Databases A-Z

Unless otherwise noted, these resources are available at all Chicago Public Library locations and from home, school, or work with a Chicago Public Library card.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

ABI/INFORM »
Find articles from a wide range of business publications: from local business magazines to publications focusing on a specific trade or industry to scholarly journals. Over 3,000 publications are covered, including Crain's Chicago Business and the Wall Street Journal.

AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive »
This resource has a new look and a new name: AP Images.

Alt-Press Watch » teen pick
Find newspapers, magazines, and journals representing a wide range of viewpoints from the alternative and independent press. Chicago-based publications in the collection include Catalyst Chicago, Disclosure, In These Times, and the Chicago Reader.

Amazing Animals » kid friendly
From the African bat-eared fox to the zebrafish, find concise descriptions of over one thousand animal species, including what they eat, where they live, and more. Amazing Animals is recommended for elementary school students or anyone needing clear photographs and quick facts about common or exotic species.

America: History & Life »
This database offers short descriptions of magazine and journal articles on United States and Canadian history from prehistory to the present.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center, Sulzer Regional Library, and Woodson Regional Library.

American National Biography »
American National Biography Online contains substantial biographical articles on more than 18,000 deceased American men and women from all eras and walks of life as well as selected non-nationals (for example, Casimir Pulaski) who had a profound influence on American history. All biographical articles include evaluative bibliographies that guide the reader in further research. American National Biography also includes articles from The Oxford Companion to American History.

Ancestry Library Edition »
Ancestry Library Edition contains U.S. and U.K. Census images and indexes, the Social Security Death Index, World War I draft registration cards, Civil War service records, immigration records, and many more sources for genealogical research.
Available at all Chicago Public Library locations.

AP Images » kid friendly teen pick
AP Images contains newspaper photographs and stock images distributed by the Associated Press (AP). While the majority of the database covers recent events, the whole of the twentieth century is represented, with many images from the nineteenth century as well. The database also includes newspaper graphs and charts (under the "Graphics" tab), recent audio clips, and publicity photographs and graphics.

ArchiveGrid »
Identify personal papers, organizational records, and more at archives throughout the world, including those at local institutions such as the Evanston Historical Society, the Newberry Library, and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Available at all Chicago Public Library locations.

Art Index/Art Index Retrospective »
Art Index/Art Index Retrospective allows patrons to find articles of interest back to 1929 in the substantial print journal collection of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

ARTbibliographies Modern »
Use this index to find journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews of interest in the print collections of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center. The index covers all forms of modern and contemporary art with entries dating back to 1974.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Auto Repair Manuals (ChiltonLibrary.com) »
Find service bulletins, recalls, maintenance information, and repair instructions for cars, trucks, vans, and SUVs. Based on the popular Chilton auto repair manuals.

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals »
Use this database to locate articles of interest on architecture and design in the Harold Washington Library Center's excellent collection of architectural journals and magazines. Coverage begins in the 1930s (with selected journals indexed back to the 1860s).

Biography & Genealogy Master Index »
Use this database to find biographies and profiles of persons in reference books in the library's print collections. The database covers both contemporary and historical figures of all nationalities.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center, Sulzer Regional Library, and Woodson Regional Library.

Biography Resource Center » teen pick
Biography Resource Center contains full-text biographical information on 340,000 people from all periods of history and from every geographical region. The database includes articles from numerous biographical encyclopedias and reference works. Also included are articles from selected magazines, providing supplemental information on recent events in a person's life. Search for information on a particular person by name or create lists of people based on their nationality, ethnicity, occupation, gender, and more.

Black Newspapers »
Search for news articles from a number of African American papers, including the Afro-American (Baltimore/Washington D.C.), Chicago Defender, Los Angeles Sentinel, Michigan Chronicle (Detroit), and New York Amsterdam News.

Booklist Online »
Booklist Online offers expert advice on great reads in both fiction and nonfiction from the editors and reviewers of Booklist. Visitors can read the latest reviews and columns, search for reviews based on a number of criteria (topic, audience, date, "starred review," etc.), or use the "find similar titles" feature to find recommendations for further reading based on a title they've enjoyed in the past.

