Using Wordl

The NorthStarNerd used one of my favourite web word tools,  Wordl – which takes the content from any web page (or text you submit) and builds a graphical representation – to compare traditional and new media trends.

The blogger used this service turns text into a graphical representation from three postings on March 29, 2010 from three news websites : The NY Times, CNN, and Google News. Wordle  generated “word clouds” from words that appeared more frequently in the source text.

Here were the results:

NY Times

CNN

Google News

75 Free Language Learning Resources

Trying to learn a new language in your spare time?

Zencollegelife posted 75 resources for learning languages online.

Tofugu’s 100 Best Resources For Learning Japanese

Do we really need professors to learn today?

More and more students today are trading in registration pains, tuition fees and professors for  free videos, podcasts, iPhone apps, and other forms of open education.  Sites like Academic Earth, MIT open courseware,  Open Culture and iTunes U provide lectures and debates from Ivy League schools like Yale, MIT and Harvard.

The term Open Education has been in use  and has been steadily growing since the 1920s, when it emerged as an educational experiment of the Soviet Union.  Can free educational content be a substitute for real-life institutional instruction or should these online resources be limited to learning tools to compliment your traditional learning?

As learners, it is our job to figure out what works best for us.   Is face-to-face interaction the best option for me? Do I prefer massive theater lectures and  access to teaching assistants?

Like many students, I spend a lot of time online and have no trouble finding answers for just about any question like the nearest bus route or Newton’s theory of universal gravitation. The problem is that there is just SO much information available. However, I take comfort in relying on a knowledge specialist to help me navigate how to interpret the information, or how it is relevant to my learning.

I have signed up for free online courses, but to be honest, I find myself a little lazy when I know there are no consequences, no deadlines and no F’s.  I haven’t paid for anything, who cares if I learn it or not? Essentially, I have nothing to lose but my time.

My experience as a learner has been a journey on foot and in cyberspace. I have attended on-campus degree courses in Halifax, Nova Scotia and in Toronto, Ontario.

I currently enjoy the balance of my blended learning schedule at SMU, which allows me to take some of my degree-required courses online through the continuing education department and still have a day job.  I have paid for my education and I have learned relevant and usable  information from free educational online resources.  I have used  textbook,  e-books, mobile, a laptop and I have used Google Book’s preview more than I use the library.

Despite all of the free options available online, I find I still want and need  a professor, but I know that I want a little more  from my prof than a bigger screen projection of the assigned power point presentation and I can watch the youtube videos at home. I need my profs to evolve just like my learning approach has evolved.

I want my profs to dig deep in their bag of technology tricks and find  games, videos, jokes,  mnemonic devices that I know for sure are out there because I have used them. But only a professor can know for sure just how relevant those tools are to their pedagogy.

They need to find a way to filter all of that free content into their lesson plan so I am not aimlessly wondering around the Internet, earning a doctorate in search engine shortcuts. What do you think? Do you need a prof to learn today?

For more information on Open Education, check out this  article from Campus Technology.

Other great article on free education  here and here.

External e-Learning Organizations

Educause

The mission of EDUCAUSE is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

Multimedia Educational Resources for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT)

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.

STLHE

The Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE) is a national association of academics interested in the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education.

Open Courseware & Resources for Free Learning

Here are resources we’ve collected that can help you search for classes, find information and learn everything you need to know about how open courseware works.

Search Engines and Directories

Check out these sites for finding courses and materials you’re interested in.

1. A World of Ideas: Give this site a look for catalogues of both audio and video lectures from universities and radio stations on a wide range of topics.
2. Open CourseWare Finder: Type in the genre or subject matter of courses you’re interested in and you can find loads of links to courses from all over on this search site.
3. OpenContentOnline: Browse courseware by subject on this directory site containing links to courses on everything from artificial intelligence to literature.
4. OpenCourseWareConsortium: This site provides a portal to search through hundreds of free courses or to add new courses you know about to the database.
5. iBerry: Check out this site for a huge directory of open courseware organized by school and subject matter that can point you in the right direction for any type of learning.

