All resources are accessible in any of our San Mateo County Libraries.  To access library resources from home, you will need your library card number. To apply for a library card online click here.  For more information about accessing these resources from home, click here.

ICON LEGEND
	Free web resource accessible to anyone, anytime, anywhere!
	Home access for San Mateo County Library jurisdiction residence only with a library card.
	Home access to any San Mateo County resident with a library card.
	In-library use only due to licensing agreements.

Automotive & Consumer Resources • Auto Repair Reference Center   Step-by-step repair procedures for most major vehicles as far back as 1945.

• Consumer’s Checkbook   Ratings for Bay Area local service companies by a non-profit consumer agency.

Biographies • Biography Resource Center   Biographical information on over 220,000 people from throughout history and around the world.

Books, Reading, & Literature • Books & Authors   Expert book reviews, recommendations and author biographies.

• Cliffs Notes   Summaries and commentary for hundreds of literary classics.

• Literature Resource Center   Biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses for over 120,000 authors from every age and literary discipline.

• Literature Resources from Gale   Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.

• LitFINDER   Thousands of full-text poems, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches.

• NoveList   Tell NoveList what you like to read, and it will suggest similar books you might like! Find new fiction books and authors based on your old favorites.

• NoveList K-8   NoveList K-8 helps children grades K-8, parents, & teachers identify books appropriate for children's reading abilities and interests.

• We Recommend   Staff-recommended good reads, lists of award-winning books, and book review information.

Business, Associations, & Finance • Business & Company Resource Center   Company profiles, brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, and more.

• Encyclopedia of Associations   From the Gale Directory Library access the directory for international, national and regional associations.

• Morningstar Investment Research Center (from home) | (from the library)   Research mutual funds and stocks for investment opportunities.

• Rich’s Guide to California Companies (from home) | (from the library)   Database of over 30,000 Northern California firms with contact names, websites, and email addresses.

• Small Business Resource Center   Complete small business management resources via a combination of periodicals and reference content.

Community/Legal Information • California Building Standards Codes   CA Building Codes, includes Building, Fire, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical.

• California Code   CA law consists of 29 codes covering various subject areas.

• California Courts Self Help Center   Information to help you work better with an attorney, and represent yourself in some legal matters.

• Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (español)   Information to help you in some legal matters. Le ayudará a encontrar ayuda e información, trabajar mejor con un abogado y en algunos asuntos legales le ayudará a representarse a sí mismo.

• Community Information Program   Database of nonprofit and public services available to people who live or work in San Mateo County.

• How to Reach Your Lawmakers   Contact information for local, state, and federal elected officials.

• LegalTrac   Provides indexing for around 1300 titles (and full text for over 100), including major law reviews, legal newspapers, bar association journals, and international legal journals.

• San Mateo County Code   Rules and regulations for a wide variety of situations and issues as handled in San Mateo County.

• West's Encyclopedia of American Law   American legal information on more than 5,000 legal topics.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias • Enciclopedia Estudiantil (español)   Encyclopedia for children with articles on general subjects, people, places, things, and ideas. Enciclopedia para niños con artículos en sujetos generales, personas, lugares, cosas, y ideas.

• Encyclopedia Americana (from home) | (from the library)   Comprehensive General Encyclopedia providing articles on all subjects, full text periodical articles, links to related websites, and an interactive dictionary.

• Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion   Information about clothing, body adornment, and examines the origins of clothing, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress from a variety of historical eras and cultures.

• Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine   Information on alternative and complementary medical practices, recommended therapies for specific disorders and diseases, and medicinal uses for plants and herbs.

• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine   Information on more than 1,600 medical disorders, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and procedures.

• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America   Essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, languages, historical background, and settlement patterns.

• Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (from home) | (from the library)   Based on the full text of the Academic American Encyclopedia, contains 36,000 articles, 15,000 bibliographies, Internet links to 15,000 articles, sound files, an interactive atlas, and an e-zine.

• Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia   Encyclopedia of animal life, describing microscopic animals through primates. Contains color pictures and detailed descriptions.

• New Book of Knowledge (from home) | (from the library)   Provides reference and current events for grades 3 and up. Students can search or browse encyclopedia articles alphabetically or by subject. Also includes projects and experiments, a world history timeline, educational games, and recommended websites.

• Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre (español) (from home) | (from the library)   A Spanish-language encyclopedia containing 15,000 articles, 6,500 photographs and more than 15,000 Internet links. Una enciclopedia que contiene artículos, fotografías y conexiones del Internet.

• Oxford English Dictionary (from home) | (from the library)   The accepted authority and guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of words in the English language.

• West's Encyclopedia of American Law   American legal information on more than 5,000 legal topics.

• World Book Encyclopedia Kids   Easy-to-read articles and a wealth of engaging multimedia, games, science projects, interactive tools, and activities.

• World Book Encyclopedia Student   Multimedia encyclopedia articles, web links, periodical articles, videos, animations, sounds, interactive maps, and more.

eBooks and Audiobooks • California Missions eBooks   Twenty California missions eBooks that can be read online or downloaded.

• Digital Book Library   Downloadable audio and text eBooks (bestsellers, classics, travel guides, biographies, etc.) and downloadable classical music.

• Gale Virtual Reference Library   Reference eBooks about medicine, law, animals, colleges, social studies, and more.

• ManyBooks.net   Freely available public domain eBooks in a variety of text formats designed for a wide variety of e-text readers.

• myilibrary   Downloadable audiobooks fully compatible with iPod, iPod touch, and iPhone, as well as hundreds of other WMA and MP3 devices.

• Project Gutenberg   Freely available public domain eBooks in text and computer-created audio formats.

• Safari Tech Books   The best IT and technology eBooks from the best authors and publishers. Note: The Favorites and Bookmarks features do not currently work in Safari.

• TumbleBooks   Animated talking storybooks for children in English, Spanish, and other languages.

en español • Centro de Ayuda de las Cortes de California (español)   Information to help you in some legal matters. Le ayudará a encontrar ayuda e información, trabajar mejor con un abogado y en algunos asuntos legales le ayudará a representarse a sí mismo.

• Enciclopedia Estudiantil (español)   Encyclopedia for children with articles on general subjects, people, places, things, and ideas. Enciclopedia para niños con artículos en sujetos generales, personas, lugares, cosas, y ideas.

• Informe (español)   Popular Spanish-language magazines. Revistas populares en español.

• MedLine Plus (español)   Health Information in Spanish. Información de Salud:  sobre diversas condiciones, enfermedades y bienstar, pruebas médicas, síntomas, lesiones y cirugías.

• Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre (español) (from home) | (from the library)   A Spanish-language encyclopedia containing 15,000 articles, 6,500 photographs and more than 15,000 Internet links. Una enciclopedia que contiene artículos, fotografías y conexiones del Internet.

• TumbleBooks (español)   Animated talking storybooks for children in English, Spanish, and other languages. Libros animados para niños en español y en otros idiomas.

Genealogy • Ancestry Library Edition   Resources for genealogical and historical research, including military, court, census, birth, marriage, and death records, and more.

• HeritageQuest (from home) | (from the library)   Resources for genealogical and historical research, including the U.S. Federal Census, Freedman’s bank records, the PERSI index, and more.

Guides & Tutorials • Custom Guide   Online software and computer tutorials. Topics include Microsoft Office, Windows, Mac OS, Internet Explorer and much more.

Health & Medicine • Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine   Information on alternative and complementary medical practices, recommended therapies for specific disorders and diseases, and medicinal uses for plants and herbs.

• Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine   Information on more than 1,600 medical disorders, including causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatments, and procedures.

• Health and Wellness Resource Center   Health and medical information including an encyclopedia, drug information, and alternative treatments.

• MedLine Plus   Health information from National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine.

