Subscription Databases and E-books

• ABC-CLIO History and Social Studies Databases
  Search across all or any combination of the thirteen ABC-CLIO databases, which provide in-depth coverage of history, social studies, multicultural and contemporary culture.
• AccessScience from McGraw-Hill
  AccessScience provides the finest collection of science reference materials—online and fully searchable. We offer easy accessibility to the information you need to make research easy—with access to all the articles, fully illustrated, from the latest edition of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Research Updates from the McGraw-Hill Yearbooks, thousands of illustrations, and the latest Science News® headlines, biographies, and more.
  
• Amazing Animals of the World
  A database for grades 2 and above, which contains engaging articles, superb photos, and pre-selected Web links to accompany the text. Articles are Lexiled (leveled) and can be printed, emailed, and bookmarked.
  
• America the Beautiful
  contains information about the states and territories of the U.S. including facts, history & geography, and famous people.
  
• Biography in Context
  A comprehensive database of biographical information on more than 150,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas.
  
• Brainfuse
  Chat live with a tutor for homework help and skill building. The service is available Monday through Sunday from 1:00 PM - 10:00 PM. It is catered for students in grades K – Adult Learners. Subjects include Math, Science, Social Studies, English/Language Arts, Reading and English Literature. There is also a 24-Hour Writing Lab to receive feedback on writing submissions as well as a Test Center to practice standardized tests such as SAT, ACT, etc. The Adult Learning Center portion also provides assistance with U.S. Citizenship testing, GED testing, resume and cover letter writing, business letter writing, term paper writing and much more.
• California Digital Textbook Initiative
  Free digital textbooks for students in high school.
  
• California Missions E-books
  A series of 21 e-books from the Missions of California series. May be downloaded or read online.
  
• CultureGrams
  Includes World Edition, Kids Edition, and States Edition. Experience the cultures of more than 200 countries in reports that include maps, statistics, a glossary, and in-depth information on 25 categories. A Recipe Collection and Famous Person biographies are also included. Tour the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia in fun reports filled with facts, symbols, time lines, and more. Kids: Get an engaging kid's-eye view of 82 countries, featuring cultural and geographical information, history, maps, flags, and colorful images.
  
• Daily Life Through History
  Daily Life features resources on every day life and social customs throughout world history. Topics include: domestic life, economic life, intellectual life, material life, and recreational life.
  
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online for Kids
  A kids on-line version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica that provides many full text articles with links to Web sites.
• Federal Grants and Loans Directory
  An invaluable tool for law enforcement agencies, universities, colleges, libraries, municipalities, non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals alike, The American Grants and Loans database provides information on subsidies, grants, loans, joint ventures, or any funding program offered by the United States government or private corporations. Each entry includes contact information, a description of each grant, loan or program, and links to relevant websites.
  
• Grzimek's Student Animal Life Resource
  In this 20-volume set, animals are grouped by major classifications: sponges; corals; jellyfishes; segmented worms; crustaceans and mollusks; insects; fishes; amphibians; reptiles birds; and mammals. In addition, this student edition includes an overview with photos and illustrations, and the "Words to Know" section gives pronunciations and definitions within the text for scientific or other difficult terms and names.
  
• History Reference Center
  History Reference Center is history reference database that features full text for more than 2,500 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books. The database also includes full text for nearly 170 history periodicals. Further, the database contains more than 112,000 historical documents; more than 113,000 biographies of historical figures; more than 112,000 historical photos and maps; and more than 80 hours of historical video.
  
• Kids Search
  Kids Search makes it easy for students to search by keyword or by topic to find the most useful search results. Results can be easily sorted by source type - -magazines, reference books, photos, flags, etc.
  