Open Courseware Collections

There are hundreds of classes offered entirely for free from universities and educational institutions all over the world. Here are a few places where you can start looking to find free courses that suit your personal interests and needs.

1. MIT OpenCourseware: The pioneer of open courseware and perhaps the most popular site for free educational resources, MIT offers courses in a huge range of subjects. Get course materials on everything from aerospace to art history.
2. Columbia University Interactive: Explore interactive learning resources at Columbia University including e-seminars, class websites, simulations and more.
3. Open University: The Open University offers this Learning Space as a way to give access to course materials in math, law, languages and a variety of other subjects.
4. Tufts University: Visitors to this site will find life sciences-centered course materials from Tufts’ schools of medicine, arts and sciences, nutrition science and several other divisions.
5. University of Notre Dame: You’ll get access to the materials for a large variety of courses taught at Notre Dame University through this Web portal.
6. Carnegie Mellon Open Learning Initiative: Carnegie Mellon University offers this site full of “intelligent tutoring systems, virtual laboratories, simulations, and frequent opportunities for assessment and feedback” to help you learn.
7. Berklee Shares: This site provides a large number of free music courses that can enable you to learn several instruments, music arranging, improvisation and production.
8. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Those interested in the medical field can read and learn from materials offered by Johns Hopkins in the fields of HIV/AIDS, mental health, genetics, population science and much more.
9. Harvard Extension School: Harvard is one of the most prestigious colleges in the nation, and you can watch video lectures and read and learn from course materials found on this site.
10. Utah State University: Check out this site for courseware that ranges from classes in anthropology and history to physics and economics, plus much more.
11. United Nations University: This global learning site offers news, information and resources on conservation and peace keeping projects as well as open courseware in fields like biodiversity, water resource management, fisheries and more.
12. University of California, Irvine: This California college offers courses that range from high school completion to spa operations.
13. Greshem College: Find audio and video, lectures and events and more on this London-based college’s site.
14. University of Washington: Here you’ll find open courseware materials that you can take for fun in the humanities, communication, psychology and many other fields.
15. Duke Law Center for the Public Domain: Browse through lectures on a wide range of subjects related to law in the modern world.

Podcasts

What easier way to learn than by listening to lectures, books and speakers on your MP3 player while you’re driving to work, running errands or working out at the gym? Explore the information these resources have to offer.

1. Classics Podcasts: Haverford College offers students and the public alike this podcasting resource, which allows anyone to listen to ancient texts to be heard in Latin. The site also features podcasts of modern news and views delivered in Latin as well.
2. Berkeley on iTunes: This resource from the Calfornia-based college offers anyone the chance to listen to lectures, find out about events at the school and get connected with what’s going on at the school at any time.
3. Cambridge University Podcasts: Podcasts on this site consist of lectures from esteemed faculty and scholars, content from museums and college departments, and even a few specific subjects within the school. In addition, visitors will find audio and video recordings, CamTV and a variety of course materials.
4. Western Kentucky University: Called “HyperManyMedia” this site offers visitors the chance to listen to podcasts directly taken from or related to courses being taught at WKU. Current offerings include Introduction to Literature and Western Civilization.
5. Harvard Business Online: This site was created to offer Harvard students and the general public access to ideas and commentary from the leaders in the business world — in podcast form.
6. Princeton University Channel: You’ll find podcasts that cover a range of topics through this Princeton site but mainly focus on political and social issues in lectures, panels and events with academics from all corners of the globe.
7. Stanford on iTunes: Stanford is now offering podcast downloads from iTunes that will let you listen to faculty lectures, course materials, interviews, and even get sports and entertainment information.
8. Yale University Podcasts: Check out this site for podcasts from Yale that cover topics like art and architecture, international affairs, health and medicine and more.
9. Johns Hopkins Podcasts: Listen to lectures and discussions about subjects like “China Rising”, “Countering a Nuclear Threat” and “Medical Horizons”.
10. Boston College Front Row: Visit this site to get recordings and videos of discussions held at scholarly events hosted by Boston College.

