Research Resources
Your library subscribes to many online databases ranging from magazine and journal subject indexes to dictionaries and encyclopedias, and an online car repair manual. Below is a categorized list of both premium and free databases which may help you in your research.
Need Help? In the library, ask at the Reference Desk. Not in the library? You can still Ask a Librarian.
Note: Databases listed with a plus (+) before the link must be viewed in the library.
Categories
Libraries and Related (High Profile Libraries, library catalog system...)
Magazines, Journals, & Newspapers (Full-text Articles, Journals, Newspapers)
Business and Careers/Jobs (Company Profiles, Employment, Finance, Investment)
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias (Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and some special purpose databases)
Education (Education Journals, College and Financial Aid Information, Summer Camps)
Genealogy & Local History (NYS Genealogical Information, Saratoga History, ...)
Grants (Monetary grants, research funding, non-profit assistance, etc...)
Health (Diseases, Prevention, Treatment,...)
How-to Manuals (Car Repair Manual, New York State's Driver Manual and Study Guide)
Language & Literature (Book Reviews, Reader Links, English Language Assistance, ...)
Law & Government (Consumer Law, Patent Law, State Government, ...)
Phone Books National coverage of both business (yellow) and residential (white) pages. Mailing information, phone numbers.
Tax Forms (Web Sites for Federal and State Tax Forms and Publications)
Libraries and Related
| CaDiLaC |
Capital District Library Council provides access to a few of their member libraries. |
| NY State Library |
The New York State Library is part of the Office of Cultural Education, within the New York State Education Department. Since its establishment in 1818 the State Library has been a repository for the official publications of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, commissions, public authorities, and other agencies of the State government. The Library has three major components: The Research Library, The Talking Book and Braille Library, and the Division of Library Development. (Taken from this site's 'about' page.) |
| Library of Congress |
The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. It is also the largest library in the world, with more than 120 million items. The collections include books, sound recordings, motion pictures, photographs, maps, and manuscripts. |
| LibraryResearch.com |
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts |
Magazines, Journals & Newspapers
| Research Library (Through ProQuest) |
Search magazines and journals for coverage of a broad range of subjects including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests.
Coverage: 1971 - present |
| EBSCO MasterFile Premier |
Purchase of this product has been funded in part by NOVEL. MasterFile Select is a list of databases that search magazines, journals and newspapers grouped by subject area. Included in the periodical titles are Business Week, Newsweek, Smithsonian, and Library Journal. |
| ProQuest Newspapers |
Full text of 300+ U.S. and international news sources. Includes coverage of 150+ major U.S. and international newspapers (such as the Times of London and hundreds of other sources and wires), plus local papers (such as The Times Union [Albany] the Gannett Newspapers) and historical Black newspapers. Coverage varies. |
| New York Times Historical File through (ProQuest) |
The New York Times (1851-2004) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. However, there is always a three-year lag. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage includes: editorials and letters to the editor; obituaries and death notices; birth and marriage announcements; historical photos; classifieds and display advertisements. |
- National Newspaper Index/NNI
- New York State Newspapers
- Custom Newspapers
- Informe
|
These four databases are from the NOVEL project of the New York State Library. They are all newspaper indexes, and together they cover a wide range and scope of newspapers in the country. |
| Country Watch |
Up-to-date information about and news from the countries of the world. Includes maps and articles from local newspapers. |
| (+) Consumer Reports |
Search for magazine articles, reviews and ratings of appliances and household goods, etc. Available online at some designated computers near the Reference Desk on the second floor. Library Use Only. |
| General Science Collection |
Provided by NOVEL; search a myriad of scientific journals. |
| (+) Access NewspaperARCHIVE |
Historical newspapers from around the world. (NOT New York papers!) View, save and print full-page newspapers dating from 1759 to 1977. Restricted to use within the library. |
| Infotrac Junior from GALE provided by NOVEL |
Over 100 magazines and reference books to help middle and junior high school students complete research assignments. Some of the magazines and journals included are Newsweek, Time, People Weekly, and Sports Illustrated. Find 300 full color Rand McNally maps The Tool Box button takes you to a page of information on how to put together a report. |
| EBSCO Science Reference Center provided by NOVEL |
Science Reference Center supports middle and high school science curriculums, including biology, chemistry, earth, space, life, physical, and environmental sciences, health and medicine, science in society, science as inquiry, history of science, technology, scientists, and wildlife. |
Business
| ProQuest's Business Databases |
Need to know anything about a business or corporation? This information source will give information from economics, business management and practice, international and local coverage, industry news, marketing trends, finance, insurance, transportation, construction, and much, much more. Taking information from THREE database sources (ABI/INFORM Dateline 1995-current; ABI/INFORM Global; ABI/INFORM Trade and Industry: 1971-current), this source comprises a huge amount of information into one single source for your convenience. |
