Databases
Use our subscription databases to find citations and full text articles. To get started, just click on the database that you would like to search. If you're outside the library, you may need to enter your library card number and PIN in order to access the database.
Filters
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Academic OneFile
Find peer-reviewed, full-text articles from journals in the areas of the physical and social sciences, technology, medicine, engineering, the arts, literature, and more. More than 20,000 peer-reviewed journals and more than 10,900 in full text.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Academic Search Main Edition
Provides full-text and peer-reviewed journals essential for undergraduate & graduate studies. Subjects include biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, psychology, & religion from over 1,800 full-text and more than 1,200 full-text peer-reviewed journals.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Access PA
An access portal to a suite of resources provided by the Commonwealth of PennsylvaniaAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Access World News
Explore events and issues at the local, national, and international levels from over 9,000 news sources. Includes the Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia Magazine, and 30 other Philadelphia-area news sources. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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American Broadsides and Ephemera
Rare printed documents that illuminate the history and culture of earlier Americans. Find over 30,000 searchable images of printed items including confessions, menus, playbills, music programs, and more from 1760-1900. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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American Song
Listen to over 50,000 recordings from America's past; songs by and about American Indians, miners, immigrants, slaves, children, pioneers, and cowboys; songs of Civil Rights, Prohibition, the Civil War, and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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American State Papers, 1789-1838
The essential record of the first decade of the United States. Browse legislative and executive documents of the first 14 U.S. Congresses and find information on the major events that shaped the Early Republic. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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America's Historical Imprints
Explore centuries of history through books, pamphlets, & other material on culture and daily life. Includes: American Broadsides and Ephemera and Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans & Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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America's Historical Newspapers (formerly Early American Newspapers, Series I 1690-1876)
Search early American newspapers from all 50 states published across three centuries. Find cover-to-cover reproductions of over 750 fully searchable newspapers from 1690 to the recent past. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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America's Obituaries & Death Notices - Heritage Hub
A collection of newspaper obituaries and death notices from around the country.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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AP Images (formerly AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive)
Current photos & a selection of pictures/images from the 50 million print & negative library of photographs at the Associated Press. Search for a picture/image of your favorite celebrity.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Archive of Americana
The comprehensive historical collections that form the Archive of Americana contain books, pamphlets, newspapers, government documents and ephemera.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Archive-It
Archive-It is a web archiving service that collects and stores the websites of Philadelphia government agencies and selected cultural institutions. You can search or browse the collection to view these sites as they existed in months or years past.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Art Full Text
A comprehensive resource for art information featuring full-text articles dating back to 1995, high-quality indexing and abstracting dating as far back as 1984 as well as abstracting of over 13,000 art dissertations.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Art Index Retrospective 1920-1984
Bibliographic database that cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index published between 1929-1984.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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AskART
Extensive information about over 120,000 artists from around the world.Available To: Parkway Central Library only. Please visit the Art Department for access.
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Business Plans Handbook Online
Search sample business plans from a wide range of businessesAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Career Cruising
Explore careers, discover your dream job, polish your skills and moreAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Classical Music Library
A comprehensive database of distinguished classical recordings offered in streaming format. The Classical Music Library also includes anthology playlists linked to the major music history and appreciation textbooks.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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ComicsPlus All Access
ComicsPlus All Access has thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, & manga for kids, teens, and adults. A Free Library of Philadelphia card and PIN is required for onsite and offsite use. Mobile app available: use library card and PIN.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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ComicsPlus Teens
Thousands of digital comics, graphic novels, and manga especially for teens. A Free Library of Philadelphia card and PIN is required for onsite and offsite use. Mobile app available: use library card and PIN.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Contemporary Authors
A bio-bibliographical guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Contemporary World Music
This resource includes contemporary and traditional world music including tracks of reggae, worldbeat, neo-traditional, world fusion, Balkanic jazz, African film, Bollywood, Arab swing and jazz, and other genres.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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D&B Global Business Browser (formally OneSource: D&B Business Browser Pro)
Find company information and market research, including RMA and Datamonitor reports, in-depth company and executive profiles, and detailed financial information. Great for research on international and multinational companies.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Dictionary of Literary Biography
Biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures. Includes more than 16,000 articles and thousands of images.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Driver's Permit Practice Tests Online
Find practice tests for the PA drivers permit exam, the motorcycle operator's test, the CDL practice test, as well as digital versions of the PA Driver’s Handbook, the PA Motorcycle Handbook, and the PA CDL HandbookAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans (1639-1800)
