In just a moment, we're going to show you how you to use Google Book Search to find a ton of valuable, high quality public domain books on practically every subject under the sun. The fact is, this is a super useful tool for digging up tons of little-known pd material. Google's online repository contains a massive range of scanned books on every imaginable topic, so tracking down popular public domain titles is a breeze. According to Google, books that belong to the public domain are available for download; books with their copyright intact can only be previewed.

With that said, let's check out how to navigate this tool so you obtain the most accurate results:

First off, there are two ways to search for public domain titles. The 'Advanced Search' feature will have to be used on both occasions.

Method 1

Head over to Google Book Search (it's located at http://books.google.com) and hit the 'Advanced Search' tab. Under 'Search,' select the button marked 'Full View Only.' Now this feature does not guarantee you'll find public domain books; however, it dramatically increases your chances of getting your hands on one.

Next, you want to enter a keyword. This keyword can be a single phrase or consist of many words - it can also be the title of a text, a phrase from within the book and the name of an author. Thereafter, click on the 'Google Search' tab.

The results page will appear with a list of books that you can check out. Simply click on a book to have a look at the content inside. Keep in mind that some of these texts might still be copyrighted. However, if the book is in the public domain, a 'Download' button will appear on the right side of your browser window. You can then go ahead and download it to your computer in PDF format.

Method 2

This technique involves using the 'date range' option. If you select works that have been written and published before the year 1923, you are guaranteed search results containing public domain material.

A word of caution though...

Although useful, this method is an imperfect one because some of the publication dates given by Google Book Search are not very accurate. This error is especially noticeable when you try searching for publications that are part of a series, such as journals and magazines. You see, Google Book Search makes a note of the founding date of a serial publication and then records that same date for the rest of the works in that series.

These misleading dates can cause confusion amongst users. For instance, let's say you make use of the advanced search feature to dig up material before 1870. The search results might bring up a back issue of 'The Economist' carrying the tagline 'Published by Economist Newspaper Ltd., 1856.' However, if you look closely, you'll notice that this magazine belongs to volume 385 of The Economist and it was actually published in the year 2007.

Despite a few minor flaws though, Google Book Search is still an incredibly powerful tool for tracking down high quality public domain resources. Before we conclude...

Here's how you can profit from the public domain information you download

For starters, you can select a pd book on a popular topic (eg: weight loss), tweak its content (at least 50%) and then use it to build a profitable Adsense niche site. You could also edit and modify the entire book by re-writing all of the text, inserting relevant images and illustrations inside and designing a new cover for it - this book will then qualify as a unique product - one that you can get copyrighted under your name and sell for profit!

And with that, we wrap up this article on how to use Google Book Search to find public domain books. We hope you found the content useful and interesting!

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