• MedLine Plus (español)   Health Information in Spanish. Información de Salud:  sobre diversas condiciones, enfermedades y bienstar, pruebas médicas, síntomas, lesiones y cirugías.

History & Countries • America the Beautiful (from home) | (from the library)   State history and facts, information about Native American tribes, explorers, presidents, and historical places and events.

• California Missions eBooks   Twenty California missions eBooks that can be read online or downloaded.

• CultureGrams (from home) | (from the library)   Cultural information about 182 countries and the U.S. states, including people, land, customs, lifestyle, and recipes.

• Encyclopedia Americana (from home) | (from the library)   Comprehensive General Encyclopedia providing articles on all subjects, full text periodical articles, links to related websites, and an interactive dictionary.

• Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion   Information about clothing, body adornment, and examines the origins of clothing, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress from a variety of historical eras and cultures.

• Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (from home) | (from the library)   Based on the full text of the Academic American Encyclopedia, contains 36,000 articles, 15,000 bibliographies, Internet links to 15,000 articles, sound files, an interactive atlas, and an e-zine.

• History Resource Center: U.S.   Articles, primary sources, and scholarly analysis about United States history.

• History Resource Center: World   Articles, primary sources, and scholarly analysis about world history.

• Middle Ages Reference Library   Historical and biographical essays about the different civilizations and peoples of Medieval times.

• New Book of Knowledge (from home) | (from the library)   Provides reference and current events for grades 3 and up. Students can search or browse encyclopedia articles alphabetically or by subject. Also includes projects and experiments, a world history timeline, educational games, and recommended websites.

• U*X*L American Decades   Covers 20th-century events and social history beginning in 1900 and ending in 1999.

Homework, Education, & Testing • America the Beautiful (from home) | (from the library)   State history and facts, information about Native American tribes, explorers, presidents, and historical places and events.

• Biography Resource Center   Biographical information on over 220,000 people from throughout history and around the world.

• California Missions eBooks   Twenty California missions eBooks that can be read online or downloaded.

• Cliffs Notes   Summaries and commentary for hundreds of literary classics.

• College Blue Book   The definitive guide to thousands of 2- and 4-year schools in the U.S. and Canada, their programs, degrees, and financial aid sources.

• CultureGrams (from home) | (from the library)   Cultural information about 182 countries and the U.S. states, including people, land, customs, lifestyle, and recipes.

• Enciclopedia Estudiantil (español)   Encyclopedia for children with articles on general subjects, people, places, things, and ideas. Enciclopedia para niños con artículos en sujetos generales, personas, lugares, cosas, y ideas.

• Encyclopedia Americana (from home) | (from the library)   Comprehensive General Encyclopedia providing articles on all subjects, full text periodical articles, links to related websites, and an interactive dictionary.

• Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion   Information about clothing, body adornment, and examines the origins of clothing, the development of fabrics and technologies, and the social meanings of dress from a variety of historical eras and cultures.

• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America   Essays on specific culture groups in the United States, emphasizing religions, holidays, customs, languages, historical background, and settlement patterns.

• Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia (from home) | (from the library)   Based on the full text of the Academic American Encyclopedia, contains 36,000 articles, 15,000 bibliographies, Internet links to 15,000 articles, sound files, an interactive atlas, and an e-zine.

• Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia   Encyclopedia of animal life, describing microscopic animals through primates. Contains color pictures and detailed descriptions.

• History Resource Center: U.S.   Articles, primary sources, and scholarly analysis about United States history.

• History Resource Center: World   Articles, primary sources, and scholarly analysis about world history.

• Homework Help Websites   Useful websites to help you with common homework topics.

• Internet Search Tools   Quick link to the most common search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com.

• Kids InfoBits   Homework help resources for beginning elementary school; also includes 75 popular kids magazines like Highlights and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

• LearnATest   Practice taking tests online, like the SAT, ACT, civil service, law enforcement, EMS, postal services, U.S. citizenship, and more. When creating your account, you must use your library card number as your username.