Books in Print »
Find publisher-verified information on all U.S. books in print. Books in Print contains in-print and forthcoming books, and books declared out-of-print or out-of-stock since 1979.

Business & Company Resource Center »
This resource is no longer available. For business directory information, use Hoover's Company Records (larger companies) or ReferenceUSA. For articles from business-focused newspapers, magazines, and journals, use ABI/INFORM. For short descriptions of industries, use Industry Overviews.

CAMIO (Catalog of Art Images Online) »
Search for images of fine and decorative art from museums.

Chicago Defender Historical Archive »
Search the complete text, including display and classified advertisements, of this nationally significant African American newspaper. The database covers the years 1910 to 1975, and work continues to incorporate earlier issues back to the paper's beginnings in 1905. (To search for articles appearing in this paper from 1999 to the present, use Black Newspapers or Illinois Newsstand.)

Chicago Sun-Times/SouthtownStar »
Find articles from the Chicago Sun-Times from 1986 to the present and the SouthtownStar (formerly the Daily Southtown) back to 2004.

Chicago Tribune (1985 to present) »
Search the full-text of all articles in all editions and sections (including the RedEye) of the Chicago Tribune. Coverage is 1985 to present.

Chicago Tribune Historical Archive »
The Chicago Tribune Historical Archive allows users to search the complete text of the Chicago Tribune, including classified and display advertisements, from 1849 to 1986.

Columbia Granger's World of Poetry »
This index to poetry in anthologies and volumes of collected or selected works allows users to find poems by author, title, first line, last line, or subject. The database also includes many full-text poems, poet biographies, commentaries on individual poems, a glossary, and more. Use this resource to track down the full text of an individual poem, to find poems on a specific subject, or to explore a particular poem or poet in greater depth.

Contemporary Authors »
Contemporary Authors offers information on the lives and writings of current authors as well as those no longer publishing but who were active within the last 50 years.

CQ Researcher plus Archive » teen pick
CQ Researcher offers authoritative background essays on the topics making today's headlines. In addition, older reports going back to 1923 offer users the ability to track how debates have changed over time. This is an excellent starting place for students working on assignments requiring them to take a position on a topic or for anyone wanting straightforward overviews of the issues confronting our society.

CQ Weekly »
CQ Weekly provides detailed updates on the activities of the U.S. Congress. Written for laypeople (as opposed to political insiders), the weekly online magazine helps readers keep up with the latest legislative proposals as well as the voting records of their legislators. Historical coverage is available back through 1983.

CultureGrams » kid friendly teen pick
This reference database contains information on countries and territories with particular emphasis on customs, lifestyles, and social conditions. The World Edition covers over 200 countries and territories and is aimed at junior high and high school students and adults. Younger students will find age-appropriate information in the Kids Edition (which covers 78 countries), States Edition (which covers the 50 states), and Provinces Edition (which covers Canada's 13 provinces and territories). The database also contains representative recipes for all countries as well as short biographies of famous citizens. Collections of photographs are available for some countries.

Design & Applied Arts Index »
Use this index to find articles of interest in the print journal collections of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center. The index covers over five hundred journals from 1973 to the present in all areas of design, from fashion to Web design.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos » en español kid friendly
The Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos offers encyclopedia articles in Spanish for students in grades two through five. The encyclopedia's list of articles may be browsed in English as well as Spanish, though the articles are entirely in Spanish. (For an English-language encyclopedia for students in grades two through five, use World Book Kids.)

ERIC »
ERIC is a guide to research published in the field of education. Search more than one million short descriptions of journal articles and other education-related publications from 1966 to the present.

Ethnic NewsWatch » teen pick
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text database of newspapers, magazines, and journals from the ethnic, minority, and native press. The database includes over one million articles from over 250 publications in English and Spanish covering a wide range of current and historical topics.

Fiction Connection » teen pick
Fiction Connection helps readers find fiction titles of interest. Users can browse by topic, genre, setting, character, location, or time frame. Or they can use the search function to find titles that meet their reading interests in several areas (for example, mysteries set in Chicago) or to find books similar to a favorite title.

