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The online world has provided the potential for books outside of their copyright to be available to researchers. Those providers offering access FREE are:
……. And, there may well be others. If you know of any please do leave a comment.
In the Introduction to One-Name Studies course, we explore the broad topic of the history of surnames. Do those earlier views by scholars of the times remain true today, or has the understanding evolved? If it has evolved, then the evolution is part of the history to, along with any hypothesis or conclusions drawn. Those researching surnames whose origins are not British, may find there are a mix of similarities with British names and some differences. In which case what drives the similarities and differences, and have they too evolved over time?
Material published previously about specific surnames adds to the history of that surname and are a useful addition to the One-Name Study, regardless of not whether it is registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies
Whether or not the books are available as free downloads or are texts still in print and copyright, they very likely contain a bibliography within the confines of the latter pages. Those bibliographies are incredibly useful as they provide opportunities for further considerations and research. One resource worthy of visiting is Modern British Surnames which is hosted by the Guild of One-Name Studies. The resource is the work of a former member, the late Philip Dance, and you can read about it HERE and how the site came to be relocated. Part of that resource is a Bibliography which can be found HERE. Whilst the title of the site is Modern British Surnames, it does contain information and resource relating the globalisation of surnames.
The online providers linked above, provide opportunities for site users to create accounts, enabling the creation of some form of book collections. To access the Hathi Trust you generally need to be registered with a partnered organisation. If that is not possible, you can sign up as a Friend of the University of Michigan, which is offered FREE of charge and having done so you can login to the books available. You can create collections and make the collections public or private as you wish. To register as a friend of the University of Michigan click HERE (this is available to all, not just those in the United States). I am in the process of adding material to my collections which can be found HERE and I will add the link to this site (either under Surname Research or Links) so stay tuned for details!
Julie Goucher ~ Anglers Rest 
I absolutely LOVE how many historic books have been digitized and are now available at Internet Archive and Hathi Trust — making them available on the go, and helping me cut down my hard copy collection. Agree that setting up an account and a collection is great for return visits. https://mollyscanopy.com/
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I was fascinated to read Ohil Dance’s writing, fascinating and glad it has been preserved.
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Thanks for the idea of the University of Michigan access. I’m wondering if you can access JSTOR that way which would enable you to find journal articles. I have a University of Wales community member account but to access JSTOR you have to be in one of their libraries which of course are closed right now !
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If you search JSTOR and register you can read 100 items a month without any link to a library or educational institution. Does that help?
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Do you mean search Jstor when on the Michigan uni site? I tried that and it said I didn’t have access (I did join the site)
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