• Literature Resource Center   Biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses for over 120,000 authors from every age and literary discipline.

• Literature Resources from Gale   Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.

• LitFINDER   Thousands of full-text poems, short stories, essays, plays, and speeches.

• Live Homework Help   Connect live with an expert tutor for homework help in English & Spanish, seven days a week from 1 PM – 12 AM. Ages K - Adult.

• Middle Ages Reference Library   Historical and biographical essays about the different civilizations and peoples of Medieval times.

• New Book of Knowledge (from home) | (from the library)   Provides reference and current events for grades 3 and up. Students can search or browse encyclopedia articles alphabetically or by subject. Also includes projects and experiments, a world history timeline, educational games, and recommended websites.

• New Book of Popular Science (from home) | (from the library)   Science information about animals, plants, math, astronomy, chemistry, and more.

• Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre (español) (from home) | (from the library)   A Spanish-language encyclopedia containing 15,000 articles, 6,500 photographs and more than 15,000 Internet links. Una enciclopedia que contiene artículos, fotografías y conexiones del Internet.

• Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center   Hot topics database of pro and con articles and statistics on many current social issues.

• Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans   Over 4,200 sources of education-related financial aid and awards at all levels of study.

• Science Resource Center   Extensive information about earth, life, and physical sciences.

• Student Resource Center Gold   Guided homework help with biographies, literature, history, health, science, and multicultural studies.

• U*X*L American Decades   Covers 20th-century events and social history beginning in 1900 and ending in 1999.

• World Book Encyclopedia Kids   Easy-to-read articles and a wealth of engaging multimedia, games, science projects, interactive tools, and activities.

• World Book Encyclopedia Student   Multimedia encyclopedia articles, web links, periodical articles, videos, animations, sounds, interactive maps, and more.

Language Learning • Mángo Languages   Mángo is an online language-learning system that can help you learn languages like Spanish, French, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Mandarin Chinese, Greek, Italian, Russian & more.

Library Resources & Services • Ask Us a Question by E-mail   Email your question to one of our librarians and receive your answer within two days.

• Ask Us a Question by live online chat (AskNow)   Get live help from a librarian 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• California Libraries Catalog   Search the library catalogs of hundreds of California public, school, academic, law, health and other libraries (more information).

• Internet Search Tools   Quick link to the most common search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Ask.com.

• Librarians’ Internet Index of Websites   Searchable, annotated subject directory of thousands of librarian-selected Internet resources.

• Live Homework Help   Connect live with an expert tutor for homework help in English & Spanish, seven days a week from 1 PM – 12 AM. Ages K - Adult.

• Other Area Libraries   Other libraries within driving distance of San Mateo County.

• San Mateo County Library Catalog   Catalog of materials (books, DVDs, CDs, eBooks, books-on-CD, and more) in the public libraries of San Mateo County.

• WorldCat Libraries Catalog   Search the library catalogs of thousands of worldwide public, school, academic, law, health and other libraries.

Magazines & Newspapers • Academic Onefile (includes Expanded Academic)   Academic and research articles from scholarly journals in arts and humanities, social sciences, science and technology, etc.

• Full Text Newspapers   A selection of full text articles from newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News, and the Contra Costa Times.

• General Onefile (formerly Infotrac)   Full-text articles for 5,800 popular magazines like Time, Newsweek, and People.

• Informe (español)   Popular Spanish-language magazines. Revistas populares en español.

• Kids InfoBits   Homework help resources for beginning elementary school; also includes 75 popular kids magazines like Highlights and Sports Illustrated for Kids.

Science & Technology • Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia   Encyclopedia of animal life, describing microscopic animals through primates. Contains color pictures and detailed descriptions.

• New Book of Popular Science (from home) | (from the library)   Science information about animals, plants, math, astronomy, chemistry, and more.

