Research Materials

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Determine which online learning platform is right for you based on your goals, whether it’s test prep, career growth, or learning a new skill. Contains links to Gale Courses, Peterson’s Test & Career Prep, and Udemy

How to use it

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Graphic Novels

Description: Enjoy unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; on your computer, tablet, or phone. No holds. No wait lists. No limits.

Show me how it works!

Accessibility is a key piece when considering products and services to offer at the library. Thanks to the hard work of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), we’re able to share a list of Vendor Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) for many of our electronic resource vendors. RAILS also has more information about VPATs and efforts at digital accessibility.

At the St. Charles Public Library, we take patron privacy seriously. Thanks to the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System (RAILS), we’re able to compile available privacy statements for our third-party electronic resource vendors. Learn more about the RAILS Vendor Privacy Policies Project.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Multidisciplinary research database, providing acclaimed full-text journals, magazines and other valuable resources, now with access to 5,812 active full-text journals.

Show me how this works!

¿Usar en casa? Sí

Descripción: Periodicos en Espanol.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: From the National Agricultural Library. Contains citations about all aspects of agriculture and related fields. Includes: journal articles, monographs, proceedings, theses, patents, translations, audiovisual materials, computer software, and technical reports. 

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides information on complementary, holistic, and integrated approaches to healthcare and wellness. Sources include journals (some peer-reviewed) and reports. 

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full-text articles from 47 U.S. news magazines.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Info on over 18,700 American men and women–from all eras and walks of life–whose lives have shaped the nation. Only deceased persons are profiled.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: The American Physical Society (APS) is the world’s second largest organization of physicists and publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the prestigious Physical Review and Physical Review.

Use at Home? No

Description: With over 1.2 billion records, AncestryPlus is one of the most comprehensive online databases of genealogical and local history research available. (Blank charts & forms)

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: OCLC index of articles from the contents pages of journals.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Covers food culture for six US regions, all 50 states, and 33 ethnic cuisines. Contains recipes in all course categories (appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, snacks, and beverages), and articles such as Classic Dishes, State Foods, Top Agricultural Products, Special Occasion Foods, Ethnic and Geographic Influences, Special Ingredients, and Food Trivia.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: AtoZ World Food is the only food database that contains traditional recipes for 174 countries of the world in all course categories: appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main courses, side dishes, desserts, and beverages.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Premier Reference and Marketing Database including 30 million business profiles & 220 million residents. Ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, employment opportunities, or finding friends and relatives.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full text of the paper from 1997, plus online article text and full color images of the paper from 2018.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides 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.

Show me how it works!

¿Usar en casa? Sí

Descripción: Ciber-libros para ciber-niños.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: This collection of original content allows students and patrons to quickly find new biographies and updated versions of preexisting articles.

Notable sources include: Current Biography, New Grove Music, New Grove Artists, H.W. Wilson Biographical series (Junior Authors, Composers, World Authors), and Library of North American Bio Series

Use at Home? Yes

Description:More than 390,000 biographies. Includes complete full text run of Biography Today and Biography Magazine as well as thousands of narrative biographies.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Open Access collection of primary documents from 1790 to the modern day detailing the black struggle for freedom in the United States.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Designed for public libraries, thousands of books cover core subject areas as well as information on careers, health, sports, adventure, technology, life skills and more. 

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Book review journal of the American Library Association, connecting library and education workers to the books and resources needed to support and enrich their communities.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: A discovery tool for readers, highlighting the best new books across all genres, BookPage is editorially independent; only books we highly recommend are featured. Any publisher-sponsored content is clearly labeled as such.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Search the availability of current books, audio and video in a database of millions of titles. Also contains full text reviews from standard magazines.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Audiobooks, Ebooks, Graphic Novels

Description: check out audiobooks or ebooks for 14 days to use on your smartphone, tablet or computer (not compatible with Kindles)

Having trouble finding us when setting up Boundless? Make sure you’re typing the period in St. Charles.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Complete encyclopedia with related Internet links, best websites rated by EB editors, Britannica’s Lives and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: All the resources found in Encyclopedia Britannica, plus special online learning materials for students, in grades K-8.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Features full text and searchable cited references for top journals covering a variety of business disciplines. Includes Marketline SWOT Company Profiles and The Harvard Business Review.

