Sources for Full Text of Classics
When older out-of-copyright books are assigned, you may be able to find free full text online. An internet search for the title in quotes with the words full text may find it [example Google Search: "Ragged Dick" "full text"]
You may find multiple copies of a work on these sites. A good strategy might be to provide links to more than one source of the book. This lets students choose which version they like best--some are simple text and some have a "turn-the-page" feel, etc.
Below are links to sites that offer full text of classic books.
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Page by Page BooksProvides many full text titles. Uses a very simple format that doesn't require any software downloads.
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Hathi TrustNot everything in the Hathi Trust is full text, but many classic books are full text here.
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Project GutenbergLarge collection of full text and audio versions of classic books.
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PublicLiterature.orgProvides full text of many classic works, and as well as contributed selections from modern authors.
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Folger Shakespeare LibraryRead the full texts of Shakespeare’s plays, sonnets, and poems.
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Open Source ShakespeareComplete collection of works in very accessible html format.
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Perseus Digital LibraryParticularly strong collection of classic works on history, literature and culture of the Greco-Roman world, but also includes other areas of the humanities.
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Internet Sacred Texts ArchiveLarge collection of "electronic texts about religion, mythology, legends and folklore, and occult and esoteric topics." Simple html versions of public domain works.
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RPO - Representative Poetry OnlineFrom the University of Toronto Libraries, a web anthology of 4,800 poems in English and French by over 700 poets spanning 1400 years
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Classics in the History of Psychology"an effort to make the full texts of a large number of historically significant public domain documents from the scholarly literature of psychology and allied disciplines available on the World Wide Web."
It's a good idea to also stock print copies at the book store for students who prefer print. If using the free online version is an option, be sure to mark the bookstore order as recommended or optional. Some high quality editions of classics might be found with university presses (see Univ Presses page). The following publishers produce inexpensive print versions of classics:
Free AudioBooks
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LibriVox"LibriVox volunteers record chapters of books in the public domain, and then we release the audio files back onto the net for free."