• Lands and Peoples
  an encyclopedia for students filled with information on countries, cultures, and current events
  
• LearningExpress Library
  LearningExpress provides a way to prepare for academic or professional exams on-line, including SAT, ACT, GED, GRE, GMAT, PRAZIS, ASVAB, Cosmetology, Civil Service, Postal Worker, Law Enforcement, Fire, and more. California specific exams including 4th grade, 8th grade, CBEST, and California Highway Patrol. Online courses include Reading Comprehension, Grammar Skills for Writing, Math, Vocabulary and Spelling, as well as courses in Spanish. In addition, use the LearningExpress Computer Skills Tutorials to gain proficiency in computer software applications including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Access and more. Learning Express also includes a section called Job & Career Accelerator.  Over 1,000 occupations can be explored in detail. Users can search job postings from a database of more than 5 million up-to-date listings; then they can create resumes and cover letters, and practice interviewing skills. The Accelerator also helps people improve work-related skills and prepare for licensing or certification tests.
  
• New Book of Popular Science
  an encyclopedia for students that not only has information about science and scientists but also science games, puzzles, and brain teasers.
  
• Points of View Reference Center
  Points of View is a full-text database designed to provide students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. The database provides 255 topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide. Points of View contains a balance of materials from all viewpoints, including 1,143 main essays, leading political magazines from both sides of the aisle, newspapers, radio and TV news transcripts, primary source documents and reference books. The database also offers guides to debate, developing arguments and writing position papers. Additionally, this database contains the Video Encyclopedia of the 20th Century, providing students with a searchable collection of some of the most important social, political, and cultural moments. Critical Thinking Guides for every topic covered helps the student judge Fact vs. Opinion and enhances the student's ability to read and think critically.
  
• Primary Search (Elementary School)
  Primary Search contains full text for more than 70 elementary school magazines. All full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Additionally, Primary Search includes encyclopedia entries written specifically for kids. The database also provides the American Heritage Children's Dictionary and an Image Collection.
  
• Science Online
  Presents a broad range of scientific and mathematic disciplines through extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies, and experiments.
  
• Something About the Author Online
  Facts and pictures about children's book authors and illustrators.
  
• Student Research Center
  EBSCO's Student Research Center makes it easy for students to search by keyword or by topic to find the most useful search results. Results can be easily sorted by source type - -magazines, reference books, photos, flags, etc.
  
• Tuition Funding Sources (TFS)
  Find scholarships and other forms of financial aid to help pay for a college education. The TFS database also provides students with college admissions information, a career personality test, and detailed career information. Please note: New users will be asked to create a username and password when they first access the resources available within Tuition Funding Sources.
• NEW! World Book Encyclopedia
  Comprehensive access to encyclopedia articles, web links, periodical articles, videos, maps and more. Includes World Book Kids (for elementary-school students), World Book Student (middle and high-school students), and World Book Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos (a Spanish-language encylopedia).
  
• World Folklore and Folklife
  Provides a wealth of resources related to the myths, legends, and folktales of a particular people, as well as their geography, history, religion, beliefs, rituals, ceremonies, holidays, festivals, music, dance, food, drink, arts, crafts, and challenges of the modern world.

Websites Selected by Librarians

For additional homework links, please visit our Teen webpage for Homework Help

• BJ Pinchbeck’s Homework Helper
  A one-stop hub that provides links to educational resources such as math, science, social studies, languages, history, music, art, and computers.
• Discovery Education
  Offers free student resources in the form of interactive games, videos, contests, virtual labs and activities on subjects such as science, English, social studies, math and more.
• Great Web Sites for Kids
  Maintained by children’s librarians of the American Library Association, Great Web Sites for Kids offers hundreds of links to exceptional websites for kids, parents, caregivers and teachers.
• Create a graph
  Offers bar, line, area, pie and X-Y graphs and charts to create from scratch.
• ProCon.org
  Is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity offering pros and cons of controversial issues for critical thinking and education. This is a great resource to use as a starting point for freshman college students as well as teachers when researching a topic on a controversial issue.
• Science Fair Project Ideas
  Free science fair project ideas for grades K-12.
• Wolfram|Alpha
  Is an answer engine that provides answers to facts and data across a wide range of topics, including math, science, history, geography, technology, and more.  View the example page for information on how to best perform a query.
• World Fact Book
  Maintained by the CIA the World Fact Book provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. The Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.