The widespread closure of libraries and archives imposes new challenges on all of us trying to complete our studies. Recognising this, leading publishing presses and databases have made large amounts of their content available for free for the duration of this pandemic. Indeed, as a result of Covid-19, you may have access to materials which would previously have been off-limits.
Below are a few resources which may prove helpful as you finish your thesis or term papers.
Before exploring the following links, make sure you are connected to CEU’s VPN (https://www.ceu.edu/campus/IT/vpn), and remember: you can still contact the library if you are having trouble accessing an important publication.
JSTOR
A familiar resource to all students, JSTOR’s database has always included a generous supply of publicly accessible academic material. They have now expanded the amount of their content available to the public and to subscribed universities. It has over 6,000 accessible e-books and over 150 journals, and these are expected to remain accessible until 30 June 2020.
Berghahn Journals
This includes 38 journals covering such areas as anthropology (especially), sociology, migration studies, environmental sciences, gender studies and religion.
Cambridge Core
This is the online hub for publications produced by Cambridge University Press. They have expanded their freely accessible content until the end of May 2020. This includes such sources as the Cambridge Companions and Cambridge Histories series.
MIT Press
MIT Press Direct has been especially generous in making all of their e-books available until the end of May 2020. This will be of particular interest to students of economics and business, environmental sciences, cognitive science and data science, though they also have some publications in the humanities and social sciences.
Internet Archive
In light of the pandemic, Internet Archive have opened a National Emergency Library, which has removed the lending restrictions on over 1 million books in its Open Library. Its subject coverage is broad, but it may be especially helpful for accessing older out-of-print books.
Project Muse
Participating universities have made many of their publications freely accessible from Project Muse. You can download a list of their free books and journals, complete with access links, from the Project Muse website. Click on the two links under “Title List” to download the lists as Excel documents. You can then use the search and find function for specific titles or subject areas.
University of California Press
All online journals produced by UC Press are to remain available until the end of June 2020. This includes relevant journals on anthropology, history and medieval studies, gender studies, international relations and sociology.
University of Michigan Press
All e-books produced by the University of Michigan Press are to remain available for this academic term. This is useful for students of political science and public policy, history and medieval studies, as well as those whose geographical focus is in Africa and East Asia.
Ohio State University Press
Free access to an extensive list of monographs produced by Ohio State University Press has been granted until further notice. This also includes their linguistic textbook Language Files, which may be of interest to language students or certain students in cognitive science, sociology and anthropology.
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury Digital Resources has made all of their publications freely accessible to registered institutions. This includes works on the visual arts, cultural history, medieval studies, religion and philosophy.
Taylor and Francis
T & F have two main online platforms: Taylor and Francis eBooks and Taylor and Francis Online. Both cover similar subject areas in development studies, economics, social sciences, environment and sustainability, law and heritage studies.
Glenn Mills, Alumni Scholarship recipient in the Department of Medieval Studies