• Safari Tech Books   The best IT and technology eBooks from the best authors and publishers. Note: The Favorites and Bookmarks features do not currently work in Safari.

• Science Resource Center   Extensive information about earth, life, and physical sciences.

Statistics • American FactFinder   Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data.

• California Statistical Abstract   A compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State of California.

Subject Specific Searching Focus your search to professional and industry specific journals in the following fields: • Agriculture Collection   Nearly 200 professional journals focused on agriculture and its related fields.

• Communications and Mass Media Collection   More than 100 professional journals focused on all aspects of the communications field.

• Computer Database   Computer-related product introductions, news and reviews in areas such as hardware, software, electronics, engineering, communications and the application of technology.

• Criminal Justice Collection   150 journals to aid professionals or those studying to be a lawyer, law enforcement officer, paralegal, or a career in Homeland Security.

• Culinary Arts Collection   150 of the major cooking and nutrition magazines with thousands of searchable recipes, restaurant reviews, and industry information.

• Environmental Studies and Policy Collection   Nearly 200 journals provide access to multiple viewpoints of this field; from the scientific community to governmental policy makers, and corporate interests.

• Fine Arts and Music Collection   100 full-text journals support research in areas such as drama, music, art history, and filmmaking.

• Gardening, Landscape and Horticulture Collection   Nearly 50 journals relating to practical aspects as well as the scientific theory of horticulture studies.

• Home Improvement Collection   Nearly 100 home improvement focused titles for hobbyists and professional carpenters, includes architectural techniques, tool and material selection, zoning requirements, and more.

• Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Collection   500 industry journals provide broad coverage and specialized aspects of the industry - including cultural aspects of travel, leisure activities, economic aspects of tourism, and more.

• INFOTRAC Diversity Studies Collection   Journal articles on cultural differences, contributions, and influences in our global community.

• INFOTRAC Educators 200   200 full text journals include topics such as the latest technological developments relating to education, instruction and coaching breakthroughs, child health and psychology.

• INFOTRAC Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Issues Collection   Journal coverage on such topics as gender studies, sexual behavior surveys, family and marital issues, conversion therapy, gay and lesbian rights, homophobia, health aspects and more.

• INFOTRAC General Science Collection   Over 200 popular science journals offering in-depth information for general scientific research.

• INFOTRAC Information Science & Library Issues Collection   Nearly 100 leading industry journals provide current and accurate information for the information professional.

• INFOTRAC Insurance & Liability Collection   Nearly 40 journals that take a broad view of the insurance and liability industry, covering such topics as labor relations, mortgage banking, legal issues, and more.

• INFOTRAC Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Collection   Collection includes over 60 titles with topics such as proven treatment techniques, experimental research theses and much more.

• INFOTRAC Pop Culture Collection   Over 100 full-text periodicals provide resource material for any social sciences, history, art, or liberal arts researcher.

• INFOTRAC Religion & Philosophy Collection   250 magazines and academic journals covering religion and the related areas of philosophy, archaeology and anthropology.

• INFOTRAC Small Business Collection   Articles from 250 business-related periodicals.

• INFOTRAC US History Collection   Coverage of current thought on events in U.S. history as well as scholarly work established in the field.

• INFOTRAC Vocations, Careers & Technical Education Collection   Nearly 400 vocational journals to explore; from general career guides to highly specialized industry journals.

• INFOTRAC War & Terrorism Collection   Collection of journals for students of history, social sciences, and current events, providing insight into conflicts and their multiple causes.

• INFOTRAC World History Collection   Over 40 journals provide balanced coverage of current thought and events in World History, as well as scholarly work being established in the field.

• Military and Intelligence Database   Over 400 journals covering all aspects of the past and current state of military affairs.

• Nursing and Allied Health Collection   Nearly 400 titles cover all aspects of the Nursing profession -- from direct patient care to health care administration.

• Psychology Collection   200 periodicals that explore the study of the mind, emotions and how the human mind develops -- and diminishes -- over time.