Videos

Check out these sites for free videos of lectures, workshops, meetings and conferences that can help you learn without spending a dime.

1. CalTech Today: CalTech has created a streaming theater that allows you to easily view videos on issues in science, technology and culture.
2. UCLA Webcasts: With these archived videos you’ll be able to keep up with interesting events happening on UCLA’s campus and watch academic meetings, lectures and more.
3. University of California TV Video on Demand: Check out videos on agriculture, public affairs, the arts and several other topics on this great site designed to make learning for students and the public easy and interesting.
4. Butte College: Butte College provides televised recordings of some of the classes it offers, and you can see them here whether you’re in the class and trying to make up for a skipped day or just want to learn about something new.
5. Duke University Multimedia: Those interested in learning more about math can check out these videos, developed by Duke University’s math department.
6. Free Documentaries: Get excited about politics by viewing one of the numerous free political films found on this site.
7. Nobel Prize Lectures: Here you can learn the history behind many Nobel Laureates and even hear some of them read their work and give lectures and speeches.
8. Webcast Berkeley: Listen to podcasts and videos from this site that gives you access to materials and events from Berkeley.
9. CERN Webcast Service: The European Center for Nuclear Research provides access to videos and other resources that discuss science and energy-related concerns.
10. The Royal Society: This site provides access to a large number of webcasts. You’ll be able to find videos on everything from physics and mathematics to climate and the environment.

eBooks

Whether you need texts for your online courses or just to entertain and educate yourself, check out these sites which are full of free and informative reading material.

1. eMedicine: Nearly everything the medical student or aspiring medical student could want to look up can be found in this huge online medical text.
2. FreeTechBooks: The best resource for free tech related textbooks and guides, this site provides access to numerous computer science and programming resources.
3. Project Gutenberg: Read the classics for free online with scans and digitalization of numerous public domain works on this site.
4. Perseus Digital Library: Tufts University maintains this online archive of hundreds of ancient Greek and Roman texts, as well as an ever expanding amount of other resources.
5. Text Archive: The Internet Archive has compiled this directory of open source texts that you can access for free over the internet.
6. World Public Library: Check out the public domain ebook and edocument repository provided by this site.
7. Many Books: This site can be a great place to find learning materials to use on your PDA, iPod or ebook reader. Titles are by both well-known and lesser known authors.
8. Electronic Text Center: The University of Virginia maintains this online resource which contains tens of thousands of digital texts for you to use and access for free.
9. Authorama: Is the book you need to take an online course old enough to be in the public domain? If so, check out this site for free access to the text.
10. Oxford Text Archive: You can download and use the texts on this site for free. They come in a variety of formats and primarily cover topics related to literature and the arts.
11. Textbook Revolution: This site provides hundreds of free texts, books and educational materials that you can use to learn for free.

Educational TV

Many networks, websites and organizations provide broadcasts on a wide variety of topics that can help educate you or serve as great supplements to existing course materials. If you missed it on TV, check it out on these sites.

1. Biography: Learn about the lives of everyone from modern celebrities to important figures in history through the interviews and videos provided by this channel’s site.
2. Discovery: Discovery owns several networks including Animal Planet, Discovery Health, TLC and more. On their site you’ll find videos from recent programs, background information, and even special materials for teaching and learning.
3. PBS: On the Public Broadcasting Service’s websites you’ll find clips of the shows they air, information, news and more to help you learn more about literature, science and the world around you.
4. BBC Learning: Whether you want to learn a new language, explore history or brush up on your math, you’ll find hundreds of lessons, resources and tools to help you do so on this BBC-based learning portal.
5. Book TV: Book TV is part of the C-Span 2 network. This site lets you watch recent interviews with authors and experts in literature, get suggestions on what books to read, and find out the latest news about literature around the world.
6. TVO: Visitors to this site can take advantage of videos and podcasts from Canada’s largest educational broadcaster, TVO. The site also has partnerships with the Independent Learning Center which offers a number of distance learning courses.
7. Research Channel: You’ll have access to webcasts, videos and other materials from researchers, speakers and notable thinkers from around the world through the resources on this site.
8. NOVA: This PBS program is well-known and regarded for its programs on the latest in scientific research. On the website you can watch recent episodes and find links to more information on the Web.
9. National Geographic Education: Find interesting articles, videos and special educational programs through National Geographic’s site.
10. American Field Guide: If learning about the natural flora and fauna that call America home is more your area of interest, then this site is a must for your online education. It contains thousands of clips designed to give you insight into all the ecosystems that make up our natural world.