Show me how this works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Career Online High School (COHS) is a program to earn a high school diploma provided by the St. Charles Public Library for adults who are at least 21 years old and reside within the St. Charles Library District.

See our Career Online High School page for more information, or click the link below to see if you’re ready to start the program.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Independent research firm offering high-quality research solutions including industry surveys, stock reports, fund reports, S&P research and The Outlook Newsletter.

The library’s subscription to this resource will expire February 28, 2025.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: In-depth looks at people who have shaped our world.  World leaders, sports stars, popular icons, writers, legends of the old west, and many more.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Find information on topics related to business, education, government, health, politics and more from a variety of news media including newspapers, blogs, videos and web-only content including: the Beacon News (1997-current, full color 2018-current), Chicago Sun-Times (1986-current, full color 2018-current), Courier-News (1997-current), Daily Herald (1995-current, full color 2021-Current), the Kane County Chronicle (2004-current, full color July 2022-current), and the St. Charles Republican (2009-2014).

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Find ratings on Chicagoland services and retailers, including dentists, car repair, personal services, banks, and more.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Coverage of the full-text paper from 1986 to current, and full-color images from 2018 to current.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Coverage of the full-text paper from 1985 to Current.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Microfilm reproduction of the Chicago Tribune, all editions from 2008 to 3 months ago. Digital microfilm includes every page of every edition of the newspaper, including display ads, legal notices and classifieds.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue in 1849 to 1994. This collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Indexes documents published in Latin American journals covering social sciences and humanities as well as science and technology.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Graphic Novels

Description: Enjoy unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; on your computer, tablet, or phone. No holds. No wait lists. No limits.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Detailed side-by-side statistical comparisons of countries across the world.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides content covering all key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary and holistic medicine.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Online subscription to the popular consumer magazine, plus exclusive online content, including Best Car Deals.

See How it Works! 

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains seven key H. W. Wilson collection development titles – Children’s Core Collection, Fiction Core Collection, Graphic Novels Core Collection, Middle and Junior High Core Collection, Public Library Core Collection Non-fiction, Senior High Core Collection, and Core Collection en Español in an easily searchable interface.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Unlimited access to more than 1,000 award-winning art & craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: More than 200 country-specific reports of every sovereign country recognized by the United Nations, plus several foreign dependencies and U.S. territories like the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Also includes information about each U.S. state and Canadian province as well.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full-text coverage from 1995 to Current. Full-color images from 2021 to Current.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Free driver education program containing 11 car practice tests, 9 motorcycle practice tests, 10 CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) practice tests, 3 online driver’s manuals (car, motorcycle, CDL), and an FAQ section with detailed answers to 100+ DMV-related questions.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Build strong literacy skills in students from pre-K to 8th grade by offering digital access to award-winning, short-form fiction and nonfiction titles.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Give students, educators, and administrators on-the-go access to popular e-books. This robust collection includes a selection of classic literary works, important historical documents, and general reference materials.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: High-quality e-books covering a wide range of topics such as self-help, fitness, games, hobbies, and cooking. This general reference e-book collection features titles for both adults and kids. 

