Last updated 7 months ago.
How to Access 10,000+ Free Arabic E-books Legally
Finding free and legal Arabic e-books online can be a challenge.
This article introduces the Arabic Collections Online (ACO), a major digital library where you can access over 10,000 public domain Arabic books completely for free.
Supported by institutions like NYU, this project ensures the preservation of classic Arabic literature, philosophy, and religious texts for future generations.
Let’s focus on the website Arabic Collections Online.
What is the Arabic Collections Online?
Arabic Collections Online (ACO) is a publicly available digital library of public domain Arabic language content. ACO currently provides digital access to more than 10,000 volumes across more than 6,000 subjects drawn from rich Arabic collections of distinguished research libraries.
Important Arabic language content is not widely available on the web. ACO will ensure that this content will be saved digitally for future generations.
Who is behind the project?
NYU Abu Dhabi and major grants from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
How can I access it?
You can access it on: http://dlib.nyu.edu/aco/
Which books can I find there?
Mainly books of the following genres:
- Many older Arabic books that are out-of-print;
- Literature, philosophy, law, religion
Other websites for free Arabic books
Jan Hoogland told me about the following online library: https://www.maktabatalfeker.com
Other useful tools – check it out:
- I Built a Tool to Drill My Arabic. You Can Use It Too.
- Inside the Arabic Language Academy’s Race to Finish Al-Mu’jam Al-Kabeer
- The Arabic Letter That Looks Like a Fist: Waw (و) in Kaomoji & Emoji
- Alnnahwi.com Review (2025): The Best Free Arabic AI Grammar Checker?
- Sahehly Review: Can This AI Tool Fix Your Arabic Grammar Mistakes?
Wanna cite this article?
Drißner, G. (2019, April 12). How to Access 10,000+ Free Arabic E-books Legally. Arabic for Nerds. https://arabic-for-nerds.com/tools/free-arabic-books/
Published: April 12, 2019
Please check the citation before use, especially if your style guide has local requirements.
Publication ISSN: 3055-1730
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