Public Domain

Public Domain Free Online Resources.

If a collection of material is (legally) designated as "public domain," it generally means the material is deemed "public property." In other words, there is no active copyright, and anyone can rightfully come along and copy, distribute and adapt these materials for any purpose, including economic gain.

The public domain includes various types of abstract material such as: texts ( books, manuals, reports, and transcripts); film and video, music (sound clips, songs, and sheet music); and images (photos, drawings, and posters).

Below are some of the best free public domain resources online- perfect for boostrapping business owners in need of content or information. I made an effort to pick out the legitimate sites that provide material without any restrictions on use. Nevertheless, I suggest that you consult each site's terms of use before downloading or using anything:

General Public Domain Online Resources.

The Internet Archive. A general repository of public domain material

US Government Public Domain Information and Resources Online

Public Domain Images Online

Public Domain Audio Files Online

Public Domain Sheet Music Online

Public Domain Online Video and Movies

Public Domain Online Texts

  • Internet Public Library. Many public domain texts
  • Bibliomania. Fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
  • Project Gutenberg. A huge selection of books and texts.
  • Bartleby.com. Public domain texts online
  • Librivox Audio recordings of public domain books
  • The On-Line Books Page. Texts are listed by author, title and LC classification.
  • Books on the Internet. Classics, English literature, foreign language
  • Concordances of Great Books. An online searchable index of authors and texts
  • The Great Books. A compilation of numerous authors and texts
  • Complete Works of Shakespeare

Other Useful Public Domain Resources Online