A-Z List of Online Resources

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A

Alameda Oral Histories
Links to Alameda of the Past and Bridges of Honor oral histories on Calisphere.    

Ancestry.com – Library Edition  
Public records and genealogy tools for the family historian. Emphasis on immigrant lists, passenger lists, and other public documents. This database is available at the Main and branch libraries, but not outside library facilities or via wifi.

AutoRepairSource 
Powered by the automotive experts at MOTOR, AutoMate provides the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls, and more.

 
B

Bar Prep Hero
Practice tests with emphasis on the following seven legal practice areas, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Contracts, Criminal Law and Procedure, Evidence, Real Property and Torts.

Biography Reference Center 
Biography Reference Center provides thousands of reliable full-text biographies, including the complete full text of Biography Today and Biography, plus narrative biographies not available in other databases. In addition to keyword search, users can locate biographies by subject occupation, nationality, activity, gender, lifespan and more. 

Britannica School 
the go-to site for learning more about any subject—for all grades and all reading abilities—offering thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended Web sites, and three separate databases—Elementary, Middle, or High.

Britannica Escolar
the leading knowledge-building resource that is universally trusted for accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish.

 

 

C

California Nursing Assistant Test Preparation
All test questions are based on current course materials, including the 2017 National Nurse Aide Assessment Program (NNAAP), which is the written test that most states use.

Career Resources & Test Prep by Tutor.com
More than just homework help, Tutor.com offers many resources for adult job seekers, including detailed feedback on your resume. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the find the Career Resources and Test Prep links.  Tutor.com offers resume and cover letter templates, interview tips, as well as exam preparation for the GRE, LSAT, GED and much more.   Resources are offered in a variety of formats including videos, weblinks, and webinars.

CA DMV Driving Permit Tests
Are you getting ready to take the test for your Driver's Permit? Use these resources to help you succeed. There are tests for both automobile and motorcycle, Driver Handbooks and a whole series of Frequently Asked Questions.

Consumer Health Complete
The single most comprehensive resource for consumer-oriented health content, Consumer Health Complete is designed to support the information needs of patients and to foster an overall understanding of health-related topics. This resource provides content covering all key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic and integrated medicine.

Consumer Reports 
The largest paid-publication subscription-based website in the world, this resource enables consumers to make better purchasing decisions on the products they are shopping for. Whether a user is looking to find the best deal on an LCD TV, or researching the top-recommended used vehicles,ConsumerReports.org provides ratings and reviews, recommendations and buying advice for thousands of products and services.

Crash Course Kids (YouTube Channel)
This bi-weekly show from the producers of Crash Course is all about grade school science. We'll explore Earth, Habitats, Space, Chemical Reactions, Engineering, and much much more! New uploads every Tuesday and Thursday. 

Creativebug
Experience the joy of making with thousands of award winning video classes taught by top designers and artists. All skill levels and ages welcome!

CultureGrams 
Unique cultural information provided by natives and long-term residents on daily life and social customs around the world. The World Edition is written at a higher Lexile for older grades.

 

Digital Learn
Tutorials to help you use technology, whether you are new to computers, haven't used them for a while, are a little unsure and uncomfortable, or just need a refresher. Learn how to use email, do basic web searches, stay safe online, use facebook, and more!

 

E

eLibrary
A massive collection of digitized newspapers, magazines and images with editorialized topic pages to aid with navigation.  

ePermit Tests
Want to practice for your California Drivers Permit test? Another resource with online practice tests as well as resources for the motorcycle exam. 

Explora Academic Search Complete 
Academic Search Complete offers an enormous collection of full-text journals, providing users access to critical information from many sources unique to this database. In addition, it includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities. Scholarly content covers a broad range of important areas of academic study, including anthropology, engineering, law, sciences and more.

Explora for Middle and High School Students
Age-appropriate content from the world’s leading magazines and reference books.

 

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H

History Reference Center 
Covering both U.S. and world history topics, History Reference Center is a full-text database featuring historical reference books, magazines, journals and thousands of primary source documents.

Hoopla Digital  
Hoopla is a digital streaming service for library users to access eBooks, eAudiobooks, music, movies, and TV shows using portable devices like smartphones and tablets.

 

 

I

Internet Archive
The Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is building a digital library of Internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Like a paper library, they provide free access to researchers, historians, scholars, the print disabled, and the general public.

Begun in 1996 to archive the Internet itself, the Internet Archive now has 20+ years of web history accessible through the Wayback Machine. As the web archive grew, so did the commitment to providing digital versions of other published works.