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Easy-to-use, comprehensive learning plans with a robust range of extension activities across a wide range of subject areas and grades.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Education Source is a valuable full-text database covering all levels of education research and specialties such as multilingual education, health education and testing.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: OCLC catalog of online electronic books available through libraries worldwide.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Abstracts and selected full text of scholarly journals from 1995 to present, covering subjects such as business, education, geography and law.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Education Resources Information Center – Index of journal articles, books, theses, curriculum guides, conference papers, standards, and guidelines on a wide range of education topics. Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: This full-text database is a dedicated resource covering the culture, traditions, social treatment and lived experiences of different ethnic groups in America.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: 10,000 biographies of famous people from around the world. More than 2,000 illustrations.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: More than 6,000 illustrated articles of people, places, and events in American history.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Illustrated biographies written especially for beginning and striving readers.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: This resource for middle school students and above explores the historical context and consequences of 30 defining moments in United States history, such as the Battle of Gettysburg, the Great War and the Jazz Age and the Attack on Pearl Harbor. Each event is treated in detail and supplemented with primary source documents, timelines, biographies, reading lists, glossaries, and photographs.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: 500 articles on Greek and Roman mythological figures with more than 300 illustrations.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: American History – More than 6,000 illustrated articles of people, places, and events in American history.

Biography for Beginners – Illustrated biographies written especially for beginning and striving readers.

Greek & Roman Mythology – 500 articles on Greek and Roman mythological figures with more than 300 illustrations.

U.S. & World Biography – 10,000 biographies of famous people from around the world. More than 2,000 illustrations.

Use at Home? No

Description: Gain access to over 350 million restricted images when you log into your free FamilySearch account inside the library.

From home you can still log in to access FamilySearch’s free resources.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Easy-to-understand guides on how to manage your finances, including budgeting, student loans, how to start a checking account, and how to start a 401(k)

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? No

Description: Scholarly and general content covering a wide variety of topics including health, education, technology, business, and the social sciences.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Magazines

Description: Check out magazines to read on your computer or mobile device. Includes popular titles such as Time, Consumer Reports and People.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. On Fold3, you can combine records found on the site with what you have in your own albums and shoeboxes to create an online memorial for someone who served.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? No

Description: Helping nonprofits find funding faster: over 242,000+ grantmakers to build prospect lists fast, LinkedIn integration, and opportunities to collaborate with other nonprofits

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Music

Description: Free unlimited streaming of music from the entire Sony Music catalog plus thousands of independent artists; also download up to 5 DRM-free tracks per week

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Geographic-based demographic information perfect for business and marketing plans, including Consumer Expenditure, Simmons and Mosaic reports.

This resource is being discontinued by the vendor on March 31, 2025.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Research and analyze companies, industries, and economies around the world. Featuring robust data sets, industry essays, Plunkett reports, company histories, case studies, market share reports, and SWOT reports.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Offers a wide range of highly interactive, instructor led courses that you can take entirely online. Learn a new hobby, improve your job skills, or your life skills. As a library card holder in good standing, you are entitled to these courses at no cost. Courses run for six weeks, and new sessions begin every month.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Directories include: Ward’s Business Directory, the Encyclopedia of Associations, the Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory, the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, and the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains the full text of hundreds of reference books on a wide variety of subjects, including history, business, medicine, science and humanities. Includes tables of content, indexes and illustrations.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: General interest articles on current events, science, entertainment, the arts, etc.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Articles on medicine, nutrition, diseases, public health, alcohol and drug abuse and fitness.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Illinois Legal Forms includes thousands of business, personal, litigation and federal forms.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description:  search across more than 165,000 entries, including biographies, overviews, and full-text literary criticism—past and present.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Determine which online learning platform is right for you based on your goals, whether it’s test prep, career growth, or learning a new skill. Contains links to Gale Courses, Peterson’s Test & Career Prep, and Udemy

How to use it

Use at Home? No

Description: Comprehensive source of nonprofit information to easily find local nonprofits to donate, work, or volunteer at, and connect those in need to resources they rely on, such as food banks or shelters

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Subjects include fitness, nutrition, diabetes, aging, women’s health, children’s health, and more. Information comes from magazines, books, Clinical Reference System reports, and pamphlets.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description:Provides researchers, allied health professionals, nurses, and medical educators access to scholarly journals on many medical disciplines. Provides indexing, abstracts, and full text for hundreds of nursing and allied health journals, many of which are peer reviewed.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Get live, one-to-one, Illinois-aligned, skill-building, homework and test preparation help for everyone, from kindergarteners to adults. English as a second language and Spanish foreign language assistance are included, as well as Microsoft Office help and Career Resources. Available seven days a week, from 2PM-11PM with 24-hour access to Writing Lab, SkillSurfer and more.

