Where Can You Find Public Domain Works?
Hey, the works are public so they should not be that hard to find. Right?
Absolutely!
In fact, there are literally millions of works, well-known or not, that are considered public property. The only thing is that people don’t realize they are free to use. You, on the other hand, well, now you know.
Many much-loved classic literatures are public domain. Many non fiction works, write-ups on a wide variety of topics, silent films, classic grainy black and white films, vintage cartoons and comics, even beloved songs are considered public domain. You may even instantly recognize some of these works.
Basically, remember Rule #1, that all works published before 1923 are public domain.
There are two basic methods you have in order to find public domain works.
The first is classic DIY or do-it-yourself. This method is not very fast and will probably not yield that many results, but it will cost you virtually nothing. The other method is the paid way, wherein you pay a certain fee to a third party who will do all the research for you.
Whichever one you prefer, you may still want to know how to locate public domain works.
The High-Tech Way
This is probably the best option you have, and the most likely one you will choose. Why? Well, because…Internet….
Where would we be if there was no Internet? Probably sitting at home, twiddling our thumbs, our minds and bums going numb.
Seriously, the Internet is one great source of public domain works. What is more, it is available to anyone, as long as you have the knowledge and the patience to plow through the great amount of information that the World Wide Web regularly churns out.
But the Internet is big, huge, HUMONGOUS! Where do you start?
- Turn on the Engine
Search engines seem as good a place as any to start looking for public domain works. They are websites that allow you to perform simplified online search with the use of powerful Internet search tools called searchbots.
Google remains to be the most popular and effective, though it is a relatively new face in the search engine industry (It burst into the market a little more than ten years ago, back when Amazon and Ebay ruled the online marketplace.)
However, if you want more results, try doing the same search using multiple search engines, like Altavista, Dogpile, Yahoo, and MSN.
For a list of more search engines, you can even do a search on “search engines” first, jot them all down, then do your search for “public domain” on each one of them. For sure, it is going to be a lot of work, but such is the fact when you are trying to yield as many results as you can.
For starters, use the following keywords when searching:
o public domain music
o public domain images
o public domain books
o public domain movies
o public domain works
o public domain library
o public domain software
You can get plenty more variations of the keyword by using tools like Google’s Keyword Tool (previously known as “sandbox”). It would be interesting to vary your keyword sometimes for more search possibilities.
**A word to the wise— It is probably not a very good idea trusting just any site that comes up during your search. Generally, information coming from the Library of Congress is much more reliable than those coming from websites with tacky titles like “My Friend’s Cousin’s Pet’s Vet’s Husband’s Homemade Recipe for Business Success.” If the exact same title comes up in more than one search, then that work is probably public domain, but it is always good to verify first.
- Talk it Out
Besides regular websites, public domain works are also available in boards with public posting access, e.g. forums, message boards, and e-groups. Just do a search for “public domain forum,” substituting “forum” with message boards, list, group, news, community, etc.
**Just remember: Before you join any group, forum, or community, browse through the forum posts and member profiles first to determine if the members are easy to talk with and are not averse to answering questions (okay, a lot of questions) from newbies like you.
- Go Right to the Source
When you do your search for public domain works, you will find that many libraries and groups today are offering you a wide range of creative works all in public domain. Countless copies of works without copyright protection are digitized, archived in online databases, and made freely available to the public.
According to them, this is to help ensure that the information these types of work contain are freely available to scholars, educators, students, and the general public.
As a tip, you can use the following direct links to resource sites for more public domain goodness (Remove all words not in bold [and replace with the appropriate symbol] as well as all spaces):
o HTI (dot) umich (dot) edu (slash) p (slash) pd-modeng (slash) bibl (dot) html – This is where you can get publicly available modern English collection from the Humanities Text Initiative, a unit of the University of Michigan’s Digital Library Production Service.
o Bartleby (dot) com – For a collection of online reference books, this site is the place to go. It also contains literature (fiction and non fiction), verse, quotations, and books in the public domain.
o Ibiblio (dot) org – A collaborative project between the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill’s MetaLab and the Center for the Public Domain, Ibiblio.org is a database of freely available information, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies.
o Readprint (dot) com – As a free online library, this site offers thousands of free books that a student, teacher, or even the classic enthusiast can use completely without charge. It has an author index which allows you to read free biographical information about them.
o Gutenberg (dot) org – Currently up to 18,000 free public domain e-books available from classic literature, treatises, notes, to discourse and all of it in downloadable e-format.
o Retrofilm (dot) com – An online catalogue of film works in the public domain, including movies, television, shows, cartoons, musicals, documentaries, and more. The site, however, does not provide copies of film footage to private individuals as it is mainly a service for television broadcast companies. However, you can use the site to search for titles and then go look for copies of them somewhere else.
The Traditional Way
If, for some reason, the Internet does not work for you, never fear. A better than good alternative is a public library.
Unlike the Internet, public libraries are the one source of public domain works that is absolutely free. That’s because with the Internet method, you need to have a computer and an Internet connection before you can do any actual work – all of which can cost you money.
But, when it comes to public libraries, you can just drive over there and zip and zap and just like that! You have the information you want.
Another advantage that public libraries have over the Internet is that there is always someone to help you do your search. The one thing that the Internet does not have but public libraries do is a librarian.
Most librarians are quite knowledgeable about the collection their libraries have and are usually willing to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
If the public library near you is a local one, it would probably help if you make a list of questions you might have and approach the librarian first as you enter. If the library is state or city-run, the library staff members probably have neither the time nor resources to devote personal attention to your needs while there are also other patrons.
If that is the case, you can pretty much handle your own search through library archives without need of outside help. Just pick any subject you want and scan the library shelf for shelf. It helps if you look for older books relating to the topic as they are likely already in the public domain.
Alternatively, you can spend a lazy afternoon browsing through the card catalogue section until you hit something you like.
The good thing about card catalogues is that they usually contain the date of publication, and right near the beginning of the listing on the card, too. This makes identifying if the work was published before 1923 a simple matter.
After finding the public domain materials you need, you are now ready for the next step, which is how to prepare these public domain works for resale. One of the proven packaging methods to re-sell public domain works is through an e-book.
An e-book is a term that refers to an electronic or digital version of a book, although sometimes it is used to refer to a hardware device specifically designed to read digital copies of books.