The Wayback Machine

 

K

Kanopy 
Kanopy is an award-winning video streaming service providing access to more than 30,000 independent and documentary films – titles of unique social and cultural value from The Criterion Collection, Great Courses, Media Education Foundation, and thousands of independent filmmakers.

 

 

L

Law Help California
Find legal information and legal help through this free site sponsored by the Legal Aid Association of California and the California State Bar.  

Legal Information Reference Center 
This database offers everyday users the necessary tools and detailed how-to instructions covering a wide- range of legal issues. A majority of the full-text legal reference books are provided through Nolo Press, the nation's oldest and most respected provier of legal information for consumers and small businesses. With the Legal Forms by U.S. State feature, users can search state-specific legal forms by top subject areas including adoption, bankruptcy, name changes and more.

LGBTQ+ Source
LGBTQ+ Source contains all of the content available in LGBT Life as well as full text for more than 140 of the most important and historically significant LGBTQ+ journals, magazines and regional newspapers, plus full text for 150 monographs/books. The database includes comprehensive indexing and abstract coverage as well as a specialized LGBTQ+ Thesaurus containing over 10,000 terms.

Libby 
Libby provides library patrons remote access to a large collection of premium audiobooks, e-books, magazines, and music from their website.  It supports downloads to personal computers, Ipod(R), iPhone(R), iPad(TM), Android(TM), Sony(R)Reader, Kindle, and numerous other mobile devices.

Librivox

Librivox is a group of worldwide volunteers who read and record public domain texts creating free public domain audiobooks for download from their website and other digital library hosting sites on the internet.

Literary Reference Center 
This rich full-text database provides a broad spectrum of information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes. It gives students, professors and researchers a foundation of literary reference works to meet their research needs.

Live Homework Help – Tutor.com
Connect one-on-one with tutors; for grades 4-12 and college intro. Math, Science, English & Social Studies - Spanish language tutors available.

Live Lingua Project – Foreign Service Institute
The FSI (Foreign Service Institute) language courses are arguably the best free language courses available anywhere. The FSI language courses cover over 40 languages from the most spoken in the world to some less well known ones. This material is public domain, so no costs and no commercials. Feel free to use and download the PDF files and audios on this page however you would like.

Live Lingua Project – U.S. Peace Corps
The U.S. Peace Corps has been sending volunteers from the United States to countries all over the world for over 50 years. In fact, Live Lingua was founded by one of these volunteers. Live Lingua has contacted Peace Corps offices in Washington D.C. to obtain permission to be a repository of these courses, but we do not own any rights to them.

 

M

Mango Languages 
Mango Languages gives you 24/7 access to over 70 world languages and more than 20 ESL courses. These practical, self-paced courses make it simple to brush up on that high school French, rekindle your lifelong dream of visiting Ireland, or simply build on your high school Spanish.

 

Morningstar 

Morningstar is an investment resource specializing in fund investing.  It provides trusted, independent and in-depth news, commentary, fund information, recommendations and research on stocks and mutual funds. Provides data on more than 385,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 8 million equities,  indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals. To access outside use this link.

 

N

National Geographic Homework Help
A Fantastic resource for students to explore their interests and follow their curiosity, this site provides additional information for light research papers or projects. 

New York Times (Connect when outside of the library network)
Enjoy complimentary unlimited access to the world’s finest journalism on NYTimes.com 

When connecting from inside the Library:

  1. Connect to library Wi-Fi or desktop workstations
  2. Register or log in at nytimes.com/register
  3. Enjoy unlimited access

Newsbank – Access World News 

This Research Collection includes:

-         11,025 sources from around the world, including 3,091 domestic sources

-         Coverage from all 50 states and 172 countries

-         Diverse source types including web-only content, transcripts, videos- in addition to newspapers

-         With over 40 years of coverage it offers multiple perspectives and deeper coverage on issues, topics and a more complete research experience (as compared to a single title)

This collection also includes the San Francisco Chronicle Collection: Search more than 30 years of San Francisco history. Coverage from 1985 through today. Explore current and archived issues of the San Francisco Chronicle with full-color newspaper pages and individual articles, as well as content only published online.

 

Newsbank – Heritage Hub

Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. Heritage Hub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images. Access is available 24/7.  

Novelist is a database that connects libraries with readers on how to find the next great read. It has reading recommendations for both fiction and nonfiction, for all ages. 