Show me how it works!

¡Mira cómo funciona!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Includes genealogies, local histories, primary source materials and genealogical and local history serials, including PERSI. An ongoing project, this database continues to grow and includes materials from all over the world.

Show me how this works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: This high quality, full color digital collection of historic maps is one of the most extensive available. The core of the collection consists of over 1.5 million maps of the United States and the world.

Use at Home? Yes

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

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: How-to instructions and creative ideas for crafters, collectors, foodies, and fans; containing thousands of articles from top hobby and craft magazines and
books as well as recipes, “how-to” videos and hobby profiles

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides users with detailed, user-friendly “how-to” information covering a variety of home improvement and repair projects.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Audiobooks, eBooks, Magazines, Music, Video

Description: Stream or download up to 5 titles per month in a variety of forms. Videos check out for 3 days, Binge Passes and Music for 7 days, eBooks and Audiobooks for 21 days.

The library has a daily allotment of checkouts from Hoopla. If you receive a message that the daily limit has been reached, all available checkouts have been used for the day. The next day’s allotment resets at midnight.

If you receive an error message from Hoopla about your account settings, please visit the Hoopla settings menu and re-enter your library card number and PIN. If you do not know your PIN, please contact the reference department at 630-584-0076 x1.

Hoopla Help

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: St. Charles, Kane County and Illinois local history documents, maps and photos.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Use WorldCat Discovery to search the holdings of libraries across the state of Illinois.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Source for public records in the Chicago suburbs, including real estate transfers, foreclosures, business licenses and incorporations. Check Illinois is their free background check service or choose more specific records databases if you know exactly what you’re looking for.

For best results, click the “Log In” button in the upper right-hand corner and then select “Library Patron”.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: eBooks (plus some Audiobooks, Music, and Video)

Description: Always available collection of primarily eBooks, provided for free to everyone in Illinois thanks to the generosity of the Reaching Across Illinois Libraries Systems (RAILS). Also includes local collections from other Illinois libraries and PressBooks tool to convert your manuscript into eBook format.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Gives job seekers the tools they need to explore careers, find open positions, apply for jobs, and get hired. Find information on careers, interest assessments to match individuals with ideal career paths, and tools to create professional resumes and cover letters.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: From the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, keep up to date with news of book bannings and censorship, new policies and reports from the Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Freedom to Read Foundation, and read peer-reviewed articles on privacy and intellectual freedom.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full-text coverage from July 2004 to current. Full-color images starting in February 2022 to current.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Video

Description: 10 play credits per month to view movies (checkout for 3 days) or series (checkout for 7 days); a mix of award-winning feature films, documentaries, and educational content, including Criterion Collection titles and The Great Courses.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Learn more about various career fields, improve your interview and job search skills, and prepare for many career certification tests such as NCLEX and Praxis.

Use at Home? Yes

Description:Help patrons and students learn the fundamentals of computers, the internet and popular software applications a user-friendly e-learning platform that contains more than 100 selfpaced video tutorials.

¿Usar en casa? Sí

Descripción: Mejore sus habilidades escritas, orales y gramaticales, sea mejor lector, desarrolle sus habilidades matemáticas, prepárese para el examen de GED®, sea ciudadano estadounidense.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Supports those looking to improve core academic skills, pass a high school equivalency test, prepare for college, explore careers, join the military, study for occupational certification tests, become a U.S. citizen and much more.

Contains practice tests, interactive tutorials, e-books, articles, and flashcards.

Show me how this works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Thousands of legal forms by topic including Bankruptcy, Divorce, Name Changes, Wills & Estate Planning and more. Most of the full text legal reference books provided through NOLO.  

