All of the following resources offer primarily free digital media (ebooks, audiobooks, audio, video, images, software, and more). This is never going to be a complete list. I tried to list mostly true open access projects (as opposed to freemium services or services with advertising). Many of these resources are international, but this list may still be somewhat USA-centric, as those are the services I know of and can access. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_digital_library_projects for a list of more digital library resources.

If you are comfortable with a more comprehensive variety of resources, this wiki lists many of those, along with more legitimate/well-known services.

This list is also posted on my Tumblr.

First off, don’t forget about your local, school, workplace, state/province/territory, or national library. Check the website or ask a librarian.

• It likely has an ebook and digital audiobook lending program through their own or a 3rd-party application (such as Libby/Overdrive or SimplyE).
• Libraries often have some subscriptions to databases for items like journal articles, news articles, images, streaming video/audio, downloadable video/audio, and additional ebooks. Your library may even aggregate reference information on the items from each database it subscribes to into a central searchable database.
• This generally requires a library card or student/employee account, but you can often sign up for one online (assuming you are eligible).
• You might find additional programs through a county/state/territory/province library, national library, and various government institutions. Don’t assume it’s just your local public library that you have access to content from.

If you live in the United States, the Books Unbanned initiative features several major city libraries which offer cards with access to their digital collections (either the entire catalogue, or just commonly challenged books) to teens and young adults nationwide. The program began with Brooklyn Public Library, and as of October 2023, also includes Seattle Public Library, Boston Public Library, LA County Library (California residents only), and San Diego Public Library. You can apply for as many of these cards as you are eligible for; age requirements vary, but currently, if you are 12-26 years old, you are eligible for at least one of these cards.

Some more generally available services are listed below.

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