If there are no colleges near you that offer Unix classes or you do not want to pay to take one, you can either buy a book on Linux from just about any book store. Often these books will contain a CD with a Linux distribution and enough info to get it installed and running. You will probably also want to buy a generic Unix book. If you still don't want to pay for a book, there are thousands of websites with information on Linux plus distributions. Redhat, debian, mandrake, caldera are just a few. Redhat is usually the most popular distribution for new comers to Linux. Try these sites to get started:
http://www.redhat.com
http://www.linux.org
They have tons of docs and downloads. You can branch out from there.