Medieval source material on the internet: Some internet libraries

Paul Halsall's Internet Medieval Sourcebook (Fordham University) provides an unparalleled list of online medieval documents at different websites, from which many of those below are taken. The list is worldwide in scope, and in addition to complete works there are hundreds of individual extracts. The whole collection is searchable.

A large number of books available online are listed at the On-Line Books Page (University of Pennsylvania)

Other major online publishing projects are:

• Google Books
  An ambitious project to digitise more than 8 million volumes over the next few years. The text of the books is searchable, and out-of-copyright works are fully accessible. There is more limited access to works still in copyright.
• Internet Archive: Text Archive
  Offers access to around half a million electronic texts from different collections, including books scanned under the auspices of the Open Content Alliance, Project Gutenberg and part of the Universal Digital Library. The Internet Archive is also collaborating in the development of the Open Library, which aims to be to the library catalogue what Wikipedia is to the encyclopaedia.
• Gallica (Bibliothèque nationale de France)
  Site offering online access to more than 4 million documents, including books and manuscripts. The text of some books is searchable, though there is only limited access to newer works that are still in copyright. The books include many relating to medieval England.
• Project Gutenberg
  More than 25,000 electronic texts, searchable by keywords.
• HathiTrust Digital Library
  Digital repository maintained by an international consortium of research libraries, currently containing nearly 14 million volumes from various sources including Google, Microsoft and the Internet Archive.
• Digital General Collection (University of Michigan)
  Collection of more than 20,000 out-of-copyright books. Page images and electronic texts, with powerful search options.
• Bavarian State Library, Munich
  Collection of more than a million digitised volumes.

And the following smaller projects include material relevant to medieval England.

• British History Online (Institute of Historical Research/History of Parliament Trust)
• FamilySearch Digital Library (FamilySearch)
  Large collection of digital texts in PDF format. Includes a full text search.
• Richard III Society American Branch - Primary Source Materials
• The Medieval and Classical Literature Library (Roy Tennant)
• The Labyrinth Medieval Studies Website (Georgetown University)
  Archived version of website.
• Digital Collections (University of Virginia Library)
• Oxford Text Archive (contains additional relevant texts which are available 'offline')
• Early Manuscripts at Oxford University (images of manuscripts, including early Welsh and Irish texts with genealogical content)
• The Original Record
  An extensive database of hand-indexed records, including many published medieval sources. There is a free search facility for occurrences of a surname within a specified range of dates, and wildcards can be used to allow for spelling variations. The lists of results identify the sources, so that the database can be used as a finding aid by those with access to good reference libraries (real or virtual). For others, scans of the published records can be viewed online for a fee (typically between 2 and 6 pounds per volume).

Another important resource is the History Data Service (the successor to AHDS History), which provides digital resources relating to historical research or teaching. The collections include several sets of data relating to medieval England. Some are available for free download, and others are supplied on CD or floppy disc. As the collections are intended primarily for academic use, a charge may be made to non-academics.