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: LGBTQ+ Source is the definitive database for LGBTQ+ studies. It provides scholarly and popular LGBTQ+ publications in full text, plus historically important primary sources, including monographs, magazines, newspapers, and videos. It also includes a specialized LGBTQ+ thesaurus containing thousands of terms.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Journals and periodicals that help librarians and researchers keep pace with the latest trends in the field.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Coverage back to the mid-1960s makes this the oldest continuously produced database covering the field of information science.

Show me how this works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Leading online learning platform that helps anyone learn business, software, technology and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals.

Our library code is “scpld” (all lowercase).

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Full-text literary database covering all genres and timeframes, including thousands of synopses, critical essays, book reviews, literary journals and author biographies, plus full-text classic novels, short stories and poems.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Searchable database of local digital microfilm 1842-1998.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Indexes not only top news stories but also the information contained on the various sections of the paper, including complete bibliographic information, companies, people, products, etc. Coverage from 1985 – current.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Find out what magazines, journals, and newspapers the Library subscribes to online, and then link to the correct database to read articles or issues.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Mango offers access to over 70 foreign language courses and 20 ESL courses. Mango can be accessed at the library, remotely, or even on-the-go with apps for iPhone® and Android™.

Show me how it works!

¡Mira cómo funciona!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Designed for high school libraries and offers coverage of popular high school magazines and reference books. Wide range of subjects offered including art, history, sports, and music. Over 1,000,000 photos, maps, and flags. Full text magazines include Discover, US News & World Report, Scientific American, and more.

Use at Home? Yes

Description:Broad collection of popular full-text magazines and reference books. Magazines include People, Better Homes and Gardens, TIME, and Newsweek. Covers subjects including business, health, education, fitness, sports and leisure, personal finance, general science, multicultural issues, DIY, and fashion. Also includes photos, maps, and flags.

Show me how this works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Covers all areas of medicine, including dentistry and nursing. Includes a mix of articles written for general interest and those in the medical profession.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: A comprehensive, free, and authoritative consumer health site sponsored by the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Vast, indexed collection of back issues of corporate and industry related documents going back to the beginning of several key Mergent publications including the Million Dollar Directory, municipal manuals, and key business ratios.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Coupling Mergent’s expertise in developing products for the reference marketplace with D&B®’s Hoover’s™private company database, Mergent Intellect offers new and existing clients a unique opportunity to access private and public U.S and international business data, industry news, facts and figures, executive contact information, the ability to access industry profiles and much more.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: The Explora experience for middle schools ensures that students, educators and library patrons can quickly find the reliable information they need to complete homework and research projects, deliver robust school curriculum, and satisfy their intellectual curiosity.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Find a stock or mutual fund, research current or prospective holdings, read analysts’ reports, and see ratings, financial reports, valuation ratios, and key ratios.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: One of the largest, most internationally diverse genealogy databases of its kind, including:

• More than 6 billion historical ​records from the United States, Europe, Latin America, and other region
• The full USA federal census (1790-1940) with images
• Census of England and Wales (1841-1901) with images
• Military records, immigration records and passenger lists
• Citizenship & naturalization records

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains National Geographic Kids magazine 2009-present (3-month embargo), 200 National Geographic Kids books, and 500 kid-friendly and downloadable images.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains National Geographic magazine 1888-Current, National Geographic Traveler magazine 2010-Current, as well as hundreds of videos, maps, atlases, and other downloadable images.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? No

Formats Available: Newspaper

Description: Nearly unlimited access to the News section of the New York Times website including articles from 1851-present day. Simply sign up for a free NYTimes account (if you don’t already have one) to access whenever you’re in the library.

How it works

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Newspaper

Description: Follow the link to redeem a code for 24 hours of free access to the New York Times on any of your devices. You’ll then be guided to register for a free NY Times account (if you don’t already have one). When your code runs out, just return to this link to redeem another code.

Includes access to:

• News
• Games
• Cooking
• Wirecutter
• The Athletic

How it works

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Newspaper

Description: searchable full text (no images) of articles in the New York Times from 1980 to the current day

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Explore and stay informed on local, national and international topics, people and events in areas such as business, health, education, jobs and careers, political and social issues and more. Features a wide variety of credible, vetted news sources from around the world to around the corner, including the Beacon News, Chicago Sun-Times, Kane County Chronicle and more. Available remotely 24/7 on any device.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires, and news magazines. Offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources. Newspapers include St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Washington Post, USA Today, and more. 