Based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans. The definitive resource for every aspect of life in 17th- and 18th-century America. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker (1801-1819)
Covering every aspect of American life during the early decades of the United States, this rich primary source collection provides full-text access to the 36,000 books, pamphlets and broadsides published from 1801 to 1819. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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eAudiobooks from Overdrive
Download audiobooks from Overdrive to your PC, Mac, or mobile device. Get the Libby app to borrow on the go.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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eBooks from Overdrive
Available in a variety of formats, here you will find the Library's Overdrive ebook collection. Get the Libby app to borrow on the go; enter your library card and PIN.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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eBooks on EBSCOhost (formerly NetLibrary)
Approximately 20,000 electronic books in all subject areas from careers to classics to Cliffs Notes. Mobile app available: create an online account for full access.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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eMagazines on OverDrive (formerly RBdigital Magazines)
Read and download over 4,000 digital magazines on OverDrive or the Libby app.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos
Es la mejor herramienta de referencia en español para niños. Spanish-language tool for those learning Spanish and ELL students. Spanish and English text. Includes concise articles, videos, maps and activities more. (Recommended grades K+)Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center)
Index to education related materialsAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Freading
Over 200,000 downloadable ebooks for Free Library of Philadelphia library card holders. Mobile app available: use library card and PIN.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Free Library of Philadelphia Online Public Access Catalog
Catalog of The Free Library of Philadelphia's CollectionAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Free Library of Philadelphia Podcasts
The Free Library Podcast is an easy way to participate in the author events and lectures that take place at the Central Library. Visit Author Events for upcoming events and information.Available To: Unrestricted, free web resource
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Free Library of Philadelphia's Digital Library Collections
Historical images in digital format.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
Explore over 1,200 nonfiction, fully searchable reference titles. Access accurate information on science, literature, history, business, and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale Health and Wellness (formerly Health and Wellness Resource Center)
Find accurate, up-to-date information on a full range of health topics, from current diseases and disorders to in-depth coverage of alternative medicine practices. Access full-text medical journals, magazines, reference works, multimedia, and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale in Context | Middle School (formerly Research in Context)
Gale in Context | Middle School provides support for middle grade students working on papers and projects. Includes full-text magazine & news articles, multimedia, biographies, and primary sources.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale In Context: Biography
Comprehensive online biographical reference database containing 414,000 biographies.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale In Context: High School
Primary documents, biographies, topical essays, background information, critical analyses, full-text coverage of 800 magazines, photographs and illustrations, audio and video clipsAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Examine the many sides of today's hottest social issues. Explore pro/con viewpoints, articles, and infographics.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale In Context: U.S. History
U.S. History In Context provides a complete overview of U.S. history that covers the most-studied events, issues and current information.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale In Context: World History
A multicultural, global resource that moves chronologically from antiquity to the present and geographically around the globe, to ensure that the events, movements and individuals that defined and shaped our world are covered with a sense of balance.Available To: All Free Library locations and internet with authentication.
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Gale Literary Sources (formerly Artemis)
Cross-search all of Gale’s literature databases from a single digital space. Includes Dictionary of Literary Biography, Something About the Author, LitFinder, Literature Criticism Online, and Literature Resource Center.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale Literature Resource Center
Access to biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary disciplineAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gale OneFile | High School Edition (formerly InfoTrac Student Edition)
Content for high school students from magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books, and rich media (images, audio, video) covering a range of subjects, from science, history, and literature to political science, sports, and environmental studies.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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GCF LearnFree
Easy-to-follow tutorials on Microsoft Excel, Word, and Office, as well as Internet Basics, social media, and more. GCF LearnFree also offers free tutorials in math and reading.Available To: Unrestricted, free web resources.
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General OneFile
A broad collection of news articles, magazines, reference books, images, audio, and video that support general interest research and exploration. Offering more than 8,800 full-text titles, with millions of articles available.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Gun Regulation and Legislation in America
This HeinOnline collection brings together more than 550 periodicals, legislative histories, and government documents on gun regulation. It includes an extensive bibliography and a balanced selection of external resources for further research.Available To: All Free Library locations.
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Historical Newspapers - Black Newspapers
Primary source material from ten historic Black newspapers, including the Chicago Defender, The Baltimore Afro-American, New York Amsterdam News, Pittsburgh Courier, Los Angeles Sentinel, Atlanta Daily World, and the Cleveland Call and PostAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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HistoryMakers Digital Archive
HistoryMakers Digital Archive is the nation's largest African American video oral history collection with high-quality primary source content, with fully searchable transcripts, from thousands of people from a broad range of backgrounds and experiencesAvailable To: All Free Library locations. Please visit one of our locations for access.
