When working on homework assignments, there's no better place than the Library. When you need help, don't hesitate to ask! You can ask a librarian in the Library, by phone, via email, or online.
The Web can be a great source of information, but remember, Web sources are not all of equal value, accuracy, and authority. Questions to Ask When Evaluating Websites will help you to distinguish among sources.
Denotes resources suitable for students in elementary and middle grades
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
General Sites and Reference Sources
Britannica Online
Check out Britannica when you begin research for basic information about people and events. Britannica offers good web links, video clips, pictures and even Spanish translations about many topics too.
CAMIO
CAMIO is an online museum collection of paintings, photographs, sculptures and other works of art. Search the site to see if has what you need. Students are welcome to use the images in school projects—just include credit.
Gale Virtual Reference
Library
Like the title says, GVRL is an online collection of encyclopedia-like books on many topics. Use GVRL for quality articles on topics ranging from science, health and medicine, literature, history, arts and much more. The book covers are shown on the opening screen. You can “open” each book online and see the different sections.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database
Infoplease.com
Use Infoplease when you need quick, easy-to-look up facts such as population statistics, sports records, data about the economy, and much more.
LearningExpressLibrary.com
This is a great source for practice tests like the ACT, SAT and several other standardized tests. Learning Library Express provides immediate scores and feedback. Register to create a user name and password (in addition to your Skokie Library login).
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database.
World Book Online Reference Center
This resource provides basic introductions to topics, similar to Britannica. Note the collections of primary sources and timelines that could be helpful for your projects. World Book also has a Spanish version.
Writing a Research Paper
CiteMe
With this WorldCat app on Facebook, you can type in a title, author, subject, or ISBN and get a formatted citation for the book.
Internet Public
Library TeenSpace: A+ Research & Writing
Learn how to research and write a paper using library and Internet resources. A special section called Citing Sources includes information on how to cite print and electronic resources in a bibliography.
WorldCat
WorldCat is a handy “world catalog” that you can use to check thousands of other libraries to find books Skokie Library may not have. Ask a librarian to order the book/s or fill out an online request form.
Finding Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Use the Magazine and Newspaper Locator to find databases containing a specific journal title or to locate titles by subject area.
Chicago Tribune – 1849 to the present via ProQuest
Search the Chicago Tribune back to 1849 right up to the present. Up to 1987 everything that appeared on the original pages is included, including photos, cartoons and ads. After 1987 only the written articles are available.
Factiva.com
Try Factiva for business news articles and also as a general newspaper and magazine source. Factiva shows articles in Spanish, French, Italian and other languages besides English.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database
General Reference Center from Gale
Like eLibrary, General Reference Center provides newspaper and magazine articles. You can search back as far as 1980.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database
JSTOR
JSTOR has academic—or scholarly—articles on a variety of subjects. Use JSTOR when you need more detail and depth than typical newspapers and magazines offer.
MasterFILE Premier from EBSCOhost
MasterFile Premier is another good place for news and magazine articles. Plus, it contains a great collection of images and primary sources.
The New York Times via LexisNexis Library Express
Start here when you need a New York Times article for an assignment. The selection goes back to 1980.
Wilson OmniFile Full Text Select
If you are using JSTOR, try OmniFile too for academic articles on a variety of subjects including art, business, religion and much more.
Language and Literature
Literary Research 101 from Skokie Public Library
Use this helpful Skokie Public Library guide to print and online resources when you are doing literary research. The guide includes sources for literary criticism, information on authors, summaries and texts of literary works, and information on how to cite your sources.
Literature Criticism Online — Something About the Author
Cross search two major sources at once here when you need information about authors and their work.
Literature Resources from Gale
Research authors and their works with this major literary information database. LRC offers reviews, overviews of books (and short stories, plays and poetry,) and author biographies in addition to literary criticism.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database
MagillOnLiterature from EBSCOhost
Choose MagillOnLiterature to find plot summaries and analyses of major works of literature.
Skokie
Public Library's guide to this database
Mango Languages
If you thought you had no time to practice learning a new language, try Mango. Mango offers online foreign language courses and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses.
OED Online
OED (short for Oxford English Dictionary) is the grandfather of all dictionaries—especially helpful when you need to look up word histories.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database
Visual Thesaurus from Thinkmap
Visual Thesaurus creates diagrams of words you look up. It has definitions and synonyms for each word. Check out the SAT word lists too.
History
American History in Video
Find movie footage on a wide range of events and people in U.S. history. You can take parts of the clips you find and link to them from your own school multimedia presentations.
Chicago Metro History Education Center
This site includes information on the current Chicago Metro History Fair and much more.
CIA World Factbook and State Department Background Notes
These two government web sites offer frequently updated statistics and maps on more than 200 countries. For more detailed historical background on several countries, try the Library of Congress Country Studies.
Library
of Congress Country Studies
This government web site is a good source for historic and economic background about many countries. The Country Studies were originally published as books.
Researching the 20th Century: Useful Materials for Decades Projects
This Skokie Public Library bibliography lists chronologies, timelines, yearbooks, video recordings, and other resources for students working on decades projects.
Biography
Current Biography Illustrated
Find quality articles and photos for past and present individuals from all walks of life. The articles once appeared in the print version of Current Biography magazine.
President's Hall
Learn about all the U.S. presidents here on this section of the White House web site.
Science and Mathematics
HowStuffWorks
This easy-to-use web site offers explanations of, like the title says, “how things work.” Think hybrid car engines, satellite radio and robotic surgery, for example. The site also has lots of ads, so be sure you are looking at your search results, not the ads, for information.
Purplemath
Get help with algebra and even some precalculus. There are worked-out examples, explained clearly, for each topic.
Science Online from Facts on File
Use Science Online to find science experiments, videos, diagrams, articles, and biographies of famous scientists.
Special Library Services
Atomic Training
Atomic Training contains short videos explaining specific tasks in many of the most popular software applications in use today.
The videos may be watched in sequence like a course, or watched individually to learn a specific part of a program.
Email
Email your questions to our reference staff -- anytime!
High School Textbooks Available in Adult Services from Skokie Public Library
A selection of Niles North and Niles West textbooks are available for in-Library use. Check this list and then stop at the Adult Services Reference Desk on the second floor to borrow what you need.
Instant Message (IM) a reference librarian
Chat with a librarian from Skokie Public Library live online during Library business hours using your chat program or through the Library's chat box.
Lynda.com Online Learning Library
Lynda.com Online Learning Library provides users with access to over 800 video training courses in computer related topics such as Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word, iMovie, or Twitter.
Telephone Reference
Call Skokie Public Library's Reference Desk at 847.673.3733.
Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 9:00pm
Saturday from 9:00am to 6:00pm
Sunday from 12:00noon to 6:00pm