Free Resources

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This guide was first presented at the 2010 Annual Southeast Florida Libraries Information Network (SEFLIN) Regional Conference—SEFLIN Conference 2010: Services on a Shoestring—under the title, “S.O.S.: Free and Great Resources!” by Lauri Rebar and Bebe Chang. 

Our Inspiration: Tomaiuolo, N.G. & Quint, B. (2004). The Web Library: Building a World Class Personal Library with Free Web Resources. Medford, N.J.: Information Today, Inc. p. xxi.

"... in these tight economic times, it is libraries themselves that may be one of the best markets for this information. One of the key functions of a library is to assure that its patrons get the best information at the best price. And when money is so tight for libraries, it is professionally irresponsible to pay for resources that are otherwise available for free."  [Foreword by Steve Coffman]

At the 2011 Annual Florida Library Association Conference, in support of the theme, “Open Libraries… Open Minds,” we were pleased to present an even greater number of resources.

The all-too-familiar refrain of budget constraints must be replaced by cooperation and collaboration in order to promote much needed awareness of the existence of useful and authoritative resources freely and readily available to librarians and patrons for easy access and use.

Free Resources is:

• a curated list of free resources,
• organized into broad disciplines with subdivisions,
• for all age groups and reading levels,
• reference materials reviewed by librarians,
• a quick reference to valuable resources which are unique or may be difficult to find, and
• continually being updated.

We are accepting recommendations from only librarians.

How to use the guide?

• Use the Index
• Use the tabs and subtabs to navigate
• Use the Search this Guide search box (top right of the guide pages)
• Search will look for all words in the guide
• Find Web Search Strategies within this guide

Librarians’ role: We are accepting recommendations from only librarians.

Submit suggestions for inclusion in or deletion of resources from the guide.

Resource review criteria

Please use the University of California Berkeley evaluation guidelines for suggesting links:

• Authority
• Purpose
• Publication & Format
• Relevance
• Date of Publication
• Documentation