Open Library
openlibrary.org
Welcome to Open Library | Open Library
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.
Subjects
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.
Log In
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.
Advanced Search
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.
Borrowing Books Through Open Library
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.
Factsheet
Type of site Digital library index
Available in English, Czech, German, French, Croatian, Italian, Portuguese, Telugu, Chinese, Ukrainian
Founder(s) Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud
Type of site Digital library index
Available in English, Czech, German, French, Croatian, Italian, Portuguese, Telugu, Chinese, Ukrainian
Founder(s) Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Open_Library
Open Library - Wikipedia
May 14, 2026 - Open Library is an online project intended to create "one web page for every book ever published". Created by Aaron Swartz, Brewster Kahle, Alexis Rossi, Anand Chitipothu, and Rebecca Hargrave Malamud, Open Library is a project of the Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization.
Is openlibrary.org really legal?
Yes. I mean, they're the subject of ongoing litigation, but they're not a piracy site. They're doing everything above-board. They are also not as convenient as it might at first seem. Most books have a 1-hour timer on them, and they're not ebooks—you're reading scanned book pages. You definitely can't send the files to a Kindle, and probably not to any e-ink reader. You usually can't even download the file but have to read it in your browser. (At least, the books that I've seen.) They're incredibly useful if you need to, say, check a table of contents, read a few pages to see if you like the style, look something up quickly, etc. But I've never actually read a book of theirs in full. More on reddit.com
100
276
August 9, 2022Open Library is a website that allows you to "borrow" from an archive of over 137,000 books at no cost. Just sign up and happy reading!
3.1K votes, 201 comments. 27M subscribers in the books community. This is a moderated subreddit. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage… More on reddit.com
201
3081
March 12, 2014How do you download books from Open Library
I found a book that I need in OpenLibrary, but it doesn't have any download or borrow buttons. How do I get it? ... Reddit, Inc. More on reddit.com
17
10
January 9, 2025Open Library discussion
Authors deserve to be paid. They need to make a living. More on reddit.com
6
6
June 16, 2020Is Open Library legal?
Open Library operates under a controlled digital lending model. While widely used, there are ongoing discussions about its legal aspects in copyright contexts.
openlibrary.cc
openlibrary.cc
Open Library – Access a Global Library of Free Books
Is Open Library safe to use?
Yes, Open Library is considered safe. It is associated with the Internet Archive, a well-known nonprofit organization focused on digital preservation.
openlibrary.cc
openlibrary.cc
Open Library – Access a Global Library of Free Books
How to have the best experience on Open Library?
Create an account to borrow books, use filters to refine searches, check availability before borrowing, and ensure a stable internet connection.
openlibrary.cc
openlibrary.cc
Open Library – Access a Global Library of Free Books
Videos
03:49
How To Use Open Library - YouTube
11:41
Open Library Tutorial - YouTube
02:03
Open Library - YouTube
12:18
Tutorial de la Biblioteca Digital Open Library - YouTube
04:08
Open Library Overview - YouTube
03:53
Reading Books from Internet Archive & Open Library - YouTube
Google Play
play.google.com › store › apps › details
Open Library - Apps on Google Play
Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
Openlibrary
openlibrary.work
Open Library – Free Online Library to Read and Borrow Books
Explore Open Library, a free digital library with millions of books. Learn how to read, borrow, and access ebooks online safely and easily.
Lafayette College Libraries
library.lafayette.edu › open-library-tutorial
Open Library tutorial · Libraries · Lafayette College
The Internet Archive’s Open Library provides access to 1.7 million scanned versions of books.
Openresearchlibrary
openresearchlibrary.org
Open Research Library
Discover · unlimited, multimedia content · loading · one moment
Reddit
reddit.com › r/books › is openlibrary.org really legal?
r/books on Reddit: Is openlibrary.org really legal?
August 9, 2022 -
I just found the website openlibrary.org and it seemed almost too good to be true lol. There are a couple of books on there that aren't available to borrow at my local library and that I want to download. However I am unsure if I should because when I was looking it up there seems to have been some controversy over whether their practices with scanning and uploading ebooks is in the clear. For example, this article: https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/update-open-library/. The books I wanted to download are mostly 20th century works whose authors are dead but that are still covered by copyright, so I would not be worried about taking money from an author, but I also don't want to get in trouble or to be contributing to something unethical
So, is using open library to borrow books legal/ethical?
Top answer 1 of 20
294
Yes. I mean, they're the subject of ongoing litigation, but they're not a piracy site. They're doing everything above-board. They are also not as convenient as it might at first seem. Most books have a 1-hour timer on them, and they're not ebooks—you're reading scanned book pages. You definitely can't send the files to a Kindle, and probably not to any e-ink reader. You usually can't even download the file but have to read it in your browser. (At least, the books that I've seen.) They're incredibly useful if you need to, say, check a table of contents, read a few pages to see if you like the style, look something up quickly, etc. But I've never actually read a book of theirs in full.
