Research a topic
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ABCMouse.com
Introduce your preschoolers and kindergarteners to reading, math, social science, art, and music with this award-winning education software.
Ancestry Library Edition
Search billions of genealogy documents—including census, military, immigration, birth, and death records.
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Black Life in America
Explore three centuries’ worth of news articles about the Black experience through full-image primary sources from 1704 to today.
Britannica Library
Search encyclopedia articles, videos and photos for kids, teens, and adults. Also includes access to Britannica Escolar, a Spanish-language encyclopedia for kids and teens.
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Career Center from Tutor.com
Get tips on job searching and interview prep. From 10 am to midnight daily, upload resumes and cover letters and a career expert will give you feedback within 24 hours.
Chicago Community Newspaper Collection
Search full-text articles from more than 250 local news sources, including the Chicago Sun-Times, Daily Herald, Daily Southtown, and Evanston Review.
Chicago Tribune (1849–present)
Search the newspaper’s complete text. Content from 1849 to 1987 includes images of articles, photographs, death notices, and ads. From 1987 to present, only text versions of articles and obituaries are available.
Consumer Health Complete
Topic overviews of hundreds of health and wellness subjects.
ConsumerReports.org
Ratings and recommendations on appliances, electronics, cars, and more from the popular magazine and website.
Consumers’ Checkbook
Ratings on numerous Chicago-area service providers, including car mechanics, plumbers, dentists, roofers, and lawn care companies.
Cook County Tax Portal
Find county property information, including assessed values. Search by PIN or address.
Creativebug
Thousands of award-winning art and craft video classes taught by recognized design experts and artists. You must be 13 years or older to use this service. Users younger than 18 need parent or legal guardian permission to sign up.
CultureGrams Online
Find detailed descriptions of daily life, customs, and culture in nearly 200 countries.
Current Biography Illustrated
Magazine-length biographical profiles of celebrities, politicians, entertainers, scientists, and other newsmakers from the 1940s to the present.
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Digital Learn
If you are new to computers or need a refresher, Digital Learn helps you tackle technology at your own pace and gain the confidence you need to succeed.
Driving-Tests.org
Take free online practice tests based on Illinois Department of Motor Vehicles standards, including motorcycle exams and a sample commercial driver license (CDL) test.
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Early World of Learning
Narrated stories, games, and reading practice for preschool and elementary school students. Includes a basic encyclopedia for the youngest learners.
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Gale Courses
Free, instructor-led, noncredit online courses in technology, business, health, wellness, education, parenting, and the arts. New sessions begin every month.
Gale eBooks
More than 330 encyclopedias, articles, literary criticism, and specialized reference sources for students and researchers. Search the entire collection or a particular subject area.
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HeritageHub
U.S. obituaries and death notices from from 1704 to today, including hard-to-find content from the mid-1900s and original obituary images.
Historical Skokie Newspapers
Search the complete text of local Skokie (and Niles Center) newspapers, which have been digitized from Skokie Public Library's microfilm collection. Coverage starts in the 1930s, with select issues available before, and runs through 2008 with full-page images of each edition.
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Illinois Corporation/LLC Search
Information on businesses and nonprofits, including those that have been dissolved or are in poor standing, from the Illinois Secretary of State.
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JSTOR
Full-text access to historical and current academic journals and primary sources in the arts, sciences, humanities, social sciences, and medicine. Note: Some recent articles may not be accessible because of publisher restrictions.
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Legal Forms from Illinois Legal Aid Online
Illinois Legal Aid Online's form library has court forms, legal documents, and letters for many kinds of legal problems. Users can download blank forms to fill out manually, or can use the "easy form" program to create the form needed.
LinkedIn Learning
Watch thousands of step-by-step online video tutorials on software, apps, media, marketing, business, and technology.
If you previously had a Lynda.com account through the library, you do not need to create a new one for LinkedIn Learning. Simply login with your library card number and PIN.
Literature Resources from Gale
Search the contents of hundreds of literary reference books for information on authors and criticism of their works.
LOTE4Kids
Read and listen to thousands of online picture books for kids in more than 70 languages, including Arabic, Amharic, Dari, Hebrew, Hindi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, and Urdu.
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Mango Languages
Lessons in 60-plus languages, including English. Includes specialty courses, such as medical Spanish, and full-length theatrical movies with subtitles and enhanced instruction. Download the Mango Languages app to use on mobile devices.
MasterFILE Complete
Search full-text articles from popular magazines and journals covering areas of general interest.
MedlinePlus
Up-to-date health information from the National Library of Medicine, the world’s largest medical library.
Morningstar Investment Research Center
Access investment ratings, industry and analysts reports, articles, videos and newsletters. Find up-to-date financial data for stocks, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, and historical stock prices.
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New York Times Online
Free, unlimited access to The New York Times website and mobile app on any device during your library visit. To activate, you’ll need to register for a free NYTimes.com account or log into an existing account.
You must be 13 years or older to use this service. Users under 18 need parent or legal guardian permission to sign up.
New York Times Online
Free, unlimited 72-hour access to the New York Times website and mobile app from outside the library. To activate, click on “Redeem,” then register for a free NYTimes.com account or log into an existing account. Once your pass expires, return to this page to renew for another 72 hours.
