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Databases Defined
What is a database?
A database is an electronic collection of articles, books, facts and
pictures that you can search to find information. These databases contain
just about everything that's in an issue of a magazine. It's just in
a different form.
Why do I need databases when I have the Internet?
The Internet contains equal portions of treasure and trash. Ever try
to find some simple information and spend hours looking for it? Databases
save you time and provide access to high quality information.
Academic OneFile
Academic Onefile contains 8,000 academic journals, mainly in full-text, available in HTML and PDF formats. It also contains hundreds of podcasts and transcripts from NPR, CNN, and the CBC, as well as full-text New York Times content to 1995.
Expanded Academic ASAP
Find information on: Astronomy, Religion, Law, History, Psychology, Humanities, Current Events, Sociology, Communications and the General Sciences. Over 1,500 titles included are peer-reviewed.
African-American History Online
African-American History Online is a comprehensive reference database, covering more than 500 years of African-American history—from the slave trade to the Civil Rights movement to the present day. Thousands of extensively hyperlinked and informative entries include topical entries, biographies, primary source documents, images, timelines, and maps and charts.
American History Online
American History Online is a comprehensive and authoritative reference to the most important individuals, events, and topics in U.S. history. The thousands of entries—topical entries, biographies, maps, timeline entries, primary source documents, and images—are hyperlinked and allow users a path to related entries. Extensive overview essays provide detail on each time period.
American Women's History Online
American Women's History Online is an authoritative reference database, extensively hyperlinked, providing thousands of entries—biographies, topical entries, maps, timelines, tables and charts, primary sources, and images—that are essential to understanding the experiences of women throughout U.S. history.
Biography Resource Center with Marquis Who's Who
Access biographical information compiled from Gale Group titles such as the Almanac of Famous People, Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of American Biography, Encyclopedia of World Biography, and Notable 20th Century Scientists along with over 1.3 million thumbnail biographies from the complete Marquis Who's Who and Debrett's People of Today.
Contemporary Literary Criticism Select
Contains critical essays on contemporary authors, now living or who died after December 31, 1959. Each entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works, and sources for further study.
Digital Catalog
This is C/W MARS' catalog of downloadable audiobooks, ebooks and video. The following types of materials are available for checkout and download from this website:
- eBooks in the Adobe® Reader® format (eBooks optimized for on-screen reading)
- eBooks in the Mobipocket Reader format (eBooks optimized for on-screen reading & transfer to an array of portable devices)
- Digital audio books in the OverDrive Media Console™ format
- Digital video in the OverDrive Media Console™ format
The Digital Catalog is provided by the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing network (C/W MARS)
Educator's Reference Complete
This collection of more than 1,100 periodicals and 200 reports is a great resource for any educator -- from the school teacher and administrator to those studying in the field at the collegiate and graduate level. Content is almost entirely full-text, with the majority of the titles also covered in the ERIC database. This database covers multiple levels of education from preschool to college, and every educational specialty -- such as technology, bilingual education, health education, and testing. Educator's Reference Complete also focuses on issues in administration, funding and policy.
Gale InfoTrac PowerSearch
PowerSearch gives you all the tools you need to search across multiple Gale collections of periodical and reference content, while efficiently managing your results. With the cross-search feature of PowerSearch, you can search one, several, or even all available databases simultaneously.
Not sure what you'll find in a particular database? PowerSearch makes it easy for you to select the databases most appropriate to include in your cross-search by providing an alphabetical listing of databases along with product descriptions. You may even decide to leave PowerSearch and continue your research directly in a single Gale database.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Includes a select group of reference titles in a variety of subjects covering art, science, multicultural studies, business, literature and history:
Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America, 1st Edition, 6V
Macmillan - Biology, 1st Edition, 4 V
Blackbirch Kid's Visual Reference of the United States
Blackbirch Kid's Visual Reference of the World
St. James - Contemporary Fashion, 2nd Edition
St. James - Contemporary Novelists, 7th Edition
St. James - Contemporary Poets, 7th Edition
St. James - Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, 1st Edition, 5V
Gale - Business Leader Profiles for Students, 2V
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine, 1st Edition, 4V
Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer, 1st Edition, 2V
Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders, 1st Edition, 2V
Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, 2nd Edition, 5V
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, 2nd Edition, 3 V
Gale Encyclopedia of Small Business
Gale Encyclopedia of U. S. Economic History
St. James - International Directory of Film & Filmakers, 4th Edition 4V
Gale - World of Earth Science, 1st Edition, 2V
General BusinessFile ASAP
Research business and management topics. Includes directory listings for over 150,000 companies as well as investment analyst reports on major companies and industries.
General Reference Center Gold
Search magazines, reference books, and newspapers for information on current events, popular culture, the arts and sciences, sports, etc.