| Reference USA |
Detailed information on 12 million businesses and 120 million households. Business information includes executive names, number of employees, credit ratings, SIC code, and more. Search using whatever information you have, even if it is incomplete. |
| Business & Company Resource Center |
The Business & Company Resource Center (BCRC) is provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. BCRC provides business, company, and industry content in the following areas: Periodical articles, news articles, and press releases. Detailed information for domestic and international companies and associations, including information on corporate hierarchical structures. Company financials and earning estimates. Investment reports. Corporate chronologies and company histories, and more...List of Sources |
| Thomas Register |
Thomas Register is a comprehensive online resource for finding companies and products manufactured in North America. You can search this free Web site by Product or Service, Company Name or Brand Name. Helpful Search Tips and a Site Demo that gives step-by-step directions, makes this site user friendly. |
| EBSCO MasterFile Premier |
Purchase of this product has been funded in part by NOVEL. Included in its over 2,700 periodical titles are Business Week, Newsweek, Smithsonian, and Library Journal. Title List |
| NY State's JobZone |
NYS Department of Labor's resource for job opportunities. |
| Job Central |
A national job search website to take the place of America's Job Bank. |
| CareerOneStop |
The CareerOneStop, including America's Career InfoNet provides job seekers with career information and business and economic developers access to labor market information, business services, and skills competency information. America's Service Locator provides tools to find employment and training services. |
| (+) Valueline |
Value Line provides investment research on stocks, mutual funds, options and convertibles, and offers a family of no-load mutual funds. Updated every Friday at noon. Library use only at dedicated Valueline machine. |
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
| Oxford English Dictionary |
Searchable on-line version of the Oxford English Dictionary |
| American National Biography |
Articles are arranged in alphabetical order according to headword, which usually consists of a surname and given names. Whether or not a surname is separated into parts, such as van der Kemp, or is prefixed with a particle like Mac or Mc, the sequence is always strictly letter by letter: Mabie, for example, precedes MacArthur, which comes before McAdoo. The format of articles in the American National Biography is based on chronology. A given article traces a person's life through the sequence of significant events as they occurred from birth to death. Appended to each article is a descriptive bibliography, which may include mention of primary sources, the most useful published biographies, etc. |
| Gale Virtual Reference Library |
This resource has been provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. It is a reference library of the following medical and history encyclopedias: Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine; Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer; Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders; Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine; Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health; ...and many more... List of Reference Sources |
| Grolier Encyclopedia |
Searchable on-line version includes Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Americana, New Book of Knowledge, and America the Beautiful |
| EBSCO Animals |
This database is funded by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. A great resource for information on and pictures of a wide variety of animals. |
| EBSCO Funk & Wagnalls |
This encyclopedia is funded by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. Search the entire encyclopedia by subject or keyword. |
| Country Watch |
Up-to-date information about and news from the countries of the world. Includes maps and articles from local newspapers. |
| EBSCO Science Reference Center provided by NOVEL |
Science Reference Center supports middle and high school science curriculums, including biology, chemistry, earth, space, life, physical, and environmental sciences, health and medicine, science in society, science as inquiry, history of science, technology, scientists, and wildlife. |
Education
| Learning Express |
Sharpen your skills and improve your score with online practice tests, instant scoring, personalized evaluations and self-paced courses. Includes basic skills tests, GED, SAT, Graduate School Entrance Exams, Teacher Certification exams, Real Estate, U.S. Citizenship, emS, Civil Service Careers and more. TO USE THIS RESOURCE YOU MUST CREATE A USERNAME. YOUR USERNAME IS YOUR LIBRARY CARD NUMBER. |
| ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) |
"ERIC is a national information system funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences to provide access to education literature and resources." |
| The Educator's Reference Desk |
Provides useful information for educators at all levels from K-12 and higher education. Topics include classroom management, learning theories,alternative assessment, educational management, counseling, and more. A link also enables a search of the ERIC database. |
| New York State Department of Education |
Comprehensive information on this government web site includes Stastistical Profiles of Public School Districts, links to various program offices, the New York State School Report Card, online license verification service for various professions, etc. |
| College Source |
18,608 College Catalogs in complete cover-to-cover, original page format. Includes International Schools. Compiled by the Career Guidance foundation. |
| FAFSA, Your Free Application for Federal Student Aid |
Apply for Federal financial student aid online. |
| FinAid! The Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid |
Information on loans, scholarships, military aid, and other types of aid. There is even a free online scholarship search. |
| Summer On Campus |
Descriptions, contact information and active email and website links for hundreds of (day & residential) arts, sports, and academic summer camp programs for kids 8-18 on college campuses throughout New York State. |
Genealogy & Local History
| (+) Ancestry Library Edition |
Start your own genealogy using the U.S. Census (1790-1930), New York Passenger lists (1851-1891), World War I Draft Registration Cards (1917-1918), Civil War Service Records, the Social Security Death Index, and the England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland Parish and Probate Records plus much more. In Library Use only. |
| HeritageQuest |
Your library's resource for census data, family records and local histories. This collection assembles every extant U.S. federal census, banking and military records, genealogies, local histories, primary source materials, and genealogical and local history serials. HeritageQuest Online is an ongoing project (new content is added regularly). |
| Where to find historical information on Saratoga Springs |
A guide to the physical location of information on Government/laws, Business records, Horse racing, Battle of Saratoga (1777), and Personal papers. |
| The Saratogian Index |
The Saratogian Index is an in-house project undertaken by the library staff. The Saratoga Springs Public Library's index to The Saratogian begins on January 1, 1999 and is ongoing. It currently has a one-month lag. Items included in the index are births, deaths, marriages, and engagements and items of local interest to the community. |
| Ellis Island |
Research passenger records from 1892 to 1924. |
| Familysearch.org |
Search international genealogical index, pedigree resource file, US Social Security Death Index, Vital Records Index, other genealogical sites, and more. |
| American Memory |
American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 digital collections. Enter the name of your hometown to find historical images. |
| Local History Resources at the Saratoga Springs Public Library |
Look for the local history collection, history and genealogy links, and the Saratoga History Roundtable listing the best source for a variety of Saratoga Springs information. |
| Cyndi's list of genealogy sites on the web |
A categorized and cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet. |
| NY GenWeb |
Link to each County within New York State, where you will find a wealth of county related genealogy information. |
| Saratoga Census Project |
Skidmore College's fully searchable database of census information for Saratoga from 1850 and 1860. This link takes you to a "gateway" to either choose to read information about the database and how to use it (and help with it), or you can go directly to the database to start your search. |
| Saratoga Room Databases |
An in-house project that contains references to full sources of history within our library. Please see the Saratoga Room staff for further information and to see the full sources. |
| (+) Access NewspaperARCHIVE |
Historical newspapers from around the world. (NOT New York papers!) View, save and print full-page newspapers dating from 1759 to 1977. Restricted to use within the library. |
| The World Genealogy Web Project |
The WorldGenWeb Project is a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access! |
| The US Genealogy Web Project |
This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state genealogy websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well. |
Grants
| (+) Foundation Directory |
This database will help grant writers find sources for grants. It should be most helpful to nonprofit organizations looking to raise money. "Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public." - Source: Foundation Center |
| (+) Foundation Grants to Individuals |
Look here for information about foundation programs that fund students, artists, researchers and other individual grant seekers. |
| Grants.gov |
"Grants.gov is your source to FIND and APPLY for federal government grants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is having an unparalleled impact on the grant community." - grants.gov |
Health
| Health and Wellness Resource Center - With Alternative Health Module |
This resource has been provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. A full service resource for health-related magazine and newspaper articles on diseases, medicine, public health, occupational health & safety, alcohol and drug abuse, HMOs, and insurance. List of Reference Sources |
| Gale Virtual Reference Library |
This resource has been provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. It is a reference library of the following medical and history encyclopedias: Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine; Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer; Gale Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders; Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine; Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health; ...and more... List of Reference Sources |
| Crandall Public Library's Health Information Center |
Find out how to evaluate medical information on the Internet and check here for additional reliable sources. |
| National Library of Medicine |
Web site of the world's largest medical library and creator of Medline/Pubmed. This site has a wealth of electronic resources and links to other sites. Consumers can also subscribe to their electronic mailing lists at no cost. Note: For consumer health information, consider using MEDLINEplus. Health consumers are encouraged to discuss search results with their health care professional. |
Research Library
Now including: ProQuest Health Management and American Medical Association |
Search magazines and journals for coverage of a broad range of subjects including arts, business, children, education, general interest, health, humanities, international, law, military, multicultural, psychology, sciences, social sciences, and women's interests.
