SUBJECT: Lesson #2 - Sourcing Your Public Domain Content

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If you want to get quality public domain content to start
building a site or your own product then you need to know the
best places to look for.

Start by searching for keywords and phrases like: 

• public domain music
• public domain images
• public domain books
• public domain movies
• public domain works
• public domain library
• public domain software

**A word to the wise -- Don't trust everyone. Information from
the Library of Congress is reliable. If you're doing the
research yourself, it's in your best interest to contact a
copyright lawyer before you publish the work, just in case it
falls outside the copyright laws.

• Talk it Out

Besides regular websites, public domain works are also available
in boards with public posting access, e.g. forums, message
boards, and e-groups. Just do a search for “public domain
forum,” substituting “forum” with message boards, list, group,
news, community, etc. 

**Just remember: Before you join any group, forum, or community,
browse through the forum posts and member profiles first to
determine if the members are easy to talk with and are not
averse to answering questions (okay, a lot of questions) from
newbies.

• Go Right to the Source

When you do your search for public domain works, you will find
that many libraries and groups offer you a wide range of
creative work in the public domain. Countless copies of work
without copyright protection are digitized, archived in online
databases, and made freely available to the public. 

According to them, this helps ensure the information is freely
available to scholars, educators, students, and the general
public.

Start your search using the following resources:

• Bartleby.com – For a collection of online reference books,
this site is the place to go. It also contains literature
(fiction and non fiction), verse, quotations, and books in the
public domain.

• Ibiblio.org – A collaborative project between the
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill’s MetaLab and the
Center for the Public Domain, Ibiblio.org is a database of
freely available information, including software, music,
literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural
studies. 

• ReadPrint.com – As a free online library, this site offers
thousands of free books that a student, teacher, or even the
classic enthusiast can use completely without charge. It has an
author index which allows you to read free biographical
information about them. 

• Gutenberg.org – Approximately 18,000 free public domain
e-books are available.

The Traditional Way

Public libraries are often a treasure trove of public domain
work. Often the staff will be able to direct you to the
resources you're looking for. Browsing through the card catalog
will also turn up golden nuggets, as they usually contain the
date of publication. 

After finding the public domain materials you need, you are now
ready for the next step, which is preparing this work for
resale. One of the proven packaging methods to re-sell public
domain works is through an e-book. 

Stay tuned for our next lesson where we'll discuss how to go
about turning this raw content into your own eBook. 


To Your Success,
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