 

 

O  

 

P

Project Gutenberg

Thousands of titles of works in the public domain (out of copyright) in both eBook and eAudiobook formats.

ProQuest Research Companion

A tutorial product providing video instruction on the important concepts in information literacy.

 

R

Read It!

Read It! is designed for middle and high school students and adults who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need adapted reading material for a variety of subjects. It offers resources to help build background knowledge, conduct research and improve study skills.

Este recurso de información multipropósito está diseñado para estudiantes de secundaria y preparatoria y para cualquier persona que sea nueva en el idioma inglés. Esta base de datos ayudará a los estudiantes de ELL a tener éxito académico y en la vida cotidiana, brindándoles asistencia a medida que realizan investigaciones, desarrollan sus conocimientos previos y desarrollan habilidades de estudio. El contenido abarca una amplia gama de áreas temáticas, como Ciencias, Matemáticas, Historia, Educación cívica, Habilidades para la vida y Literatura, y está escrito en un nivel adecuado para la edad, utilizando vocabulario y estructura simplificada que es útil para hablantes no nativos.

Reference Solutions 

Reference Solutions (Previously ReferenceUSA) is the leading source for business and residential data in the United States. Reference Solutions  helps users of all kinds search for jobs, research U.S. businesses, create marketing and small business plans, locate specific people and more. For tutorials on this database, click on the Learning Center tab on any Reference Solutions  page.

Referencia Latina
This comprehensive Spanish-language database offers content from a variety of sources including thousands of encyclopedia entires, an inclusive collection of images, an atlas, health reports, a Spanish-English dictionary and full text for reference books and general interest magazines in a broad array of subject areas. Daily updates ensure availability of the most current articles from a dozen prominent newspapers from 10 Latin American countries such as:

  • El Comerico (Peru')
  • El Mercurio (Chile)
  • El Tiempo (Columbia) 
  • El Universal (Mexico)
  • El Pais (Uruguay)
  • El Nacional (Venezuela)
  • La Nacion (Argentina)
  • La Nacion (Costa Rica)

 

S

Small Business Reference Center

The Small Business Reference Center is a comprehensive resource for small business owners and those interested in starting a business, offering full-text periodicals and reports, sample business plans, U.S. tax forms, videos and reference books. It supports small business owners in all relevant areas from planning, financing and managing a business to exit strategies. Users also have the ability to search within specific ‘Business Topics’ and ‘Business Types’ relevant to their needs.

Schools & Educators Complete (eBook Central)
Thousands of multidisciplinary ebooks available 24/7.

Science Reference Center 
Designed to meet every student researcher's needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, encyclopedias, reference books and a vast collection of images. 

SIRS Discoverer
Selected articles and graphics and books for social issues for early learners

SIRS Issues Researcher
Selected articles and graphics on the enduring and talked-about issues of the day

 

T

Tutor.com - Live Homework Help  
Connect one-on-one with tutors; for grades 4-12 and college intro. Math, Science, English & Social Studies - Spanish language tutors available. Live one-to-one help is available Every day from 1:00pm to 10:00pm PST

 U 

 

V

Value Line 

Your gateway to a powerful digital investment resource.  The Value Line product includes online full-page reports and analyst commentaries as well as Timeliness and Safety Ranks for 1,700 stocks.

Virtual Library Comic Convention
A project between Califa and BiblioLabs brings over 4,000 free comics, graphic novels, and children’s materials to all residents of California during the 2020 summer.

 

W

World Book Online

Your Alameda Free Library card gives you access to World Book Online's Early Learning, Discovery, and Timelines databases.

 

Early Learning- The perfect tool for pre- and emergent readers to explore independently or learn with an adult. Developed with experts on early childhood education, Early Learning is designed for preschool students with tools and content that reinforces early childhood curriculum via short videos, read-aloud stories, printable activities, and matching and tracing games, among others. The guided reading program, lesson plans, and curriculum correlations make teaching easier for educators and parents. (Recommended ages: 2-8)

Discover- Make content more accessible to readers of all levels and differentiate instruction in any learning environment with Discover. This site is ideal for struggling readers and English Language Learners and includes a Life Skills 101 section with tips such on topics as applying for jobs, budgeting, arranging housing, health care issues, social skills and more. (Recommended ages: 12+)

Timelines- A growing collection of 650+ unique Timelines, spanning the arts, science & technology, society & culture, sports, world history & geography and more. Create, customize, collaborate, and share your timelines, which is great for visual learners to put events into context and for classroom instruction to introduce a subject. (Recommended ages: 8+)

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