Tired of wading through thousands of useless Google hits? The links on this page will lead you to some great resources that can help you do your homework faster and better.
Please note that some resources are electronic databases. The information in these databases is more reliable than what you would find through a search engine. The library pays for these databases, and only Lake Villa District cardholders can access them from outside of the library.
To access an electronic database from home or anywhere other than the library:
- Click an electronic database link. The system will display a logon screen.
- In the Barcode field, type your Lake Villa District Library card barcode number, with no spaces.
- In the PIN Number field, type your password (the word patron, unless you have changed it).
If you need more help, please call the Adult Services Reference Desk at 847-356-7711, ext. 250. You also can submit a question online.
See you at the library!
General reference (including almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, and encyclopedias):
Facts on File: Curriculum Resource Center (Electronic Database): Information on history (including biographies and historic timelines), science and science projects, and careers.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (Electronic Database): Electronic reference books that cover everything from the arts to biography, government, science, and social sciences.
Grolier Online (Electronic Database): Access to three encyclopedias: Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, The New Book of Popular Science (information on science and technology) and Lands and Peoples (countries, cultures and current events), dictionaries, and an atlas.
Student Resource Center (Electronic Database): Articles on geography, history (including timelines), literature, and science, as well as a multimedia gallery (photos, audio and video files, maps, flags, and seals), and tips on writing a research paper.
World Almanac (Electronic Database): Links to full-text articles from the Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia and four almanacs.
BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper: Over 700 links to Websites on every subject, from art to foreign languages to physical education.
High School Ace: Links to guides for all the major school subjects and today’s news summaries.
Infoplease: Facts and statistics regarding everything from sports to world news, including a “Daily Almanac” that looks at today in history.
American President: Essays about each President and their lives before, during, and after their terms, with information about the First Lady and cabinet officials of each administration.
CIA World Factbook: Current information on countries around the world, including statistics, maps, and flags, from the Central Intelligence Agency.
Nation Master: A one-stop resource for country statistics on everything from oil consumption to life expectancy.
USA.gov: Links to U.S. government websites, from the federal to the local level.
Language and literature
Novelist (Electronic Database): Reviews, annotations, and much more for over 120,000 fiction titles, lists of book suggestions, and a search function that allows you to find books by plot, series, author, etc.
Bartleby.com: Information on classic fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, as well as quotations, all of Shakespeare’s plays, dictionaries, thesauri, and much more.
Wordreference.com: Spanish, French, and Italian dictionaries, translation aids, and answers to questions about language usage.
NewsBank (Electronic Database): Articles from five Illinois newspapers: Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune RedEye edition, Daily Herald, and the Lake Villa Review, as well as from major newsmagazines, from Entertainment Weekly to U.S. News and World Report.
NASA for Students: Information on space exploration, geography, and climate change, from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Physics Classroom: Overviews of basic concepts in physics, including multimedia demonstrations.
Science Buddies: Ideas for science projects in disciplines from aerodynamics to zoology.
Testing & Education Reference Center (Electronic Database): Take free sample tests to prepare for standardized college entrance exams (ACT, PSAT, SAT) or college credit assessments (AP, CLEP, TOEFL, etc.).
Student Resource Center (Electronic Database): The “Toolbox” menu option contains information on everything from choosing a topic to creating a bibliography and improving your Internet search skills.
Bibme and Citation Machine: Automatic bibliography makers for citing print, Internet, film, and other sources in MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian style.
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