In this article, the author discusses how it is now very easy for anyone to find formerly hard-to-find books such as the works of Walt Whitman with the help of online booksellers. The author also describes the efforts made by various institutions to produce online editions of the works of major writers. One such prominent project is the archive sponsored by the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities (IATH), founded at the University of Virginia in 1992. With an online archive, new materials can be made available almost immediately, fostering dialogue beyond the circle of a few scholars with privileged access, long before conventional publication can take place. Moreover, the online archive has the potential to break down the barriers presented by nontextual materials. Here, the author describes the IATH's collection of Walt Whitman materials, and considers the possible effects of online archives on literary scholarship. [Thomas H. Benton is the pen name of William Pannapacker, an associate professor of English at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.]