2 of 20
26
So, is using open library to borrow books legal/ethical? The former - is it legal - as noted, is under litigation to establish the answer to that question. To me, it's pretty clear that it's not legal. They are taking liberties with the first sale doctrine etc by buying a physical copy, scanning it, and then lending the resulting digital file. Doing it this way means the author is seeing no money from the digital lending whatsoever. Which isn't right. It's even worse when they're buying books second-hand. Legitimate library systems pay for a license for the ebook(s), and when the license expires, they pay for another one if the demand for the book is still there (this is intended to replicate the way libraries would buy physical copies and then buy further copies to replace the old ones as they wear out). Also, some countries have what is known as a Public Lending Right (or similar). What this is is a pot of money that is distributed to authors whose books are borrowed from public libraries, so they get paid for the loans. Open Library/The Internet Archive pays no money to the authors. Which brings me to the second part of the question; is it ethical? No. Use your local library. Ask them if they can get the books for you. As eBooks. In most cases you will find that if they can, they will. But libraries are heavily reliant on patrons letting them know what books they want. Many library services in my country have a form on their website that you can fill out to express interest in books they don't yet carry. And my own local library service has added books to their catalogue many times after I've filled out a form. So to me, the ethical thing to do is to try and exhaust all avenues with a local library service first. Should such avenues be exhausted to no avail, my next step would be to see if it's possible to get the book(s) for 1p+postage from online marketplaces. Even if it's a shitty copy and I throw it away after reading, 1p+ postage is less than I'd pay for an Inter Library Loan, so I can justify it on myself that way. If the book isn't available, or is incredibly expensive, then. Well. You could use Open Library/Internet Archive. But don't kid yourself it's ethical (or, depending on the outcome of the litigation, legal).
Libguides
jamessprunt.libguides.com › ebooks › ol
Open Library - E-books - Library at James Sprunt Community College
Learn how to find e-books from the library to download or read online. ... Open Library is a database of over two million digitized books, including classic and public-domain texts, as well as a growing collection of books of all kinds donated by libraries around the country.
Google Play
play.google.com › store › apps › details
Open Library Reader - Apps on Google Play
Open Library is an online library with millions of books to browse or check out. You can track the books that you're reading, want to read, etc. and read many of them right there.
Open Library
openlibrary.cc
Open Library – Access a Global Library of Free Books
As a project of the Internet Archive, ... texts, the platform acts as a virtual library without walls. Open Library is an open, editable database of books combined with a digital lending system....
Internet Archive
help.archive.org › help › browse-the-book-shelves-with-open-library-explorer
Browse the book shelves with Open Library Explorer – Internet Archive Help Center
Open Library Explorer is a beta interface on Internet Archive’s Open Library site that allows you to browse books as though you were combing through the selves of a physical library. Open Library contains metadata for 28+ million books, and includes books available online from Internet Archive.
Facebook
facebook.com › OpenLibrary.org
Open Library (@OpenLibrary.org)
Open Library. 2,064 likes · 3 talking about this. Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
App Store
apps.apple.com › us › app › open-library-reader › id1573989409
Open Library Reader - App Store - Apple
Open Library is an online library with millions of books to browse or check out. You can track the books that you're reading, want to read, etc. and read many of them right there.
Openlibraryfoundation
openlibraryfoundation.org
Open Library Foundation
The Foundation serves as a home, and provides infrastructure and services to open source communities in the library space.
GitHub
github.com › internetarchive › openlibrary
GitHub - internetarchive/openlibrary: One webpage for every book ever published! · GitHub
June 4, 2026 - Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published.
Starred by 6.5K users
Forked by 1.9K users
Languages Python 53.7% | JavaScript 19.3% | HTML 14.0% | CSS 6.4% | Vue 3.7% | Shell 2.1%
Openlibraries
openlibraries.online
Open Libraries | Everyone deserves to learn
Working with US libraries and organizations serving people with print disabilities, Open Libraries can build the online equivalent of a great, modern public library, providing millions of free digital books to billions of people.
Internet Archive
archive.org › texts
Open Library : Open Content Alliance : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
The Internet Archive partners with libraries, archives, and institutions across the globe to preserve cultural heritage that would otherwise be lost forever. We need your support in continuing this vital work. ... Democracy Now! ... Want more? Advanced embedding details, examples, and help! ... Book by Brewster Kahle for the OpenLibrary.org site.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/books › open library is a website that allows you to "borrow" from an archive of over 137,000 books at no cost. just sign up and happy reading!
r/books on Reddit: Open Library is a website that allows you to "borrow" from an archive of over 137,000 books at no cost. Just sign up and happy reading!
March 12, 2014 - As u/AgedPumpkin states, you have to open with a program that understands the book format as well as understands the time limit encoded into the book. ... Love this site. Read about 3 books off here so far. ... Thank you! Now I have a way to read during downtime at work! ... I used to work for one of the world's largest ebook / audiobook companies that allows you to download free ebooks and audiobooks from your public library.