Film & Television Literature Index »
Use this index to locate articles by subject, author, title, etc. in the print magazine and journal collections of the Harold Washington Library Center. The database tracks 300 publications from cover to cover, with selective coverage of an additional 300 titles. For some titles, coverage begins as early as the 1940s.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

FirstSearch »
Search a wide range of databases from the FirstSearch service, including ArticleFirst, ClasePeriodica, PapersFirst, Proceedings, and more.

Gale Virtual Reference Library »
Search a collection of over one hundred reference titles in a variety of subject areas such as business and careers, education, fashion, food, film & television, geography, history, law & government, literature, medicine, philosophy, psychology, religion, science & technology, and sociology. Titles for young people as well as for adults are included.

Government Printing Office Monthly Catalog »
The Government Printing Office (GPO) Monthly Catalog helps users find publications of the U.S. government, including congressional reports, hearings, debates, and records; materials produced by the federal courts; and documents issued by other federal agencies. The database includes only short descriptions of each document, though most are available for use in the Government Publications Department at the Harold Washington Library Center and many are available for free online. Coverage begins in 1976.

HeritageQuest Online »
HeritageQuest is a collection of digitized images and indexes that provide genealogists, historians, and other researchers a huge array of materials for exploring family and local history.

History Database Search » teen pick
History Database Search is a gateway to six separate databases (African-American History Online, American History Online, American Indian History Online, American Women's History Online, Ancient & Medieval History Online, and Modern World History Online) that provide background and supplemental information for the study of history. Search all six at once or link to individual databases. Each database includes articles from numerous reference works; primary sources (with introductory essays); biographies; timelines; images; and maps, charts, and tables.

Hoover's Company Records »
Find brief information on more than 40,000 public and private companies. Hoover's Company Records delivers information on a company's location, summary financials, top competitors, top officers, and more.

IHS Specs & Standards »
Search and view standards from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Underwriters Laboratories.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Illinois Catalog »
Illinois Catalog is a catalog of items held by libraries throughout Illinois. Search the holdings of libraries in Chicago, Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, or all of Illinois. Use this database to discover print, audiovisual, and electronic resources beyond the Chicago Public Library collection.

Illinois Newsstand »
Find articles from Illinois newspapers including the Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, Daily Herald, Extra, La Raza, Journal Star (Peoria), Pantagraph (Bloomington), and State Journal Register (Springfield), plus selected coverage of other regional sources.

Illinois Public Records »
Find information on new homeowners, new businesses, foreclosures, and bankruptcy filings in Chicago-area counties as well as selected other counties in the state.

Illinois Sanborn Maps »
Illinois Sanborn Maps offers digitized versions of a huge number of fire insurance maps for the state of Illinois, including over one hundred volumes for the city of Chicago. TIP: If looking for a location in Chicago or a nearby suburb, start with the Index to Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of Chicago and take note of the series (1894-1897 or 1905-1951) and volumes for the neighborhood or suburb you're looking for.

Informe » en español
Find articles from a wide variety of Spanish-language journals, magazines, and newspapers.

International Index to Music Periodicals »
The International Index to Music Periodicals allows users to find articles on a wide variety of topics in music in the strong print journal holdings of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

International Index to the Performing Arts »
The International Index to the Performing Arts helps users find articles by subject, author, etc. in the print journal collections of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center. Subjects covered include dance, film, television, drama, theater, musical theater, circus performance, opera, pantomime, puppetry, magic, and performance art.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Issues & Controversies » teen pick
Issues & Controversies presents overviews of current public policy issues and other controversial topics. This resource is a great place to start for students working on persuasive essays or debates or anyone wanting authoritative background information on the issues making today’s headlines.

JSTOR »
Browse or search older issues of over 700 scholarly journals in a wide range of subject areas. Coverage begins with the first issue, though recent issues are not included. Recent issues of some of these journals are available in ProQuest Magazines & Journals.
Available at all Chicago Public Library locations.

JuniorQuest Magazines » teen pick
JuniorQuest Magazines offers high school students the opportunity to search a set of over 100 newspapers, magazines, and journals specifically chosen for their research needs. Most entries include the complete text of the article.

KidQuest Magazines » kid friendly
KidQuest Magazines is an online library designed to meet the research needs of elementary and middle school students. It offers complete full-text articles from 85 age-appropriate magazines and newspapers.