Resources, Articles and Guides

These sites can give you the information and understanding of open courseware you need in order to make decisions about what programs, courses and universities will work best for you.

1. What Is Open CourseWare?: Get the basics on courseware from this About.com article and ensure you know the story behind free online courses.
2. Open CourseWare Movement Grows Across Planet: Read here about how open courseware is changing education everywhere in the world.
3. A Free, Green Education: Learning online not only saves paper and gas but can also educate you on many ecological issues. Check out this site for recommendations on open courseware that can help you learn to be greener.
4. Video Education: Free Online Learning Resources Mini-Guide: Here you’ll get a guide to finding open courseware that’s in video form.
5. Public Access to Education: Open CourseWare: Read commentary and opinions on open courseware from this blog’s post.
6. How Stuff Works: MIT Open CourseWare In Action: Get some insight into how open courseware may affect your career and education through this practical article.
7. The Stingy Scholar: Check out this blog to get ideas on how to save money on education through open courseware and a variety of free online resources.
8. Self-Made Scholar: This blog is full of ways you can work to educate yourself, including articles on open courseware.
9. Business Education Is Now Free With Open CourseWare: Learn how you can get education and insight into the workings of the business world through the suggestions in this article.
10. Open Teaching, Learning and Certification: This blog focuses on how open courseware and other open education programs can help and improve education and teaching.
11. FREPA.org Blog: Here you’ll find posts that are dedicated to free educational resources like open courseware.

Your Free Library Card to 100 Online Libraries

OPEN TO GENERAL PUBLIC

Digital Libraries

Capturing images of manuscripts, art, and artifacts, digital libraries are an excellent way of both preserving the past and sharing it with everyone.

1. Harvard University Library. Browse through 24 different collections ranging from cultural images of eastern Asia to 19th century American trade cards.
2. Yale University Library: Digital Collections. Find ancient manuscripts or read a classic all preserved digitally courtesy of the Yale University Library.
3. Indiana University Digital Library Program. Download manuscripts from Isaac Newton or view photographs, film literature, and music from the collections at this library.
4. Michigan State University Digital and Multimedia Center. Find several texts from authors such as Joseph Conrad, Aesop’s Fables, cookbooks, and texts on orchids or veterinary medicine in PDF format.
5. Columbia University Libraries Digital Collections. Browse through one of over 10 different digital collections that range from medieval and early Renaissance manuscripts to architectural drawings or visit the online exhibitions for even more.
6. Purdue University e-Archives. Find information on Amelia Earhart to Purdue history in the collections at Purdue’s digital archives.
7. Rutgers University Digital Library Projects. Learn about the history of alcohol, New Jersey, Italy’s people, and much more in this diverse digital library.
8. Ohio State University Libraries Collections. See photos of Bird’s expedition to the South Pole, learn about the women of Burlesque, and more in these digital archives.
9. Syracuse University Digital Library. Find interesting information on the history of the New York area as well as recordings of popular WWII songs.
10. Ohio University Libraries Digital Exhibits. Learn about Ohio history, visits from important people, read WWII papers, and more in these archives.
11. Brown University Library, Center for Digital Initiatives. This collection includes such interesting topics ranging from Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, and African American and Yiddish sheet music.
12. JSU Houston Cole Library Digital Collections. In addition to profiles of several local historical figures, there is a collection of oral histories from people who lived through historic eras of the early to mid 20th century in America.

International Digital Libraries

These digital libraries either have a focus on a culture other than that of the United States or are housed in another country.

