It's ironic that in the end of the "free information revolution" there is as much information that is not free to all as there is that is free. The old adage, you get what you pay for, still seems to apply to digital information on the web. While there are good resources available for free, much of what would be considered a quality source for research or information, requires payment to view.
Of course, that's changing somewhat. I was recently reading an article from the Multimedia & Internet @ Schools, posted on the Internet @ Schools website titled The Changing Face of the Scholarly Web and there were a number of items linked in this aritlce or presentation that give individuals searching the web access to information for free.
One source that we use at the reference desk is the Directory of Open Access Journals. These are quality controlled, scientific journals that are available on the web. The journal publishers have made a policy of making articles available without a subscription to the website. There are currently over 2,200 journals available and many are searchable on the article level with more added all the time.
I also recently discovered the International Children's Digital Library. ICDL is a "public library for the world's children" and includes children's materials in over 34 different languages! It's a fun site to look through and although the number of books is relatively small (900), it is also growing.
The full list is, of course, available at the linked article. There are sources out there - it's just knowing where to find them.
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