LearningExpressLibrary » kid friendly teen pick
LearningExpressLibrary offers online practice tests, review courses, and online books to help users improve their math or writing skills, prepare to take a placement or certification test, or embark on a job search. Some of the tests covered include the ACT, ASVAB, corrections officer, GED, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, nurses' aide, postal worker (473 battery), real estate broker/salesperson, SAT, TOEFL, and U.S. citizenship test. Spanish language instructions and explanations are available for many review courses.
When registering, use your library card number as your username.

LexisNexis Statistical »
LexisNexis Statistical helps one find statistics on a wide variety of topics in publications from the U.S. government, state governments, major international intergovernmental organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, and universities. Microfiche of most publications are available at the Harold Washington Library Center, though many publications are available online.
Available at all Chicago Public Library locations.

Literary Reference Center » teen pick
Literary Reference Center helps users deepen their understanding of literature through a wide variety of information on authors, their works, and literary topics. Use this resource to find author biographies, plot summaries, character information, critical essays, book reviews, and overviews of literary topics. Search by keyword or, if unsure of the spelling of an author's name or title, browse lists of authors and works.

MEDLINE »
Search short descriptions of articles in the biomedical research literature. Primarily aimed at doctors and medical researchers, MEDLINE allows users to identify articles by subject in over 5,000 journals in medicine and related fields.

MedlinePlus » teen pick
MedlinePlus in Spanish » en español
Aimed at the general public, MedlinePlus offers answers to everyday (and not so everyday) health questions from trusted sources. Find overviews of conditions and diseases, information on staying healthy, drug information, the latest news from the world of medicine, and more.

MLA International Bibliography »
The MLA International Bibliography contains short descriptions of scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics and helps users find relevant materials in the Harold Washington Library Center's outstanding collection of books and journals.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Morningstar »
Morningstar provides comprehensive analysis opinions for over 1,800 stocks and 2,000 mutual funds. It also provides data reports for over 20,000 companies. Investors use the stock screener to help them choose stocks and funds and the portfolio X-ray to manage the diversity of their portfolios. The Help & Education section offers an overview of how to use the site as well as numerous tutorials on investing.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center, Sulzer Regional Library, and Woodson Regional Library.

Music Index »
Music Index allows one to search short descriptions of articles from over 800 music periodicals dating back to 1975. Use this database to find articles on both classical and popular music in the print journal and magazine collections of the Visual and Performing Arts Department of the Harold Washington Library Center.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

New Book of Popular Science » teen pick
Find detailed introductions to topics in science in this science encyclopedia for students in grades six and up. Additional features of the site include news articles, projects, biographies, games, weekly constellation maps, and more.

New York Times »
Find articles from the New York Times going back to 1980. Included are articles from the New York Times Review of Books and New York Times Magazine.

NoveList » teen pick
This database, which contains descriptions and reviews of over 125,000 works of fiction, helps readers find new works to explore based on their favorite titles, authors, subjects, and genres.

NoveList K-8 »
People of all ages can find picture books, easy readers, chapter books, or books for teens by picking what types of people should be in the story, what happens in the story, and where and when the story takes place. Users can look up a book they've enjoyed in the past and find others similar to it. NoveList K-8 also includes lists of recommended titles or titles of a particular type.

Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre » en español teen pick
La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre offers Spanish-speaking students in grades six and up as well as adults a general-purpose encyclopedia. Included are timelines and an atlas as well as an "Aula de español" that provides learning activities for students of the Spanish language.

Oxford African American Studies Center »
Oxford African American Studies Center offers background and overview information on African American culture and history through encyclopedia articles, images, maps, and charts from reference works such as Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience (2nd ed.), Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895, and Black Women in America (2nd ed.), among others.

Oxford Art Online »
Find articles and definitions from several sources: Grove Art Online (based on the 34 volume Dictionary of Art and regularly updated), Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Scholarly and authoritative, this resource is a great place for background information on a wide variety of topics in art.

Oxford English Dictionary »
The Oxford English Dictionary is an authoritative source for definitions of English words and phrases as they have been used over time and throughout the world. Descriptive rather than prescriptive, it aims to present the English language as it is actually used rather than how it ought to be used. Entries include pronunciations (using the International Phonetic Alphabet), etymologies, definitions, and quotations from actual sources.