1. The Digital South Asia Library. Sponsored by University of Chicago, this library provides images, reference material, statistics, indexes, and more all focusing on South Asia.
2. Cambridge University Library Digital Image Collections. Study ancient texts, photographs from the late 19th century through the mid 20th century, Pascal’s Treatise on the Arithmetic Triangle, and more.
3. Nagoya University Library. The manuscripts in these digital databases are in Japanese, as are most of the sites (with some English and French). Whether you know any Japanese or not, if you appreciate the beauty of ancient Japanese manuscripts, you can randomly click through these sites and find some beautiful images.
4. Ryukoku University Electronic Exhibition. The digital collection from this university in Kyoto, Japan offers glimpses of art and manuscripts with descriptions of each in English.

Texts

These libraries offer books or texts for you to read online and free of charge.

1. Universal Digital Library. Hosted by Carnegie Mellon University, this site offers one million online texts touching on literature, the arts, and science.
2. The Perseus Digital Library. Find Greek and Latin classics, English Renaissance, and more on this site. Currently, a newer, more modern version is in testing, so feel free to give that a try too.
3. The Oxford Text Archive. Scroll through these digitally preserved texts for access to hundreds of classic texts. If the text is available for download, it will be designated “free” to the right of the link.
4. Kelvin Smith Library eBooks. This listing ranges from links to full-text reference material to style guides to classic dramas. They also have an exclusive collection of early American and British books.
5. University of Chicago Library EOS. Find image-based electronic texts available to all from the University of Chicago’s collection.
6. The University of Adelaide Library e-Books. This Australian library offers free texts to all. Browse by author, title, chronology, or theme.
7. Literary Resources on the Net. Hosted by Rutgers University, you can find any number of classic texts here categorized by category.
8. The Internet Classics Archive. Find major classics, including some Chinese and Persian texts, on this site hosted by MIT.
9. Renascence Editions. Find English language texts written between 1477 and 1799 at this site hosted by the University of Oregon. Scroll through the alphabetical listing to find texts by author.
10. The Beck Center for Electronic Collections. This collection of resources hosted by Emory University offers projects such as Women’s Genre Fiction, The Belfast Group, and the W.B. Yeats Collection, all of which provide downloadable texts pertaining to each topic.
11. Carrie: An Electronic Library. Hosted by the University of Kansas, this online library offers several collections with focus mainly on history and social sciences.

Medical Libraries

These libraries offer medical information for both the professional and the lay person.

1. Welch Medical Library. This library, courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, offers a search feature for articles published in medical journals and online. They also have Subject Guides under the “eResources” section that offers links to topics ranging from Alternative Medicine to Grants and Funding to Writing and Publishing.
2. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Care Center. Each page at this site provides a wealth of information explaining about specific types of cancer as well as topics related to cancer such as pain, fatigue, and genetics.
3. Duke University Medical Center Library Online. Get databases, journals, tutorials, tools, and more at this medical library.
4. Lamar Soutter Library. Courtesy of University of Massachusetts, this library offers plenty of information for the general public with access levels clearly labeled on most resources.
5. Michigan Ear Institute Medical Library. Find several articles about diagnosis and treatment of ear issues in this online library intended for both professionals and laypersons.
6. South Carolina Department of Mental Health. Geared toward both the professional and clients and their families, this site offers a wealth of information from the diagnostic stage to treatment.
7. Encyclopedia of Psychology. This site run by Jacksonville State University provides links to anything related to psychology. Read about organizations, learn about the major theories, or find out about a career in the field.
8. Children’s Hospital Boston Interactive Features. Click on these features to make neurons fire, see cell growth as you travel through cancer stages, create red blood cells, and more.
9. Tufts Open Courseware. Tufts University medical school has put several medical courses online for anyone to access.
10. Bastyr University. Focusing on natural health medicine, this university library offers a nice database with resources for natural medicine.

Legal Libraries

Whether you are studying the law or are just interested in it, these libraries have information for you.

