We’ve all been there:
- The one book you need to finish your paper that’s due tomorrow is checked out.
- You’re sick at home or in your dorm and need a book from the library.
- The perfect book for your project isn’t in the library at all and you don’t have time to wait for Interlibrary Loan.
All together now – Have you tried Google Books? The search giant has been busily digitizing the world’s books for several years now, and now has amassed a veritable online library of gigantic proportions.
While you can do many things with such a rich resource, one thing that’s pretty amazing is that you can find a whole lot of content online from very recent books; sometimes nearly the entire text. So anytime you don’t have access to the library, or whenever a book is checked out, or not IN the library, look for it on Google Books. You will be amazed at how much recent content is available for free online.