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Locate obituaries, and other news stories in full page views of historical newspapers from across the world dating from 1607.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Search the most recent national news content, as well as archives which stretch back into the 1980s featuring content from newspapers, newswires, and news sites in active full-text format.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Find short, easy-to-follow tutorials to many of our online resources as well as equipment located in STC Creative.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Search engine that provides book recommendations based on appeal factors, curated lists, and read-alikes for titles you enjoy from picture books through chapter books

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Fiction and nonfiction guide for all ages. Find read-alike books and authors, book reviews, book group discussion questions and author websites.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: On-demand access to a vast collection of titles (including O’Reilly books in early release), videos, case studies, learning paths, expert playlists, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 other computer science and technology publishers.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Millions of digital resources including books, audio files, images, movies and datasets and texts.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Audiobooks, eBooks, Magazines

Description: Check out up to 10 eBooks or Audiobooks for up to 3 weeks. Check out an unlimited number of magazines for 3 weeks. Only Kindle-friendly library eBook vendor.

Browse the Libby App from your Laptop/Desktop

Show me how it works!

¡Mira cómo funciona!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Search the authority on the English language. An unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 500,000 words, both present and past.

Show me how it works!

Use at Home? Yes

Description: OCLC index of papers presented at conferences worldwide.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: PebbleGo is a curricular content hub specifically designed for K-2 students. Packed with informational articles, ready-made activities, and literacy supports for students of all abilities, it boosts engagement and fosters independent learning in core subject areas.

PebbleGo Next provides a natural next step for 3rd-5th grade students with articles all aligned to state and national standards with a familiar, yet age-appropriate, experience and supports.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Test and career prep software to help you practice for the GRE, GMAT, SAT, ACT Assessment, ASVAB, TOEFL, and more.

In addition to our core products for college search and selection, test preparation, and financial aid, Petersons offers online services for career exploration as well as resume writing.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Containing resources that present multiple sides of an issue, this database provides rich content that can help students assess and develop persuasive arguments and essays, better understand controversial issues and develop analytical thinking skills.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Resources designed to support success in higher education and preparation for today’s workforce, packed with tutorials, practice tests, e-books and high-stakes test preparation for self-guided skill building, career preparation and workforce readiness.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides online access to a unique and extensive collection of academic, college preparation and career-related tutorials, practice tests, articles, e-books, and flashcards. It includes tools for academic skill-building, college and career exploration, college admissions test preparation, military exploration and preparation, workplace skills development and more.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Easy-to-use online tool that allows you to create professional quality versions of your book in ePUB, MOBI, PDF and more—all through your library.

Use at Home? Yes

Formats Available: Magazines, Newspapers

Description: Free full text, full color online subscriptions to popular newspapers and magazines from around the world, including USA Today, The Guardian, and more! Access by clicking on the Sign In button, then Libraries & Groups. Search for the St. Charles Public Library. Select OpenAthens and enter your library card number and PIN.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: The Explora experience for elementary schools ensures that students, educators and library patrons can quickly find the reliable information they need to complete homework and research projects, deliver robust school curriculum, and satisfy their intellectual curiosity.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: An OCLC index of worldwide conference proceedings.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Comprehensive citizenship prep course that contains 100 videos, plus interactive drills and quizzes.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Specialized information for librarians, teachers, and education researchers.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: You can learn 163 languages, including the largest ESL curriculum on the planet. Simply use your library card number to create an account and start learning through a variety of vocabulary exercises, quizzes, culture and business notes, and grammar review. Also includes lessons for 3 to 6 and 7 to 12 year-olds.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of psychology, behavioral sciences, and related disciplines. For psychologists, counselors, researchers, and students. 

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Regional business publications for the United States and Canadian provinces from 1990. Includes newspapers, radio and television news transcripts, trade publications, magazines, and newswires.  

