Online Databases for Research
The following online databases and online services are available for home use by Brookline residents with a Minuteman Library Network library card*:
| Provided by: | Public Library of Brookline |
|---|---|
| CQ Researcher | For research on American politics, government, and public affairs. Covers 1960 to present. |
| Greenwood Daily Life Online | Find out what everyday life (domestic, economic, intellectual, etc.) is or was like in any region of the world. Covers all time periods. |
| HeritageQuest Online | A database for researching genealogy, family roots, and obituaries. |
| Proquest Obituaries | Find obituaries published in several major newspapers, including the Boston Globe and the New York Times. (If you have trouble accessing this service through the link on the left, try the following alternate link: Proquest Obituaries Alternate.) |
| p4a Antiques Reference | Find out the recent selling prices of various antiques and collectibles. Includes sales records from many major American auction houses. |
| Rosetta Stone (ESL) | Learn English online using this interactive tool. Provided through the generosity of the Friends of the Brookline Public Library, in conjunction with its ESL conversation groups. |
| Provided by: | Metrowest Massachusetts Regional Library System |
| Biography Resource Center | Biographical information from standard library reference books, Who's Who, and periodical articles. |
| Business & Company Profiles | Articles about business, with profiles of corporations. |
| Contemporary Authors and Contemporary Literary Criticism | Biographical and critical essays on contemporary authors and their works. |
| Educator's Reference Complete | Periodical index and articles for teachers, school administrators, and librarians. |
| Expanded Academic ASAP | Index of 2300 scholarly periodicals, with some full text. |
| General BusinessFile | Periodical articles, directory of companies, company profiles, and investment reports. |
| General Reference Center Gold | Index of 3900 general interest periodicals, with some full text. Also included is full text from 15 reference books and the Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. |
| Health Reference Center - Academic | Index and articles from health and medical journals, plus medical pamphlets and reference books. |
| InfoTrac Junior and Student Editions | Research tool for elementary (Junior ed.) and high school (Student ed.) students. |
| Kids InfoBits | Research tool for Grade K-5 students. |
| Massachusetts Newsstand | Full text newspaper articles. Includes: Boston Globe (1980-Current), Boston Herald (1991-Current), Berkshire Eagle (2005-Current), BusinessWest (Chicopee) (1992-Current), North Adams Transcript (2005-Current), Patriot Ledger (Quincy) (1991-Current), Plymouth County Business Review (1991-Current), Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg) (2005-Current), The Sun (Lowell) (2004-Current), Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) (1989-Current), Gazette (Haverhill (12/31/92 - 8/9/97), Standard Times (New Bedford (1/4/92 - 8/19/97).
Note that the Library also has the Boston Globe on microfilm 1960, 1968 to date. Syndicated columns and AP news stories published in the Globe are generally not included in the Massachusetts Newsstand. The Library also has the Brookline Chronicle 1874-, Brookline Tab 1980-, and various other Brookline newspapers on microfilm. |
| World Book Online | Enhanced version of the World Book encyclopedia. |
| Provided by: | Minuteman Library Network |
| Lit Finder | Includes Essay Finder, Poem Finder, and Story Finder, to help find printed copies in books that we may own. |
| New York Times | Index and full-text of New York Times articles 1980-current. (For the online Historic New York Times (1851 - 1979), see the note below. The Public Library of Brookline does have the NYT on microfilm from 1851 to date, and owns the print indexes for the entire run.) |
| Novelist | Fiction Reader's Advisor (If you like ... [some author, e.g. John Grisham] ... then try ... [another author, e.g., John Lescroart]). Also useful for summaries and subject searching of novels. |
| Provided by: | Boston Public Library, funded with State funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners |
| Historic New York Times | This resource, which provides full-text access to the New York Times from 1851 - 2000, is no longer available directly to Public Library of Brookline patrons. However, Boston Public Library card holders can access this and many other excellent databases at BPL's database page. If you do not have a Boston card, you can apply online for a Boston e-card and use it to access Boston's databases immediately. The Public Library of Brookline does have the NYT on microfilm from 1851 to date, and owns the print indexes for the entire run.
[New York Times 1980- is available through the Minuteman Library Network, see above.] |
| netLibrary | Full-text E-books on business, buying and selling a home, careers, computers, consumer health, consumer law, psychology, self-help, sports, study guides, and travel. Also unabridged audiobooks that can be downloaded to a Windows PC and transferred to an MP3/WMA player (but not an IPod). |
| 期刊圖書館 Qikan Library (DragonSource) |
一 百 種 中 國 大 陸 出 版 的 風 行 期 刊, 展 示 全 部 內 容, 主 題 涉 及 藝 術 、 時
事 、 商 業 、 健 康 、 兒 童 文 學 以 及 其 它 多 種 範 疇, 大 部 份 有 繁 體 字 和 簡 體 字 可 以 選 讀, 訂 閱
日 期 始 自2005-- Access to over 100 full-text popular magazine publications from mainland China. Subjects include the arts, current events, business, health, children's literature and much more. Most titles viewable in both simplified and classical viewing styles. Coverage: 2005-present. |
* Note that people using a Boston library card will have access to a slightly different set of databases Click here if you do not seem to have access to these databases for an explanation.
Click here if you are at a computer located in the Library. Several additional databases are available.
Don't forget to search the Library Catalog for books and other research materials. And, of course, a general Internet Search Engine such as Google can be helpful as well.