1. UCLA Online Institute for Cyberspace Law and Policy. This archive provides a rich resource for all formative laws taking place between 1995 through 2002.
2. Berkman Center for Internet & Society. A part of Harvard Law, find publications and research that pertain to Internet law.
3. Emory Law Ready Reference. This site offers links to free primary and secondary research sources. Find an Internet Legal Research Guide among many other guides.
4. Santa Clara Law Library. Find lots of legal resources available on the Internet as well as legal research guides here.
5. Cornell University Law School Legal Information Institute. Find procedures, codes, and more at this resource for public legal information.
6. New Jersey Digital Legal Library. Hosted by Rutgers University Library, you can find papers on New Jersey law and legal history here.
7. Tarlton Law Library. From the University of Texas School of Law, this library offers access to plenty of information for the general public.
8. USC Gould School of Law. This library provides users online access to journals, legal resources, and electronic resources.
9. Wise Law Library. In addition to the databases, this site also offers links to helpful legal websites, research tools, and library tools courtesy of University of Colorado Law.
10. O’Quinn Law Library. From University of Houston, this library has access to databases as well as a few special collections available online.

National Libraries of Europe

The following libraries are both national libraries that offer a glimpse into the culture and history of the country they represent as well as hold affiliations with universities.

1. National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This library is open to both those affiliated with the university and general readership, but note that there is not an English version available.
2. The National and University Library in Zagreb. This library in Croatia offers collections of ancient papers and manuscripts available online.
3. Copenhagen University Library. In conjunction with the National Library, this site offers a wide range of materials available in both English and Danish.
4. National and University Library of Iceland. Look at ancient maps of Iceland or explore the multiple databases available on this site. Some areas are restricted to those associated with the university.
5. National and University Library St. Kliment Ohridski – Skopje. Available in English, this library of the former Yugolslov Republic of Macedonia offers a limited amount of information online, but you can access some databases. Members of the library have access to more sections.
6. National and University Library of Slovenia. The digital library offers access to many national treasures of Slovenian history. Much of the website can be navigated in English.

Religious Studies

From various types of Christianity to Judaism to Buddhism, these libraries offer an opportunity for religious research.

1. Hartford Seminary Library. Find books, dissertations, and more on Christian theology here. Some access is restricted to students of the seminary.
2. Brigham Young University Digital Collections. Click on “Text Collections” for a wide range of available texts including children’s literature, sermons of John Donne, and a huge collection of Mormon literature.
3. The Divinity Library, Vanderbilt University. Get the revised common lectionary, access their many free databases, and read guides on how to do religious research at this library.
4. University of California Library Religious Studies. Use research tools, use library guides, and browse through the religious studies collection at this library.
5. Flora Lamson Hewlett Library. Research with the online databases, take advantage of tutorials, and more at this site.
6. The Catholic University of America Library. Research religious studies, philosophy, and canon laws at this library.
7. Ostrow Library at American Jewish University. Search databases, take advantage of suggested links, and more at this library focusing on Jewish culture and civilization.
8. Digital Library and Museum of Buddhist Studies. Hosted by National Taiwan University Library, this site offers scriptures, tools, and more to help your study of Buddhism.

Specialized Selections

From maps to architectural images to information on deafness, these libraries offer a very specialized collection.

1. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Study topographical maps from around the world at this library.
2. Texas Tech University Libraries 3D Animation Lab. Learn the basics and find some handy tools to get you started with creating your own 3D animation.
3. United Nations University Library. Browse through this online library with the mission of solving global concerns and bringing peace worldwide.
4. News and Newspapers Online. A service of the University Libraries of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, this library will help you find current news anywhere in the world.
5. SPIRO. Courtesy of University of California, Berkeley, you can find over 270,000 architectural images in both slide and photograph format.
6. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library. Find two online collections that offer images of ancient Chinese maps.
7. Documenting the American South. Hosted by the University of North Carolina, you can find full texts by various authors that document the Southern Americana heritage.
8. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library. Read more than 85,000 human rights documents at this online library.
9. Gallaudet University Library. This library has an extensive section on deaf research including statistics, deaf people and animals, ways librarians can communicate, and more.
10. Hargrett Library Rare Map Collection. View more than 800 maps ranging over a 500 year time span in this online collection from University of Georgia Libraries.

