Web sites offer free e-books by famous authors

If you could find books you need online, would you still buy them from a store?

Several Web sites on the Internet think it’s worth the time to scan the books into a computer and make them available for free to the public.

Sam Kerr, a VCU student and a self-described “avid reader,” is pleased that he can look up and find many free books online.

“I think it’s a great benefit to students, especially when they have to take a classical literature course,” Kerr said.

The Internet search engine Google recently launched an Internet site that allows you to look for and download books that are considered public domain. Google Book Search also allows you to read portions of books that are copyrighted.

Another Web site called Project Gutenberg allows books to be downloaded if they are in the public domain. Any book that has had its copyright run out is considered to be public domain.

Dan Ream, head of education and outreach services at James Branch Cabell Library, said online books are a great idea.

“I think this is one of the most revolutionary projects Google is working on,” Ream said. “As a librarian, I also see advantages in e-books of 24/7 availability and no potential theft or mutilation, as with books on the library shelves.”

There is no shortage of books available. Project Gutenberg alone has more than 19,000 free e-books available; more than two million e-books are downloaded from the site each month.

Some of the most popular books being downloaded for free are works by such literary minds as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Robert Louis Stevenson. Also available are historical texts such as Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” and Albert Einstein’s “Relativity: Special and General Theory.”

There is no doubt that students can benefit from Web sites that offer free books.

“It’s certainly helped me out when I needed a book and couldn’t find it in a library or available to buy at the bookstore,” Kerr said.

He thinks it is better than libraries in some respects.

“If I get a book from the library, I need to worry about getting it back on time. And if it is a long book, I might feel rushed to read it. I don’t feel that way knowing it’s on my computer,” Kerr said.

Some of the books are even offered as audio.

While some people are glad to see some of their favorite books online, others say that it just isn’t as good as holding a real book in your hands.

Hope Perry, who is working on a master’s of Library Science at East Carolina University, thinks that online books just aren’t as good.

She believes that more must be done if online books are going to really become popular. “I think it will be more popular when it’s not so straining on the eyes,” she said.

Perry prefers holding a real book in her hands.

“I don’t want to get in bed and curl up with a good laptop before going to sleep. I want that book,” Perry said.