EEBO Access

March 5, 2010 4:57 AM

Is there any way to access the awesome Early English Books Online database without being tied to a university? Is there a private library or an online service I can join?
posted by Yakuman to computers & internet (3 answers total)

Not knowing your location, that is a difficult question to answer. The short answer is "no." The longer answer is "yes, if you have a fair amount of money to spend." The most useful answer is "look for a public university somewhere in your area that has access. There is a pretty good chance that a member of the public can use most, if not all, of their electronic resources on site without too much trouble."

If your question is about off site (i.e. from your home) access, the answer is pretty much "no, never." The vendors are really against this (and for understandable reasons).
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:21 AM on March 5, 2010

If you're in the US, try your closest public university: some provide library services to any state resident who asks. It depends on the state, though.
posted by philokalia at 5:24 AM on March 5, 2010 [1 favorite]

Readers of Early Modern Online Bibliography (a great blog for any early modernists out there, incidentally) have free access to EEBO for the next few weeks.

Other than that, try your nearest public library as others have said.
posted by greycap at 5:36 AM on March 5, 2010