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Hundreds of full-text journals and magazines covering many religious and philosophical topics, including world religions, religious history, political philosophy, and philosophy of language. 

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains great historical reference books including: Great Lives From History, The Decades In America, and Milestone Documents. A great place to start your research.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains the series Critical Survey and Masterplots, great resources for plot summaries, author biographies, and outlines of the major themes discussed in literary works.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Founded in 1867 by D. A. Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. The maps provide a wealth of information, such as building outline, size and shape. Come explore Illinois’s rich and diverse building history.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Online literacy resource that pairs classic fictional video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks. Reinforces core reading skills and introduces students to a world of knowledge and exploration. Includes helpful educator’s tools.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Incorporates Grolier Online databases, including Amazing Animals, America the Beautiful, American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, American Heritage Children’s Thesaurus, Lands and People, New Book of Knowledge and New Book of Popular Science.

Use at home? Yes

Description: Worksheets, lesson plans, learning games, and more! Formerly known as Scholastic Printables, access printable activities for any subject: math, science, reading comprehension, STEM, writing, and beyond. Download printable lesson plans, reading passages, games and puzzles, clip art, bulletin board ideas, and skills sheets for kids in any grade.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Contains full text for hundreds of science magazines, journals, encyclopedias, reference books and a vast collection of images.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Highly engaging, interactive, curriculum-driven digital resource with reading levels for students in grades 4 through 9. Includes videos, experiments and information on careers in science.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: A great resource from Cambridge University Press for students and Shakespeare lovers. Since 1948 Survey has published the best international scholarship in English, and many of its essays have become classics of Shakespeare criticism. Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays. The books are illustrated with a variety of Shakespearean images and production photographs.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Covers all aspects of starting and operating a business. Includes information on accounting, human resources, management, marketing, tax, and more. State-specific information included. 

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Provides detailed yet user-friendly repair guides for all manner of small engines.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Indexes over 260 titles from the most popular K-12 teacher and administrator trade journals, periodicals, and books.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Lists hundreds of thousands of businesses in North America.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Includes digital Scholastic True Books, links to further information in Grolier Online and websites about each topic. Non-fiction topics include: continents, ancient civilizations, U.S. government westward expansion, natural disasters, space, human body and ecosystems.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: A collection of animated, talking picture books and puzzles created from existing picture books, Large Print chapter books and classic children’s books. There are also books in Spanish and French.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: The authoritative source of bibliographic and publisher information on more than 300,000 periodicals of all types from around the world.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Information and advice on over 6,000 stocks, 18,000 mutual funds, 200,000 options and other securities.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Access The Wall Street Journal (both print and online editions), as well as WSJ: The Magazine from the Wall Street Journal

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Indexes not only top news stories but also the information contained on the various sections of the paper, including complete bibliographic information, companies, people, products, etc. Coverage from 1987 – current.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Online listing of the trusted Weiss guides to stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), banks, credit unions and insurance companies. Also contains the valuable Medigap tool detailing Medicare supplemental insurance options and Financial Literacy Basics guides about budgeting, paying off student loans, opening bank and investement accounts, and other key finanical skills.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: All the great advertising resources you loved from Redbooks, with the added strength of Winmo, bringing you even more advertising industry information to improve decision making. Includes email addresses for individuals at companies with national advertising or advertising agencies.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Click on a country or state to bring up basic facts and links to Britannica articles about that country or state.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: Start here for background research on any topic. Articles are updated with current events information, useful links on the Internet, a monthly calendar of important dates and a Today in History feature.

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Use at Home? No

Description: Start here for background research on any topic. Articles are updated with current events information, useful links on the Internet, a monthly calendar of important dates and a Today in History feature.

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Use at Home? Yes

Description: Locate books, periodicals, computer programs, films, maps, sound recordings, videotapes, dissertations and other formats in thousands of libraries worldwide.

Use at Home? Yes

Description: A database of all dissertations and theses available in WorldCat