Life is largely online right now. Ever since the pandemic began, our perspectives about the world shifted, and the way we organized our lives has been turned upside down. While most places are still under the enhanced community quarantine, there are a few things we can do to maintain our center and make the best choices for our well-being. One of those activities is to make use of this time for reading books and maybe learn a thing or two while our society remains stagnant in the midst of the ongoing health crisis.
So here are four virtual libraries which you can access for free to make use of the spare time on your hands:
- Calibre
This software is an open-source compilation of free ebooks ranging from politics and humanity, to novels and poems. Calibre also supports displaying, editing, creating and converting ebooks, as well as syncing them with your preferred online storage system (like Google Drive or DropBox). All of the files are either on EPUB or Kindle formats. Calibre boasts hundreds of different genres stored within the site. The search bar is also there if you want to filter and limit the material you wish to seek.
Link: http://98.209.96.49:8080/#library_id=Books&panel=book_list
- Taylor & Francis
The Taylor & Francis group is a dedicated publishing house catered towards academic journals and books. Mainly driven by STEM-related research and findings, they announced last March 23 that the public shall be given free access to some of their selected works online while everyone stays home until the pandemic persists. You can find the list of free ebooks in their given Excel Sheet.
- Springer
Considered to be the leading global company on publishing books and peer-reviewed journals in science and humanities, Springer took a huge leap to make its range of essential textbooks freely available. Since their announcement on April 2, the public has access to some 500 key textbooks to all of the company’s catered disciplines and thousands of research articles about the ongoing pandemic. You may view the two links and download some of their works to explore new insights from the leading minds within the research community.
Journal articles: https://www.springernature.com/gp/researchers/campaigns/coronavirus
- Library Genesis
Commonly known as LibGen, this file-sharing website for scholarly journal articles, academic and general-interest books is your one-stop shop for any resource material you can think of. If you are in need of finding a specific book for your general curiosity, then use its search bar and hundreds of suggestions will appear. The best part of downloading a file here is that it is very flexible, meaning you can save with any extension file you wish for. So use the link and search for whatever interests that excites you!
Link: https://libgen.is
References:
- https://group.springernature.com/gp/group/media/press-releases/freely-accessible-textbook-initiative-for-educators-and-students/17858180
- https://newsroom.taylorandfrancisgroup.com/message-from-annie-callanan-ceo-taylor-francis-group/
Author
Michael Lopez II
Probe editor
HiLites ASHS 