Full Text, an independent scholars group on Twine. It’s run by Daniel Lipson, periodical librarian at Achva Academic College…

Most of the world’s research resides in [commercial] online academic databases … To use these databases and find full text peer reviewed articles, you must have access to an academic library. This twine is for those who don’t.

There are free databases and scholarly search tools on the web that may not be as comprehensive as the above examples, but are a good start for “academics without access” and “researchers without resources”.

Those interested in this post may also be interested in the ebook The Independent Scholar’s Handbook (PDF, 17Mb) (Ten Speed Press, 1993 – second edition), now freely offered online by the Canadian Academy of Independent Scholars and Simon Fraser University.