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Arts & Humanities
Arts & Humanities Resources
Academic Search Premier
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Multidisciplinary research database, providing acclaimed full-text journals, magazines and other valuable resources.
American History from ABC-CLIO
Use at Home? Yes
Description: From the explorers of the Americas to today’s headlines, investigate the people, events, and themes of our nation’s evolution.
American National Biography Online
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.
Article First
Use at Home? Yes
Description: OCLC index of articles from the contents pages of journals.
AtoZ Food America
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.
AtoZ World Food
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.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States
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.
Booklist
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.
BookPage
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.
Books in Print
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.
Britannica Library
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.
Britannica Library for Children
Use at Home? Yes
Description: All the resources found in Encyclopaedia Britannica, plus special online learning materials for students, in grades K-8.
Chelsea House Biographies
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.
Clase Periodica
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Indexes documents published in Latin American journals covering social sciences and humanities as well as science and technology.
Core Collections
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Contains six 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, and Senior High Core Collection in an easily searchable interface.
Creativebug
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.
Credo
Use at Home? Yes
Description: An online platform that combines reliable, citable reference content with your library’s resources and helps you to do faster, more effective research.
Daily Life Through History
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Discover details about past eras that make historical accounts relevant and meaningful from their modern-day perspectives.
EBSCO Essentials
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Open Access journals available through EBSCO’s free search engine.
Electronic Books
Use at Home? Yes
Description: OCLC catalog of online electronic books available through libraries worldwide.
Electronic Collections Online
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.
ERIC
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Contains annotated references to education related articles from 1966 to the present.
Escolar
¿Usar en casa? Sí
Descripción: Enciclopedia de Britannica para estudiantes de 6 a 12 años de edad.
FactCite – American and World Biography
Use at Home? Yes
Description: 10,000 biographies of famous people from around the world. More than 2,000 illustrations.
FactCite – American History
Use at Home? Yes
Description: More than 6,000 illustrated articles of people, places, and events in American history.
FactCite – Biography for Beginners
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Illustrated biographies written especially for beginning and striving readers.
FactCite – Defining Moments in U.S. History
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.
FactCite – Greek and Roman Mythology
Use at Home? Yes
Description: 500 articles on Greek and Roman mythological figures with more than 300 illustrations.
Fact Cite – The Lincoln Library
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.
First Search (OCLC)
Use at Home? No
Description: Scholarly and general content covering a wide variety of topics including health, education, technology, business, and the social sciences.
FreedomFlix
Use at Home? Yes
Description: This American History resource includes e-books from Scholastic’s Cornerstones of Freedom series. Each is paired with nonfiction videos and links to related websites. Topics include: Revolutionary Era, Our Democracy, Westward Expansion, Immigration, Slavery and the Civil War, Economy, the 20th Century, Today’s World and War.
Freegal
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
Gale eBooks
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.
Gale General OneFile
Use at Home? Yes
Description: General interest articles on current events, science, entertainment, the arts, etc.
Gale In Context: Biography
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Authoritative reference content, magazine and journal articles, primary sources, videos, audio podcasts, and images. Covering a vast array of people from historically significant figures to present-day newsmakers, it’s continuously updated to ensure researchers have access to the very latest information.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Use at Home? Yes
Description: More than 19,600 pro/con viewpoints, plus 300+ profiles of federal agencies and special-interest groups and special coverage of the annual debate topic determined by the National Speech and Debate Association; content includes full-text newspapers and periodicals from multiple perspectives, including National Review, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Commentary, and CNN Wire
Gale Literature
Use at Home? Yes
Description: One-stop shopping for literary assignments and information. Contains criticism, primary sources, literary and cultural analysis, and biographies.
History Reference Center
Use at Home? Yes
Description: 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.
History Study Center
Use at Home? Yes
Description: This targeted collection of full-text journals and popular magazines provides expansive coverage of a wide range of global historical topics and themes.
Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Has patterns, articles, and information on everything from amateur radio to knitting to woodworking.