Oxford Music Online »
From scholarly encyclopedia articles to quick definitions, this database is a great resource for people who are studying music or who simply want a deeper understanding of the music that they listen to. Find material from The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (updated regularly), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.

Photofact Online »
Photofact Online offers repair schematics and original manufacturers' manuals for a wide range of consumer electronics. While the focus of the product is on televisions, including LCD and plasma televisions, it also includes information on older radios, stereos, car audio systems, and VCRs.

Promt »
Find information on companies, products, and markets taken from business and trade journals, industry newsletters, newspapers, market research studies, news releases, and brokerage and investment reports.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

ProQuest Magazines & Journals »
ProQuest Magazines & Journals (Research Library) helps one find magazine and journal articles on a wide range of topics. It covers over 2,600 magazines and journals; the complete text of the articles is available for about 60 percent of these. Included are popular magazines, magazines for professionals of all types, and scholarly journals. The database includes both magazines written for children and those for adults. Find the latest news about a famous movie actor or the most recent research on quasars.

ProQuest Newspapers » teen pick
Find articles from over 35 newspapers, including both local and national titles. Papers covered include the Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Guardian, and New York Times. Coverage varies by title, with full text for some titles available as far back as the 1980s.

ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source »
Find complete, full-text information from leading nursing and related publications.

ProQuest One Search »
Search a large collection of magazine and newspaper articles—all in one step. ProQuest One Search searches magazines and journals from the ABI/INFORM, Alt-Press Watch, Ethnic NewsWatch, ProQuest Magazines & Journals, and ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source databases as well as all newspapers covered by ProQuest Newspapers.

ReferenceUSA »
ReferenceUSA provides listings for over 14 million U.S. businesses and 210 million U.S. residences. Business listings include name, address, phone number, sales volume, contact name, employee size, and business description. Search by business name, location, industry, size, and more.

Science Online » teen pick
Use this database to find supplemental information for the study of science. Find encyclopedia articles and definitions, charts and illustrations, experiments, biographies, and timelines.

SIRS Discoverer » kid friendly
SIRS Discoverer offers magazine and newspaper articles as well as other documents specially selected for elementary school students. Also included is an almanac, encyclopedia articles, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.

SIRS Researcher » teen pick
SIRS Researcher provides magazine and newspaper articles as well as other documents on social, scientific, health, historic, economic, political, and global issues specifically chosen for upper elementary and high school students.

Spanish Books in Print »
Find information on Spanish-language books from more than 24 countries and 5,000 publishers. The database includes information on both in-print and out-of-print books as well as audio and video titles.

Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage »
This collection of online reference works offers company directory and financial and investment information from numerous Standard & Poor's publications, including the Bond Guide; Industry Surveys; Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives; Security Dealers of North America; and the Stock Reports.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center, Sulzer Regional Library, and Woodson Regional Library.

Ulrich's Periodicals Directory »
Ulrich's Periodicals Directory provides information on serials (magazines, newspapers, journals, etc.) published throughout the world. The database, based on information supplied by publishers, gives the publisher's name and contact information, circulation figures, price, intended audience, advertising rates, contact information for rights and permissions, and more.
Available at the Harold Washington Library Center.

Wall Street Journal »
Search for articles from the nation's financial newspaper of record. The database includes articles from 1984 to the present.

WilsonSelectPlus »
WilsonSelectPlus provides the complete text of articles from over 2,300 popular magazines, professional publications, and scholarly journals.

World Book » kid friendly teen pick
World Book Online Reference Center offers more than 25,000 encyclopedia articles, as well as an online atlas, an online dictionary, and more. Recommended for students in grade three and up and adults.

World Book Kids » kid friendly
Find short introductions to thousands of topics as well as maps, pictures, activities, word definitions, and more. Based on the World Book Student Discovery Encyclopedia, this online encyclopedia is a great fit for students in grades two through five.

WorldCat »
WorldCat is a catalog of items held by libraries across the United States and around the world. Each item description links to a list of "Libraries Worldwide" that own the item. Use this database to discover print, audiovisual, and electronic resources beyond the Chicago Public Library collection.