Access Unlimited Books And Art Online In The Coming Days
Sharing is caring: From libraries to museums, many institutions are making their resources available to all, for free, to help audiences tide through these difficult times
As countries come to terms with the global pandemic that has sent shockwaves through the world, there are very few things that we can really look forward to in these troubling times. After all, lockdowns, work-from-home, social distancing and self-isolation are now harsh but necessary parts of our lives.
In these difficult times, books and the arts can be a solace for stressed souls. To help this cause, many libraries, museums, reading and comics platforms are now offering free access online to their vast archives. Here’s a look at some of them:
Project MUSE
An online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and books, Project MUSE has a vast repository of academic content, which is much sought after by academics worldwide. Many of the publications on the site have opened up free access to their content on MUSE (or at least a significant part), until dates ranging from 31 May 2020 to 30 June 2020.
For a full list of the publications offering free content on MUSE, click on this link.
Scribd
A subscription service featuring over one million magazines, audiobooks and ebooks, Scribd is a popular online reading platform used by readers. On March 17, Scribd’s CEO announced via an open letter that they would be opening up their vast collection to readers worldwide for free for a month, without any credit card or commitment requirement.
Those looking to avail of this service may want to head over to this link.
Paris Musées
If artworks rather th...
As countries come to terms with the global pandemic that has sent shockwaves through the world, there are very few things that we can really look forward to in these troubling times. After all, lockdowns, work-from-home, social distancing and self-isolation are now harsh but necessary parts of our lives.
In these difficult times, books and the arts can be a solace for stressed souls. To help this cause, many libraries, museums, reading and comics platforms are now offering free access online to their vast archives. Here’s a look at some of them:
Project MUSE
An online database of peer-reviewed academic journals and books, Project MUSE has a vast repository of academic content, which is much sought after by academics worldwide. Many of the publications on the site have opened up free access to their content on MUSE (or at least a significant part), until dates ranging from 31 May 2020 to 30 June 2020.
For a full list of the publications offering free content on MUSE, click on this link.
Scribd
A subscription service featuring over one million magazines, audiobooks and ebooks, Scribd is a popular online reading platform used by readers. On March 17, Scribd’s CEO announced via an open letter that they would be opening up their vast collection to readers worldwide for free for a month, without any credit card or commitment requirement.
Those looking to avail of this service may want to head over to this link.
Paris Musées
If artworks rather than books are your cup of tea, you may want to check the Paris Musées collection. Paris Musées, an entity comprising 14 municipal museums of Paris, has now placed over 1,00,000 high-resolution digital copies (current count: 1,51,008) from their collections in the public domain. Users can download a file containing the artwork and a document containing details on the work and guidelines on the best practices to use while citing the sources of the images.
Art aficionados may want to check out the free collection here.
Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle
If you intend to travel down memory lane to your childhood spent with desi comic books, then Amar Chitra Katha has some good news for you. With an aim to help and bring joy to kids confined indoors, it is now offering free access to its own as well as Tinkle Comics’ archives for a month.All you need to do is to create your own Amar Chitra Katha account, and then download the Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle Comics apps.
To avail the code that will give you free access to the comics, head over to these links: for Amar Chitra Katha and for Tinkle.
Juggernaut Books
Over the past few years, Juggernaut Books has emerged as one of the leading publishers in India. And now, it’s promoting reading in the country in a way that’s never been done before. Not only did it start offering its books for free to its readers from 21 March, it will, in collaboration with Scroll.in, also conduct the #ReadInstead Online Literature Festival. A month-long event and the first of its kind in india, the festival, scheduled from 27 March, will see conversations, workshops, competitions, masterclasses and more from some of Juggernaut’s top names. Both initiatives are part of its #ReadInstead campaign.
ZLibrary
ZLibrary, one of the world’s largest online libraries, is offering unlimited downloads to its contributors in exchange for a small donation to its ongoing crowdfunding effort. Those who make a donation to its crowdfunding campaign by 1 April will be able to use the unlimited downloads option for a month (from the time the donation is made).
Check this link to help them in their efforts.