You must be 13 years or older to use this service. Users under 18 need parent or legal guardian permission to sign up.
Newspaper Source from EBSCOhost
Full-text articles from hundreds of U.S. and international newspapers such as The Washington Post and USA Today; also features transcripts from CNN, Fox News, and NPR.
Nexis Uni
Find newspaper and magazine articles, media transcripts, business information, and legal sources such as federal and state court cases dating back to 1789. Please note that the legal portion of this product is only available for use in the library.
NoveList K-8 Plus
Discover great books for children from kindergarten through grade 8. Browse lists of award-winning titles or search for books by grade level or Lexile score.
NoveList Plus
Find recommendations and reviews for adult and teen fiction and nonfiction based on your favorite titles, authors, and genres.
O
O'Reilly For Public Libraries
Improve your technology and career skills with more than 47,000 books and 30,000 hours of video on software, programming, digital media, building apps, and professional and personal development.
OCLC FirstSearch
Search a wide range of databases, including ArticleFirst, ERIC, WorldCat, and MEDLINE.
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PebbleGo/ PebbleGoNext
PebbleGo (grades K-2) and PebbleGoNext (grades 3-5) have curriculum-based articles and ebooks for kids in both English and Spanish on animals, science, geography, social science, and history.
PressReader
Current newspapers and magazines from around the world, including The Economist and The New York Times, presented in full-image format.
4/30/24 update: Recent Chicago Tribune issues aren't available on PressReader; they're attempting to resolve this with the Tribune. In the meantime, you can access text-only Trib articles in our Chicago Tribune (1849-present) database.
Public Records Electronic Database
Access Illinois public record data for home foreclosures, bankruptcies, new businesses, and real estate transactions. Available both inside and outside the library.
Public Records Electronic Database
Access Illinois public record data for home foreclosures, bankruptcies, new businesses, and real estate transactions. Available inside the library.
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Reference Solutions/Data Axle (formerly ReferenceUSA)
Find contact information for millions of U.S. and Canadian companies, health care providers and residences and build contact lists of companies, competitors, suppliers, and consumers. Discover businesses or target customers based on multiple demographics.
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Scholastic Teachables
Printable activity sheets, lessons, summer workbooks, mini books and lesson plans for grades Pre-K-6. Search by grade level, subject, state standards, theme, or genre.
Skokie Newspaper Index
Find citations to articles that appeared in the Skokie Review, The News, and Life: Skokie edition. To request full articles, email or call the library at 847-673-7774.
Skokie Newspaper Obituaries
Find citations to obituaries that appeared in The News (1960–1984), Skokie Review (1981–present), and Life: Skokie edition (1978–Oct. 2004). To request full obituaries, email or call the library at 847-673-7774.
Skokie Review from Newsbank
Search full-text local news, obituaries, and death notices from the Skokie Review from 1995 and full-image issues from November 2020 to the current issue.
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TeachingBooks.net
Aimed primarily at teachers, this provides multimedia resources and activities to supplement elementary, middle, and high school reading assignments.
Treehouse.com
Learn coding, web design, and more through on-demand technology courses for both beginner and intermediate learners. Topics include Python, Java, CSS, SQL and HTML.
TumbleBook Library for Kids
A collection of animated, narrated picture books that kids can follow along word for word.
Tutor.com (Live Homework Help)
Get homework help from live tutors from noon to midnight daily. Sessions are available in English and Spanish, last about 20 minutes, and are tailored for students from kindergarten to college. Connect anonymously or create a free Tutor.com account for your family to unlock extra features like voice chat and SAT/ACT/AP exam prep from Princeton Review. Limit of five sessions per week.
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Value Line Research Center
The latest information on stocks, mutual funds, options, and convertible securities. Includes investment ratings, rankings, earnings, projections and insider transactions data. View, download and print research reports.
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Wall Street Journal Online
Free access to The Wall Street Journal website during your library visit.
Wall Street Journal Online
Free 72-hour access to The Wall Street Journal website. To activate, click above and register for wsj.com or log in to an existing account. Once your pass expires, return to this page to renew for another 72 hours. Access to the WSJ mobile app or WSJ+ content isn’t included, and you must be 13 years or older to use this service. Users under 18 need parent or legal guardian permission to create a WSJ.com account.
Washington Post Online
Free, unlimited 7-day access to the Washington Post website from outside the library. To activate, create a free Washington Post account. Once your pass expires, return to this page to activate a new 7-day pass. You must be 13 years or older to use this service. Users under 18 need parent or legal guardian permission to create a Washington Post account.
Washington Post Online
Free, unlimited access to The Washington Post website during your library visit.
World Book Online
An online version of the encyclopedia for all ages, plus reference articles, activities for science projects, social studies resources, multimedia, and articles in Spanish.
WorldCat from OCLC FirstSearch
Search the collections of thousands of libraries in the United States and around the world using this global catalog.
Privacy Note: When you use a third-party online resource, you are subject to that organization's privacy policies. You can see a list of the policies for most of our online resources here.