Look for the Read Online links or the open book icon to open a book in the BookReader. You can search for available books by checking the "Only show eBooks" checkbox in the Open Library search.
NC LIVE, North Carolina's statewide online library service is participating in our In-Library lending program.
Browse the growing lending library of over 200,000 eBooks!
Open Library can mix and match data from different sources, thus enhancing the traditional library record to include information that helps users find interesting resources and make an informed selection from the large number of published materials that are part of our cultural heritage
Open Library users themselves can add information to the catalog, and can even add entire works that the Library has not yet received from another source
Collectively we can create a new kind of library catalog; one that not only links users to materials, but that allows users to engage in the knowledge dialog that a library represents
Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records
identification
library uniform titles
Subjects
Works
Editions
Authors
types provide a focus
linked data
For texts, the Work stays the same even when translated.
the abstract creative product
defines the essential things that a library catalog describes
To the extent possible, all of the various editions of a work (in FRBR called Manifestations) are linked to the Work
uniquely identifying
natural order
birth and death dates in their own fields
author information can include name variants, as well as biographical information
attempt to reflect the full complexity of the contents
Faceted Application of Subject Terminology
OCLC Research Division
user interfaces for library catalogs
emphasizes the faceted nature
refine their searches
facets
facet types are: subject, person, time, place
facets as a separate subject entry
users can follow the topical train of related facets throughout the web of data that these subject facets create
identifying URL
web-based information resource
when entries are merged, as does happen, care is taken so that the old URL points to the new one, thus avoiding broken links
These identifiers do not change
merging duplicate entries
users can merge editions, authors and works
improve the quality of bibliographic data on the web as a whole
I wrote a book, and I have it in digital form. Can I make it readable on Open Library?
Yes! You can upload your book to the Internet Archive (www.archive.org). Then you will need to add the ID that you give it there to your Open Library record as its Internet Archive ID.
All you need to do is hit the EDIT button and start filling in the gaps.