Coverage:
Research Library 1971 - present
American Medical Assoc. 1986-2001
ProQuest Health 1933 - present |
How-to Manuals
| New York State DMV's Driver Manual and Study Guide |
"Read the Driver's Manual on-line, then take a practice quiz after each chapter to test your understanding. To have your results scored automatically, your browser must be enabled for JavaScript. Practice tests are available only for those sections of the manual covering rules of the road, Chapters 4 through 11, and for the road sign chart." |
| EBSCOhost Auto Repair Reference Center |
Auto Repair Reference Center |
Language & Literature
| Oxford English Dictionary |
Searchable on-line version of the Oxford English Dictionary |
| Literature Online (LION) |
"Literature Online Reference Edition, the essential companion to literary study, updated every month and featuring the latest criticism, leading reference titles and biographies." |
| Twayne's Author Series |
Provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library, Twayne's Author Series contains critical interpretation and discussion of the works of 600 authors. The discussions of each author in the series are between 175-200 printed pages. |
| NoveList Plus |
This very useful guide to fiction helps select fiction you may wish to read, based upon search criteria you enter. It also contains reviews of books from several reliable sources and summaries of books as well. A particularly nice feature allows you to link directly to the library's catalog (check the panel on the left side on the screen) after you have selected a book. Librarians at the Information Desk will gladly walk you through this. NoveList contains material for adults, teenagers, as well as children. |
| Books By Your Neighbors |
A gathering of authors who live in New York's Hamilton, Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties. |
Law & Government
| New York State Unified Court System |
Provides continuous and easy access to New York State courts and the services they provide. This site has a link to all public access law libraries in the state. |
| FindLaw |
Best legal information starting point for the consumer. Serious researchers can find Supreme Court Decisions from 1983-date. |
| USA.gov |
"Whatever you want or need from the U.S. government, it's here on USA.gov. [...] Our powerful search engine and ever-growing collection of topical and customer-focused links connects you to millions of web pages from the federal government, local and tribal governments and to foreign nations around the world." From the U.S. General Services Administration. (Formerly FirstGov.gov.) |
| Cornell's Legal Information Institute (LII) |
Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute is probably the most expansive legal reference tool online. Useful features include Law About with links to every legal topic imaginable, constitutions and codes, court opinions, law by source or jurisdiction (the 50 states and DC), and the American Legal Ethics Library. Key features are The United States Code, U.S. Supreme Court (1990-date), and New York State Court of Appeals opinions. |
| GPO Access |
Official Federal government information from the US Government Printing Office. Included here are popular regulatory materials such as the Federal Register (1994-date) and The Code of Federal Regulations, critical Congressional products such as the Congressional Record (1994-date) and Congressional Bills, and important business materials such as Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet). |
| International Trademark Association |
Listings for nearly 3,000 registered trademarks and service marks with their generic terms and indicates capitalization and punctuation. |
| United States Copyright Office |
Key publications, including informational circulars, application forms for copyright registration and links to the copyright law. |
| New York State Legislature |
Current Congressional legislative information, a service of the Library of Congress. |
| New York State Assembly |
Information on bills, hearings, laws, committees and more. |
| New York State Senate |
Includes senator information, schedules, press releases and senate reports, and bill information. |
| New York State Government |
A portal for links to all areas of New York State government information, websites, and governing entities...laws, rules, regulations, etc... |
Phonebooks
| Reference USA |
Detailed information on 12 million businesses and 120 million households. Business information includes executive names, number of employees, credit ratings, SIC code, and more. Search using whatever information you have, even if it is incomplete. |
| USPS |
The site for the US Postal Service. Find a zip code, calculate your postage. Locate a post office and find out its hours of service. And more! |
Tax Forms
| Federal Tax Forms |
This web site of the Internal Revenue Service has downloadable forms for individuals, businesses, charities and non-profit organizations, etc. It also has a comprehensive listing of resources, e-filing information, where to file, etc. |
| Federal Tax Publications |
Federal web site for online retrieval of publications and notices. All publications can be downloaded either in the freely available PDf format, or the SGML file format. |
| New York State Tax Forms |
Locate forms by tax type (corporate, income, sales, witholding, etc.) or by form number. Prior year forms are available too. Links to related sites. |
| New York State Tax Publications |
Locate all New York state taxation and finance related publications. |
| Other State Forms and Publications |
State tax forms for all states in the U.S. and for the District of Columbia. This site also has a link to States with direct internet filing, as well as a link to find an e-file provider from the Internal Revenue Service. |
| Historical Stock Quotes |
Useful web site for historical stock quotes. |