Open Access (OA) databases present a host of opportunities and risks. The opportunities for accessing free material online is enticing. However, they come with several risks. Even with the best security, there are risks such as data breaches, unauthorized access, insider threats, data integrity and reliability, intellectual property and legal issues, malware and viruses, denial of service attacks, social engineering attacks, and human error. Consequently, the GCTS library will only list OA databases from trusted sources. Patrons are advised to exercise caution when using unvetted OA databases.
Here are a few of the trusted OA Databases featured on the GCTS Library System.
The Art in the Christian Tradition (ACT) database is a regularly updated visual image internet resource. Designed for scholars, students, pastors, and religious educators, all of the images may be used for non-commercial purposes, with attribution. There are currently 7045 images in the collection. The ACT is linked to another Vanderbilt Divinity Library internet resource, the Revised Common Lectionary. This linking allows leaders of worship and teachers to easily find visual art resources related to the scripture readings for each Sunday in the church calendar.
The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) strives to democratize access to the best data on religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997 and going online in 1998, the initial archive was targeted at researchers interested in American religion. The targeted audience and the data collection have both greatly expanded since 1998, now including American and international collections submitted by the foremost religion scholars and research centers in the world. The ARDA is generously supported by the Lilly Endowment, the John Templeton Foundation, the Templeton Religion Trust, Chapman University, Pennsylvania State University and Indiana University Indianapolis.
Atla Open Press publishes open access books, journals, and other serials that cover subjects at the intersection of librarianship and religious and theological studies that potentially impact libraries, that guide and support innovative library services, that enhance professional development for religious studies and theological librarians, and that represent specialized topics of interest in religion and theology that are of relevance to the work of libraries in supporting the instructional and research activities of their institutions.
Classic Christian books online.
In the HathiTrust Digital Library collection, you can find titles on everything from African History, Economics, and French Literature to Solar Energy, Public Health, and materials published in more than 400 languages. The digital library of 18+ million digitized items brings together the collections of more than 60 academic and research libraries from across North America and other countries. Users from around the world use the digital library for their undergraduate and graduate studies, personal research, genealogy, and professional purposes such as law and journalism.
Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free texts, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
More than 13,000 open access (OA) books from 145+ publishers, including Brill, Cornell University Press, University College of London, and University of California Press, are now available at no cost to libraries or users.
This page features items from the Library's digital collections that are free to use and reuse. The Library believes that this content is either in the public domain, has no known copyright, or has been cleared by the copyright owner for public use. Each set of content is based on a theme and is first featured on the Library's home page. These sets are just a small sample of the Library's digital collections that are free to use and reuse. The digital collections comprise millions of items including books, newspapers, manuscripts, prints and photos, maps, musical scores, films, sound recordings and more. Whenever possible, each collection has its own rights statement which should be consulted for guidance on use. Learn more about copyright and the Library's collections.
This list of Open Access databases and libraries is provided by the Digital Theological Library (DTL).
The mission of Open Access Digital Theological Library (OADTL) is to curate high-quality content in religious studies and related disciplines from publisher websites, institutional repositories, scholarly societies, archives, and stable public domain collections. The OADTL uses the world’s most advanced integrated library system (ILS) for cataloging and discovery. This system, OCLC’s WorldShare, makes content easily discoverable and retrievable. The OADTL is staffed by professional librarians and curates content without regard for theological or confessional perspective. It is hoped that the increased access to high-quality religious studies content will serve scholars and students of religion.
ISKME's digital librarians have curated collections of Open Textbooks and full courses to help leverage OER in your classroom. Whether you are looking for more affordable options for your students, or dynamic content to inspire your own teaching and learning practice, this hub, organized by discipline and provider will help you discover the resources you need at your fingertips.
OpenStax is part of Rice University, which is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable corporation. As an educational initiative, it's our mission to improve educational access and learning for everyone. Through our partnerships with philanthropic foundations and our alliance with other educational resource companies, we're breaking down the most common barriers to learning. Because we believe that everyone should and can have access to knowledge.
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. Pew conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. Pew does not take policy positions.
Project Gutenberg is an online library of free eBooks. Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related content today.
The Wesley Center Online website is a collection of historical and scholarly resources about the Wesleyan tradition, theology, Christianity, and the Church of the Nazarene.