Research Databases & Resources

The WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA reference on the Web designed for young Spanish speaking students or those learning Spanish as a second language.
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A powerful search and discovery engine. Ideal for research assignments or general curiosity.
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This database is designed specifically for high school students according to their needs and search abilities. Includes topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research and 60,000 top videos from the Associated Press.

Explora is a research interface designed specifically for students and educators. The elementary school version highlights relevant, reliable, and age-appropriate content that’s easy and fun for young learners to search and explore.

Nearly 100 popular full-text elementary school magazines, including Boys’ Life, Cricket, Highlights, Junior Scholastic, Zoobooks, and dozens more

Includes Funk & Wagnall’s New World Encyclopedia, American Heritage Children’s Dictionary, Encyclopedia of Animals

Explore More Illinois is a free service provided by your library that provides instant online access to free and discounted tickets to museums, science centers, sporting events, zoos, park districts, theatres, and other fun and local cultural venues.

Created by educational and financial experts with over eighty years of combined experience helping people with diverse financial goals navigate complex topics.

Find a Book or Journal Article by Searching WorldCat; WilsonSelect; ArticlesFirst; WorldAlmanac and GPO
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SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs and helping small businesses start, grow, and succeed nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and has been mentoring small business owners for more than fifty years.

A Collection of more than 300 online reference books covering a wide range of subjects such as art, business, health, history, science, religion, and more.
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For elementary and middle school teachers to supplement classroom instruction with curriculum-aligned materials in math, reading, writing and social studies.

U.S. Census Records from 1790 – 1930 and from over 25,000 family and local histories.
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Explore your family history with the premier collection of U.S. obituaries and death notices for in-depth genealogical research from 1704 – today. HeritageHub helps you easily identify relatives, uncover new information and potentially unknown family members. Includes deep coverage from all 50 states, hard-to-find content from the mid 1900’s, and original obituary images. Access is available 24/7.

Guided support and preparation to help you earn a high school equivalency credential.

Resources for high school students to help build classroom and homework skills in math, English language arts, social studies, science and technology.

Find historical photos of West Chicago from the West Chicago City Museum collections.

features full text for more than 1,990 reference books, magazines, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers.
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An e-book collection of quality history titles. Selections range from introductory texts for undergraduate coursework to more complex and detailed works for advanced scholars.