Online Resources
In addition to our library catalog and databases, there are many free, online resources that can be used for research. These include digital libraries and journal databases with books and articles from researchers and universities around the world. Most are freely available and include items on a wide range of topics. This page lists some of the best of these resources. Also, see the library guides below that list resources for specific Bible, theology and dissertation topics.
Digital Libraries
- Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA)
The ARDA collects and provides data on religion, which is provided by religion scholars and research centers around the world. The data is meant to be a resource for scholars, educators, journalists, and religious congregations. It is presented in a wide variety of tables, spreadsheets, summaries, etc. - Digital Commons Network
Digital Commons Network is a worldwide repository of scholarly works, including articles, book chapters, theses, dissertations and more. You can explore by topic using their innovative graphic search tool or search for your topic by keyword. - Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
The DPLA is a project that aims to collect and make available resources from public and university libraries, archives and museums across America. It includes items from the Smithsonian, National Archives, Library of Congress, and many other institutions. Its goal is to create a portal that will be a valuable source of information for everyone. - First Fruits Site
Asbury Theological Seminary desires to share the fruit of their academic labor with the entire world. First Fruits is a part of their mission, and serves as a free open-access press to make available academic material from the Wesleyan and Holiness traditions to a global audience. - HathiTrust
The Hathitrust Digital Library provides access to the collections of major research institutions and libraries worldwide. - Princeton Theological Commons
A digital collection of over 80,000 items on religion and theology collected and hosted by Princeton Theological Seminary. - Project Gutenberg
A collection of thousands of over 50,000 classic fiction and non-fiction texts. All books are public domain and can be downloaded for free to read on any device. - World Digital Library
The World Digital Library, published by the Library of Congress, includes primary materials from around the world, including ancient religious and Biblical manuscripts. Explore this site by the topic of “religion” or “philosophy.”
Open Journal Databases
Journal databases include articles from many journals. For links to individual journals, go to our guides for Religion Journals or General Studies Journals.
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
The DOAJ is an online directory of open access and peer-reviewed journals. It includes over 11,000 journals in the areas of science, technology, medicine, social science and humanities. Use the search page or browse by subject. - Ireland Digital Repository
The RIAN repository includes scholarly article and dissertations published in Ireland. Used the advanced search to limit your search to only dissertations or theses. - JSTOR
JSTOR is a database of scholarly articles from a wide variety of journals. Researchers who sign up for a MyJSTOR account can read up to 78 free articles per year. - Open Library of Humanities (OLH)
The OLH publishes scholarly, peer-reviewed, and open access journals in areas of the humanities. - Science Direct Open Access Journals
Science Direct, a major search engine for science journals and articles, has the option to view only open access journals or journals that contain open access articles. After your search, choose to limit your results to “Open Access Articles”. - Taylor and Francis (T&F) Online Journal Search
T&F offer a search of their entire journal collection, with the option to limit your search results only to items that are available to read for free. Enter your term(s) in the search boxes and mark the “Only content I have full access to” option to retrieve free articles from high-quality journals. - Theological Studies Archive & Biblical Studies Archive
These complementary archives provide a wide range of materials for biblical and theological studies. There are many free journal articles, book reviews and Bible study aids.
University Repositories
Many universities have digital collections of materials published through their institutions or materials held in their archives. Though you may use the resources above, such as Directory of Open Access Repositories or the Digital Commons, to search all these resources at once, the digital libraries listed below are highlighted for their excellent content.
Library Guides
- Dissertations and Theses
A guide to online resources for finding dissertations and theses from universities and institutions around the world. - General Studies Journals
A guide to journals on general studies topics including business, education, science, philosophy, athletics and information studies. Includes links to journals in our library databases and free online journals. - Religion Journals
A guide to specific journals in the areas of theology, missions and ministry. - Theology Online
A guide to the best freely available, online resources for Bible and theology research. Resources listed include commentaries, Bible dictionaries and encyclopedias, online journals, digital libraries and databases, and subject guides.