Hoopla Digital
Use at Home? Yes
Formats Available: Audiobooks, eBooks, Magazines, Music, Video
Description: Stream or download up to 10 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. Starting April 1, 2023, the monthly limit for Hoopla checkouts will be lowered to 5. Please feel free to explore our other streaming and downloadable services for additional checkouts.
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.
Browse Hoopla Digital
Use at Home? Yes
Description: St. Charles, Kane County and Illinois local history documents, maps and photos.
Illinois Libraries Group Catalog
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Use WorldCat Discovery to search the holdings of libraries across the state of Illinois.
Journal of Intellectual Freedom & Privacy
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.
Kanopy
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.
Literary Reference Center
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.
Magazines & Newspapers Publication Finder
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.
MasterFILE Premier
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Provides full-text magazines, reference books and primary source documents. It also includes an extensive image collection containing photos, maps and flags.
Merriam-Webster Unabridged
Use at Home? Yes
Description: The largest, most comprehensive American dictionary currently available in print or online, built on the solid foundation of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged and containing new and revised entries while staff are actively engaged in creating an entirely new edition of the Unabridged.
Middle Search Plus
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Full-text database providing popular middle school magazines and reference books. Covering subjects such as history, current events, science and sports, it also includes thousands of biographies and primary source documents, plus over a million photos, maps and flags.
Moderna
¿Usar en casa? Sí
Descripción: La enciclopedia más comprensiva de la lengua española, con los artículos, fotos e imágenes, mapas y tablas.
Naxos Music Library
Use at Home? Yes
Formats Available: Music
Description: Unlimited streaming of classical, jazz, world, and folk music.
Naxos Sheet Music Library
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Find 45,000 classical sheet music titles. Some titles may be transposed online.
NoveList K-8 Plus
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Search for picture books through chapter books by author, title, series name or subject. Includes helpful educator’s tools.
NoveList Plus
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.
OAIster
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Millions of digital resources including books, audio files, images, movies and datasets and texts.
Original Sources
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Thousands of primary source documents in history, literature, science, law, politics, religion, and more.
Oxford Art Online
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Offers access to the most authoritative, inclusive, and easily searchable online art resources available today including the Grove Dictionary of Art and Benezit Dictionary of Artists.
Oxford Dictionaries Online
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Includes reference works on English grammar and usage as well as translation dictionaries for languages such as Italian, Chinese, and Russian.
Oxford English Dictionary
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.
Oxford Reference
Use at Home? Yes
Description: In-depth, specialist content from Oxford’s award-winning Encyclopedias and Companions, as well as a critical selection of partner publishers’ scholarly works – over 300,000 free Overview pages, 275 free Timelines, and featured topical entries available on Oxford Reference providing you with a full research pathway.
Papers First
Use at Home? Yes
Description: OCLC index of papers presented at conferences worldwide.
Points of View Reference Center
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.
Pop Culture Universe
Use at Home? Yes
Description: An irresistible yet authoritative digital database on popular culture in America and the world, both past and present. Great for decades or history projects.
Primary Search
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Designed for elementary school libraries, Primary Search is a full-text database providing popular children’s magazines, easy-to-read encyclopedic entries and a vast image collection. Students can learn about a variety of topics, including endangered species, famous musicians, fitness and space exploration.
Proceedings First
Use at Home? Yes
Description: An OCLC index of worldwide conference proceedings.
Salem History
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.
Salem Literature
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.
Scholastic BookFlix
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.
Scholastic Go!
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.
Shakespeare Survey
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.
World Book Online
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.
World Book: La Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos
¿Usar en casa? Sí
Descripción: Características incluyen artículos, secuencia (fechas) de eventos, mapas y bases de datos interactivas (recursos electrónicos).
World History: The Modern Era
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Latest update of electronic history reference materials for high school and high-level middle school coursework covering history from the Renaissance to day.
WorldCat Discovery
Use at Home? Yes
Description: Locate books, periodicals, computer programs, films, maps, sound recordings, videotapes, dissertations and other formats in thousands of libraries worldwide.
Worldcat Dissertations and Theses
Use at Home? Yes
Description: A database of all dissertations and theses available in WorldCat