicking on the blue box that says Log in and Borrow.
3) Once you are logged in, you will be able to borrow the book. Click on the blue button above the book; this time it should prompt you to borrow the book. The default is to borrow for one hour; some books provide the option to check out for two weeks. You can choose to check out for two weeks by selecting "Borrow from 14 days" from the blue button's pulldown menu.
Check out these links for additional information on using the Internet Archive.
Copyright and the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive can be a wonderful resource, and some of its materials are freely available through the public domain or through open licenses. The Internet Archive has quite a few modern books with active copyright licenses. Modern ebooks from the Internet Archive (i.e. books still in copyright) are not open access books nor open educational resources. They are subject to copyright, and there are limited copies to check out. As a result, modern ebooks in the Internet Archive are limited for personal use, and faculty should not build courses around them. You can find more information in the Internet Archive's terms of use.
Before Using a Resource from the Internet Archive
Before selecting a resource, please do the following:
1) Check the copyright for the book. If the copyright says the book is in the public domain or has a Creative Commons license, you will be able to use it without risking copyright infringement.
2) Search ProQuest Ebook Central to see if the book you want is available. If you cannot find it, you can always contact the librarian (library@baystate.edu) to see if it is available for purchase.
Additional Copyright Resources
For additional information on copyright in courses, check out the Copyright for Faculty on the Teaching Excellence Guide.
This Fair Use Evaluator is also a useful tool to help you determine if you are using a source within copyright rules.