JSTOR: Can an independent writer gain access? Similar resources?

My local public library did not subscribe to JSTOR, but the community college library did. I have downloaded specific articles for a fee (around $10) when it was too snowy to drive to the library and I didn't want to wait.

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/archives/access.jsp

If you're an alum of a college, you might ask them for online access if you can't find a local library.

My local library doesn't have access, but the university one does. I'd already joined their friends of the library group ($25.00) a year for access to checking out books and in-library data bases including JSTOR. I can't download from home (maybe I'll suggest the pay per article idea to them) but it isn't that far away.

Get your daughter to look up JSTOR in her college's online library catalogue. There may be a link that lets you access the database from home by entering her student number or a college PIN of some sort.

A great free database for French history is Gallica, which is run by the French national library. They've digitized all kinds of out-of-copyright books that would otherwise be a pain to track down. The interface can be kind of clunky and, naturally, the books are all in French (when they're not in Latin), but it has saved me from having to make many, many inter-library loans. I see that they have quite a few volumes of the Gallia Christiana series, for instance.

Most university libraries will allow non-students to have library cards. Check at your local U.