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Homework Help Online
Live, online tutoring every day in English or Spanish from 9 a.m. - midnight for K-12, college, and adults. Upload a writing sample or math problem and get feedback. Mobile app available: Tutor.com To Go. Create an online account for full app access.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Input
Input was a local Philadelphia panel discussion program, airing Sunday mornings from 1968 through early 1971Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Jazz Music Library
Jazz Music Library will be the largest and most comprehensive collection of jazz available online.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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JSTOR
Digital archive to back issues of over 2,800 journals. Available at all Free Library locations. JSTOR no longer provides remote access to public libraries as of September 2023. *Chrome browser not supportedAvailable To: All Free Library locations
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Kanopy
Acclaimed movies, documentaries and kids films. Note: Kanopy is unable to filter for Children's Restricted Cards. Mobile app available: create an account for best results.Available To: Free Library card holders
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Kids from World Book Online
Ideal learning resource for elementary-aged students and up. Easy-to-read articles, engaging games, science projects, and activities. Additional teaching tools for educators and parents make this a complete solution for elementary-aged students.Available To:
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LearningExpress Library
Practice tests and test preparation study materials for academic and professional tests, including the SAT and GRE. Mobile app available: EBSCO LearningExpress. Create an online account for full app access.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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LearningExpress Library - Career Center
This LearningExpressLibrary module offers sections on business writing, the job search, skills for success and skills for successful interviews.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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LearningExpress Library - Recursos para Hispanohablantes
Recurso para el desarrollo académico y profesional ofrece el desarrollo de habilidades en matemáticas, ciencias y lectura/escritura para los alumnos de la escuela de edad y adultos, así como pruebas de la práctica para el nuevo GED, SAT, NCLEX-RN, y mas.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
Learn business, creative, and technology skills to achieve your personal and professional goals.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Literature Criticism Online
This extensive compilation of literary commentary represents a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras, and genres. Covers Children’s, Classical, Contemporary, Drama, Poetry, Shakespearean, and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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LitFinder
Find the sonnets of Shakespeare, the poetry of Angelou, presidential speeches, and short stories by Poe. Discover full-text literature from more than 150,000 poems, 7,100 short stories & novels, 3,800 essays, 2,400 speeches, and 1,250 plays.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Mango Languages
An online language-learning system for 70+ languages. Now includes American Sign Language (ASL). Mobile app available - create an online account for full app access.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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March2Success
Practice materials for the ASVAB, SAT, and ACT exams. Perfect for students considering a military career.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Music Online
Find and listen to music from a variety of genresAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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New York Times Anywhere
Enjoy an unlimited number of free 72-hour passes to NYTimes.com, including historical coverage and international Spanish and Chinese editions. Crossword access is not included. Registration at NYTimes.com is required.Available To: Free Library card holders
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New York Times at the Library
Enjoy free access to NYTimes.com from all Free Library locations, including historical coverage and international Spanish and Chinese editions. Crossword access is not included. Registration at NYTimes.com is required.Available To: All Free Library locations
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NewsBank Hot Topics
Trending news and topics for your next assignment! Covers current events, business & economics, civics, government, & politics, social issues, science, technology & health, sports, arts & literature, and people in the news. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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NewsBank Main Menu
The main portal to Newsbank Inc.'s databases, providing international, national, local, and historical news coverage.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Newsbank Selected America's Historical Newspapers
Articles from selected American newspapers covering many topics from 1690-1922.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Newsbank Special Reports
NewsBank's Special Reports focus on topics of current interest. They include content from sources throughout the world to provide a global perspective, current and background information, statistics, maps, images, websites, and suggested search terms.Available To: All Free Library locations.
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NoveList K-8 Plus
Find your next favorite book! This resource for students in grades K-8 helps to suggest books to read based on books you already know and love.Available To: All Free Library locations and Internet with authentication
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NoveList Plus
Find your next favorite book! NoveList Plus generates reading suggestions based on books you already love.Available To: All Free Library locations and internet with authentication.
