Considering the importance of Liberty, both as the primary journal of the individualist anarchist tradition and as an important component of the larger debates about social issues in its time, it is a bit surprising how difficult it is to access. For those with access to a university or other large library, Proquest’s APS Online database includes most of the run. John Zube’s microfiche edition is more complete, costs $27, and includes the either issues of Libertas (and you can order the Radical Review from John as well.) I tend to use both, relying primarily on Zube’s edition for completeness, and often better image quality, and using the rather imperfect but still helpful “full text” searchability of the APS Online set to zero in on specific references. (There will probably be occasion to talk about specific instances where the errors in the searchable text effectively hide information from any but this sort of comprehensive search.)
Along the way, I will be scanning or transcribing some of the material I’m reading, but I’m going to have to be selective. If there are others who are interested in contributing to a more complete archive of Liberty (and the Radical Review), I would welcome the assistance.
