Online libraries are one of the most powerful research tools at our disposal. No more need for a library card. The doors are never closed, they are there for you at all hours.

Online libraries usually can be divided into two categories: sites that collect links to informational resources and sites that have a database of electronic texts. A few sites do both, for example, the United States National Library of Medicine and the Library of Congress.

Try to analyze what site might best contain the information that you are looking for. If you are researching material about Shakespeare or the Bible, try looking at university-affiliated sites such as the University of Virginia's mammoth Electronic Text Center, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/. Another good place to go would be Columbia University's Project Bartleby, http://www.bartleby.com.

Bibliomania
This is a collection of electronic texts that may be searched by engine or category. You will find Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams", poetry and classic novels.
http://www.bibliomania.com

American Verse Project
This is a University of Michigan project to archive 19th-century American poetry (some 18th and early 20th-century pieces can be found)..
http://www.hti.umich.edu/english/amverse

Highbeam Library Research (old Electric Library)
This is a for fee service that has a free trail period. You will be able to research newspapers, magazines, newswires, maps, photos and books.
http://www.highbeam.com/library/index.asp

Libraryspot
This is a relatively small site, however, it offers links to only the best library and reference sites. You can enter The Reading Room, a collection of online journals, newspapers, magazines and books. There are also links to legal, medical and general online libraries.
http://www.libraryspot.com

National Library of Canada
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/

The Library of Congress
Only a portion of the libraries 17 million books and 95 million images, audio recordings, maps, etc. are online. However, the available resources are mind boggling. Look for THOMAS, a congressional database, or American Memory, a fluid initiative to digitize the libraries historical American holdings. The Electronic Texts and Publishing Resources page offers links to libraries with electronic books.
http://www.loc.gov

The On-Line Books Page
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/