Grolier's Encyclopedia Americana
A resource for high school, college and beyond. Excellent source for information and maps on a wide variety of topics. Includes magazine articles and links to many websites. This encyclopedia is updated quarterly.
Grolier Online Passport
Grolier Online Kids
Two distinct and unique research environments are available: Grolier Online Passport for older students and adults, and Grolier Online Kids for younger students.
Grolier Online provides a central portal to all Grolier products:
- Encylopedia Americana
- Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia
- Five dictionaries, two thesauri, and an interactive atlas
- Media (photos, panoramas, multimedia, etc.)
- News Features: in-depth current events taken from wire services such as the Associated Press.
- For students: Homework Help, Research Starters, and Science Projects
- For teachers: Lesson plans, projects and activities, discussion questions, study guides, and more
Grove Art Online
Grove Art Online provides web access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art and The Oxford Companion to Western Art, including ongoing additions of new and updated articles, over 3,000 thumbnail art images and line drawings displayed in the text of articles, extensive image links, and sophisticated search and navigation tools.
Grove Art Online is provided by the Central/Western Massachusetts Automated Resource Sharing network (C/W MARS)
Health Reference Center-Academic
Contains articles on health and wellness, family medicine, alternative medicine, nursing, mental health, senior health and allied health and health administration. Also contains full text to over 40 nursing and allied health journals and key reference books, including Mosby's Dictionary and the PDR Family Guide to Nutrition and Health.
InfoTrac Junior Edition
Designed for junior and middle school students, this edition contains journal and newspaper articles, over 300 Rand McNally maps and reference books, including, Information Please Almanacs, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and the Columbia Encyclopedia.
InfoTrac Student Edition
Designed for secondary school students, this edition contains journal and newspaper articles, maps and reference books including Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dayes Information Please Almanacs and "All Our Yesterdays" photo collection of Americana.
Issues and Controversies@FACTS.com
Issues and Controversies @ FACTS.com is a comprehensive, dependable online source of current, in-depth and objective information on the most prominent and hotly debated issues of the day. Issues and Controversies @ FACTS.com is a reference database that is also a classroom tool and home resource. It combines objective analysis, clear explanations of opposing points of view and numerous special features, so students, researchers and other users can quickly grasp the essentials of even the most complex topics. Full hyperlinking among all Issues and Controversies articles and links to related content from The Reference Suite @ FACTS.com including: The World News Digest @ FACTS.com database, The World Almanac Reference Database @ FACTS.com and Today's Science @ FACTS.com.
Kids InfoBits
Kids InfoBits meets the research needs of students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. It features a developmentally appropriate, visually graphic interface, a subject-based topic tree search and full-text, age-appropriate, curriculum-related magazine, newspaper and reference content for information on current events, the arts, science, health, people,government, history, sports and more.
Learn-a-Test
LearningExpress Library is a comprehensive, interactive online learning platform of practice tests and tutorial course series designed to help students and adult learners succeed on the academic or licensing tests they must pass. You'll get immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and an individualized analysis of your results.
Here's how to log in:
New Users:
- Select "New User".
- Your User Name is 01605 plus the first 9 digits of your library card number (without D or spaces).
- Create a password of your choice.
- You will be offered two options - choose Worcester Public Library option
- Click Update
Returning Users:
- Select “Returning User”
- Log in with your User Name and Password
Massachusetts History Online
Combining selections from their vast periodical content, Massachusetts History Online contains full-text articles gathered from almost 50 sources that directly relate to Massachusetts history, both past and present, including people, places, historical events and more. Containing data from a range of publications, Massachusetts History Online provides a targeted resource for information relating to the study of Massachusetts History.
NetLibrary
Netlibrary is a collection of 3,296 electronic books purchased for permanent access. Users can browse titles for 15 minutes or borrow one for 24 hours.
This resource is provided through funding made available by the Boston Public Library in their role as Statewide Reference and Referral Center.
NoveList
NoveList is a fiction database that provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations, and much more for over 135,000 fiction titles. It also includes other content of interest to fiction readers, such as Author Read-alikes, What We're Reading, Book Discussion Guides, BookTalks, and Annotated Book Lists. For school media specialists and teachers there are Picture Book Extenders and articles on Teaching with Fiction.
ProQuest Massachusetts Newsstand
Massachusetts Newsstand includes:
Berkshire Eagle 2005-current
Boston Globe 1980-current
Boston Herald 1991-current
BusinessWest (Chicopee) 1992-current
North Adams Transcript 2005-current
Patriot Ledger (Quincy) 1991-current
Plymouth County Business Review 1991-current
Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg) 2005-current
Sun, The (Lowell) 2004-current
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) 1989-current
Gazette (Haverhill, Mass.) 12/31/92 - 8/9/97
Standard Times (New Bedford) 1/4/92 - 8/19/97
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