Free Digital Libraries: Internet Archive, HathiTrust, Google Books and More
Millions of county histories, family histories, city directories and old reference books are free online, searchable word for word. Where to find them and how to search them.
Some of the most useful genealogy sources are old books: county histories, published family genealogies, city directories, church histories, cemetery transcriptions, school yearbooks and published abstracts of wills and deeds. Millions of these have been scanned and put online free, often with every word searchable. Here's where to look.
Internet Archive (archive.org)
The Internet Archive is a nonprofit digital library holding millions of scanned books, including an enormous number of American county and local histories, city directories and genealogies contributed by libraries such as the Allen County Public Library. Every book is searchable in full text.
- Search inside books: use the option to search text contents, not just titles, to find your ancestor's name in any book.
- Browse collections, such as genealogy or a particular library's contributions.
- The Wayback Machine, also part of the Internet Archive, saves old versions of websites. If a genealogy site you relied on has disappeared, its pages may still be there.
HathiTrust (hathitrust.org)
HathiTrust is a partnership of major research libraries that have pooled millions of scanned volumes. Books old enough to be in the public domain can be read in full; in the U.S. that generally means books published before 1931. Newer books are "search only," which still tells you which pages your search term appears on, so you can request the pages through your library.
HathiTrust is especially strong for state and government publications, old periodicals and reference books.
Google Books (books.google.com)
Google Books has scanned millions of books from library collections. Public-domain books can be read and downloaded in full; others show snippets or nothing. Even a snippet can confirm that a book mentions your ancestor, and then you can find a full copy elsewhere. Use the search tools to limit results to "Full view" books.
FamilySearch Digital Library
FamilySearch's digital library holds hundreds of thousands of digitized genealogy books, family histories and periodicals from the Family History Library and partner libraries. Some can be viewed only at FamilySearch Centers or affiliate libraries because of copyright. Find it under the FamilySearch "Search" menu as Books.
Library of Congress and other national collections
- The Library of Congress offers free digital collections including Chronicling America newspapers, Sanborn fire insurance maps, panoramic maps, photographs and many local histories.
- The Digital Public Library of America (dp.la) searches the digital collections of thousands of libraries, archives and museums at once.
- State digital libraries and archives hold local newspapers, photographs, maps and records. Our state guides link to many of them.
Search tips
- Search full text, not just titles. Your ancestor won't be in a book's title, but may be on page 342.
- Use quotation marks for full names, and try variations: "John Miller," "Jno. Miller," "J. Miller."
- Add a place word to narrow common names: "Miller" "Augusta County."
- Remember that scanned text has errors. Old typefaces and faded pages confuse the computer, so try alternate spellings and search for a neighbor if your ancestor doesn't come up.
- Try all the libraries. The same book may be scanned in one and not another, or have better text recognition in one.
What to look for
- County histories with biographies of early settlers (see County Histories, Family Histories and Journals)
- Published family genealogies for your surname
- City directories (see City Directories)
- Published abstracts of wills, deeds, marriages and court records, which are excellent finding aids
- Church and congregation histories listing members
- Regimental histories for soldiers
- School catalogs and yearbooks listing students
- Old gazetteers and atlases that describe places as they were
A word of caution
Published books can be wrong. Family genealogies from the 1800s and early 1900s often repeated family traditions without evidence, and some contain outright inventions. Treat what you find as a lead to check against original records.