Internet Archive
Books, films, software, concerts and the web itself, archived at a scale no other institution has come close to.
Opens in a new tab. We do not control this site and it may have changed since we catalogued it.
How to get the most from it
Internet Archive sits in Free Libraries under Learn, filed as rabbit hole.
- Open it when the evening is free. It has no natural stopping point.
- It works on a phone or a desktop, so open it on whatever is nearest.
- It works with the sound off, so it is fine on a train or in a quiet office.
- No account needed — you can start without signing up.
- Go in expecting something useful, nostalgic and brainy.
About this category: Public-domain books, scanned art, academic archives and collections built by people who cared far too much about one subject. Bring time.
Good for
- A long evening with nothing planned
- Getting something practical done
- A trip back to the older internet
- Giving your brain a workout
- A quiet break at your desk
- Killing time on your phone
- Trying it with zero commitment
Internet Archive: quick answers
Is Internet Archive free?
Yes. Internet Archive is free to use and needs no account.
Do I need an account to use Internet Archive?
No. You can use Internet Archive without signing up for anything.
Does Internet Archive work on a phone?
Yes. Internet Archive works on phones as well as desktop browsers.
Is Internet Archive safe for work?
Yes, we file it as safe for work. It also works muted.
How long does Internet Archive take?
We file it as "Rabbit hole": Clear your evening. We warned you.
More in Free Libraries
All 19 in Free LibrariesA vast and aggressively plain archive of religious and mythological texts, essentially unchanged since the old web.
- 1 hr+
Public domain books read aloud by volunteers, free to download, uneven in quality and endless in supply.
- 10 min
- Sound on
Nine hundred thousand digitised items from the New York Public Library, a large share of it public domain.
- 10 min
A daily index of the free courses, audiobooks, films and ebooks scattered across the rest of the internet.
- 10 min
Same mood: useful
All useful sitesThe Archive's Flash collection, running thousands of dead games inside an emulator so the whole era stays clickable.
- 1 hr+
- Desktop
Archived research papers, including preprints and journals that have since folded, kept readable rather than merely cited.
- 10 min
A stock market simulator with real prices and imaginary money, which is very much the correct order to learn that in.
- 10 min
- Desktop
Faithful browser rebuild of the Roland TR-808, down to the orange buttons and the cowbell nobody can leave alone.
- 10 min
- Sound on
- Desktop
Keep exploring
Category
Time and mood
Have a site of your own? Suggest it for Detour or browse the AltFTool backlinks hub.