Academic Research

Whether you are researching Mark Twain or war in the 20th century, these libraries offer resources to help you.

1. HighWire Press. Hosted by Stanford University, this free repository holds journals and other academic articles available to the general public.
2. Mark Twain Project. Co-sponsored by the University of California, you can find texts, documents, and research available online about the life and works of Mark Twain.
3. Project Euclid. Sponsored by Cornell University, this site offers online resources for math and statistics.
4. NARCIS. Hosted by Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, this database provides access to scientific papers based out of the Netherlands.
5. The World of Dante. Study Dante’s Inferno online courtesy of the University of Virginia. It has been tagged using SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) to enhance the interface and study of this poem.
6. Southwestern Writers Collection. Texas State University houses a huge collection of manuscripts and information on southwestern writers. Much of the information is available online in the archives.
7. Peace and War in the 20th Century. From McMaster University Library in Ontario, this library provides records, case studies, a time line, and more focusing on war and peace around the world in the 20th century.
8. Internet Public Library. Founded by University of Michigan School of Information and hosted by Drexel University’s College of Information Science & Technology, this incredibly comprehensive library has plenty to offer.

American Universities

These American university libraries have plenty to offer to anyone who takes the time to explore what is available.

1. University of Texas Libraries. Browse through the multiple libraries and museums available on this site. Some access is restricted to those affiliated with the university, but there is plenty of information for the general public.
2. Georgetown University Library. Search you databases, journals, and special collections at this combination of both the Lauinger Library and the Blommer Science Library.
3. Princeton University Library . This library offers lots of information for the general public. Be sure to check out their incredible reference database too.
4. LSU Libraries: Special Collections. While only parts of these special collections are available online, you can learn about the oral history of Louisiana, rare books, and the Civil War.
5. University of Nevada, Reno Libraries. Find Basque books and films, information on Earth sciences and mining, and maps and history of the Nevada area at this library.
6. Washington University Libraries. Ask a librarian, find journal articles, and browse through reference sources here.
7. Howard University Library System. Students and non-students alike can take advantage of the databases, catalog, and faculty papers.
8. University of Delaware Library. In addition to access to five libraries, you can also view a digital collection, instructional media collection, and other special collections.
9. University of Virginia Library. This library offers a good selection of labs, such as the digital media lab, which the general public can access portions of online.
10. J. Willard Marriott Library. From University of Utah, this library offers a good selection of special collections, digital collections, and more.

International Universities

Travel around the world from your computer and learn what these international university libraries have to offer.

1. The University of Edinburgh. The resources here are available to the general public; however, most licensed electronic resources are not available to non-university people.
2. The Library at UCD Dublin. While much of the information is restricted to either those associated with the university or visiting scholars, the general public can access electronic resources including eBooks, online reference sources, and more.
3. University of Oxford Bodleian Library e-Resources. This library offers a good selection of resources available to all ranging from digital archives to research articles written by Oxford authors.
4. Bibliotheque de la Sorbonne. Check out the electronic resources for the biggest selection available to the general public at this library. The site is completely in French.
5. Free University of Berlin Universitatsbibliothek. Research 700 databases and 20,000 journals in this university’s digital library. The site is available in English, but some of the pages may only be available in German.
6. Roskilde University Library. Of the open-access services available at this library, there is a good mix of information in both English and Danish.
7. Stockholm University Library. Search the databases, e-books, and e-journals available at this library. Not all information is accessible by the general public, but what is available is clearly marked.
8. University Library Ghent. This library in Belgium offers digital databases with historic photographs and more, a section with a five-year focus on architecture, and much more. Some of the site is available in English.
9. Open University of Catalonia. Search for information in English, Spanish, or Catalan in this library that offers an online collection ranging across many topics including the arts, philosophy, labor sciences, law, marketing, tourism, and more.
10. University of Zurich. This university has made several libraries and online databases available for use. There is a mix of resources in both English and German.
11. National University of Singapore Libraries. Get links to information about Singapore from government to statistics as well as the ability to search the university databases.