Staggering Amount of Old Books Now Made Available for Free Online

There are many books that have been written that have fallen out of print and are no longer available. Many histories and obscure writings that can provide insight into the past. Now there is a place where these are being scanned and made available for free. 

Records from the Past Preserved at an Amazing Rate 

You know Family Search, the online site provided by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, that makes it possible to find records of ancestors. They are passionate about keeping records of the past and making them available to all that are interested. 

There are over 1 million records added to the database every day. What you may not know is it is not just census data, military records, and family histories that are on the site. They have also scanned and preserved over 500,000 books. 

These are everything from history books, maps, and yearbooks to family histories and so much more. I searched for the term “Mohawk” and it gave me 3,4484 results. Many of them obscure books recording early interactions with this tribe of Native Americans. 

Read Online for Free 

A quick search of my last name turned up 17,811 books or histories that have been written with some going back to early last century. I clicked on one from 1918, and I can move from page to page and read it digitally. 

Here is what makes it even more amazing. I can search for specific names in the book, and the computer will bring up the page. This makes this wealth of information easily accessible.

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It is encouraging to me that this work is taking place. When I have been to a library or a used bookstore, I see all those old volumes aging on the shelf. Who knew that there was an army of people scanning them to make a digital copy that anyone can read for free.