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OverDrive Sala de Lectura Electrónica en Español
Descargue libros electrónicos y audiolibros en español para niños, adolescentes, y adultos. (Download ebooks and audiobooks in Spanish for kids, teens, and adults.)Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Overdrive World Languages eReading Room
Download ebooks and audiobooks in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, French, and other languages. Get the Libby app to borrow on the go.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Oxford Music Online (Includes Grove Music Online)
The world's premier authority on all aspects of music.(Formerly Grove Music Online, New Grove Dictionary of Music, and Musicians Online)Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Pennsylvania Historical Newspapers
174 full-text historical Pennsylvania newspapers from 1790-1922. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Daily News
Philadelphia Daily News in full text from 1/4/1978 – Present (includes sporadic gaps in coverage)Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Evening Telegraph
Find full text issues of this afternoon daily published between 7/1/1864 and 6/30/1871 online here. These and additional years from 6/30/1871 to 6/28/1918 are available on microfilm at Parkway Central Library. Many coverage gaps.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Inquirer
JULY ISSUES SPORATICALLY AVAILABLE: SEE THE PRESSREADER DATABASE FOR FULL ACCESS. Philadelphia Inquirer in full text from 1/1/1981 – Present (includes sporadic gaps in coverage)Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Inquirer Digital Archive 1860-2001
Search and browse the full text of the Philadelphia Inquirer as published 1860-2001.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Inquirer Historical Archive (formerly Civil War Archive)
Full text of the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1829-1922. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Press Index
Electronic version of a paper index to the Philadelphia Press, one of Philadelphia's oldest newspapers.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)
Full access to the oldest continuously published daily Black newspaper in the United States.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Philadelphia Works Resume Builder
Resume Builder is a simple online tool for creating a resume. It uses a fill-in-the-blanks template, provides job descriptions from O*NET OnLine service, and produces a Microsoft Word document that can be saved and edited.Available To: Unrestricted, free web resource
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Popular Music Library
Find a wide range of popular music from around the world, including pop music, alternative, country, Christian, electronic, hip-hop, metal, punk, new age, R&B, reggae, rock, soundtracks and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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POWER Library
Pennsylvania Online World of Electronic ResourcesAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Readers' Guide Retrospective: 1890-1982
Search more than 3 million articles from 375 leading magazines from 1890 to 1982.Available To: All Free Library locations.
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Reference Solutions (Formerly ReferenceUSA)
A powerful tool providing access to in-depth information on businesses and residents. Research companies, locate addresses, phone numbers, conduct market research, and more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Salem Press Reference
Searchable database of reference titles developed by Salem PressAvailable To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Sanborn Maps, 1867–1970 (Formerly Sanborn Maps Geo Edition)
Explore America’s building history through over 660,000 black-and-white, large-scale maps, which chart the growth of more than 12,000 towns and cities. Read this blog post to learn more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Science Reference Center
Contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other reliable sources. In addition, Science Reference Center includes more than 280,000 high-quality science images.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Serial Set Maps
The more than 70,000 maps in the U.S. Congressional Serial Set include great atlases, small individual maps, triangulation surveys, weekly weather maps, and more. Covers the years of publication 1817-1994. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Slavery in America and the World: History, Culture, and Law
This HeinOnline collection brings together essential legal materials on slavery in the U.S. and the English-speaking world. It includes nearly 2,000 titles with every statute and case on slavery, and hundreds of historic texts and modern histories.Available To: All Free Library locations.
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Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries
With an extraordinary array of more than 35,000 individual tracks of streaming music, spoken word, and natural and human-made sounds, users can listen to performances by American folk icons such as Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger and many more.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Something About the Author
Something About the Author examines the lives and works of authors and illustrators for children and young adults and is the preeminent source on literature for young people. Includes over 12,000 entries and nearly 17,000 images.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an authoritative, comprehensive Web-based reference work about philosophy, useful to scholars of all levels as well as the general public.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Student from World Book Online
(Recommended grades 5+) This trusted online encyclopedia contains a Biography Center, current events, research guides, Citation Builder, games, and integrations with Google Classroom and Microsoft OneDrive.Available To:
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Student Search: General Encyclopedia
Search across a range of digital encyclopedias to find information on any topic.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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TDNet
Listing of full-text journals available electronically at the Free Library. Replaces JournalWebCite.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Timelines from World Book Online
Timelines offers hundreds of timelines across eight broad topics, which cover various time periods in history or span the life of historical public figures. Users can also create their own timelines from scratch. (Recommended grades 5+)Available To:
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U.S. Citizenship Test Prep
Find information about the U.S. Citizenship test as well as study materials and practice tests.Available To: Unrestricted, free web resource
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U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1980)
The bound, sequentially numbered volumes of all the reports, documents, and journals of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives constitutes a rich source of primary source material on all aspects of American history. *Chrome browser not supported.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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Universal Class
Over 1,500 online continuing education courses in a wide variety of subjects at your own pace from real instructors.Available To: All Free Library locations and online with your library card.
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World Book Online
Popular online encyclopedia for children and teens, including Spanish language content.Available To: All Free Library locations and internet with authentication.
denotes POWER Library resource
This project is made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and through Library Access Funds administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.