A-Z Resources

Interactive books and educational games for children ages 2-6.

• 8,500+ individual learning activities.
• 850+ lessons.
• Reading, math, science, and social studies.

Peer-reviewed, full-text articles perfect for your next research paper.

• Translate or listen to articles.
• Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.

Getting started with Academic One File.

Collection of resources on physics, includes volumes on:

• Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.
• Nuclear physics, gravitation, and cosmology.
• The APS Journal Archive (back to 1893).

Trace your family's history.

• 4 billion names in worldwide historical records.
• Family tree services.
• Genealogy learning materials.

For help getting started, see our AncestryLibrary help videos.

AtoZdatabase is the job search, reference & mailing list database. You can use it to find details on millions of business and individuals within the U.S.

• Find a job.
• Search by person or business.
• Look up phone number to find out who called you.
• Search for healthcare provider by speciality, state of license, geography.
• Create mailing lists and sales leads.

Download books and audiobooks to your favorite device.

• eBooks and eAudiobooks.
• Adult bestsellers and nonfiction titles.
• Children and teen collections.

Check out the Getting started with Axis 360 video and Axis 360 FAQs if you need help.

Find great books and apps for your child.

• Handpicked by librarians.
• Matched to your child's reading level and interests.
• Track reading and earn badges.

Biography In Context is for those seeking contextual information on the world's most influential people.

It's built on a foundation of more than 650,000 biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study, providing coverage of the most searched and studied people.

Watch and read kids' eBooks.

• Pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction.
• Animals and Nature, Family and Community, Celebrations.
• Read Along with word-by-word highlighting.
• Need Adobe Flash to use on desktop.

Sign up to get book recommendations in your email box.

• For adults, teens, and children.
• Browse award winning, subject, and best selling lists.
• New book notifications.

An online homework and study tools for kids and adults.

• Live tutoring.
• Create flash cards.
• Practice tests for SAT and GED.
• Prepare for U.S. Citizenship Test.
• Discover college majors and careers that match your skills and interests.

The Spanish version of Britannica Scholar.

Impulse su investigación con esta enciclopedia fácil de usar para estudiantes en edad escolar.

• Artículos, imágenes, videos y fuentes primarias.
• Para estudiantes de la primaria o secundaria.
• Traduzca o escuche los artículos.
• La creación de una bibliografía es fácil al usar las herramientas de citaciones.

Read nearly two centuries of digitized California newspapers. A rich primary source for those interested in the history of the Golden State.

• 1846 to the Present
• Over 200,000 issues
• 7 million articles.

Get ready to take the written California Driver's permit and license tests.

• Califorania DMV practice tests and exam simulator.
• Permit, driver’s license, and senior citizens’ refresher tests.
• Car, motorcycle, and commercial (CDL).

Research California's missions for your next social studies project.

• eBooks for elementary and middle school students.
• Login to read.

Username = missions

Password = missions

Great resource for book reports, English papers, and exams.

• Literature notes on commonly assigned books.
• Test prep and study guides.

Consumer Reports are part of Masterfile Complete.

• Reliable product reviews
• Reliable services reviews

• Health
• Employment
• Government Benefits
• Housing
• And many more

This is a great place to start your research for background and terminology.

• Full text of over 600 reference books
• Thousands of images from the Bridgeman Archive and the National Gallery.
• Multi-language dictionaries
• Who's Who publications
• Crossword puzzle help
• Conversion calculator

Prepare to drive. Driving-Tests.org offers a number of practice tests for:

• Getting driver permits.
• Prepping for the written California Driver's test
• Signs and situations
• And a featured Test Simulator

EDS provides fast, simple access to all of our library’s full text articles (both electronic and print).

• Contains content from hundreds of academic publishers.
• Supports full text language translation.
• Citation format is available.
• Supports personalized and shared folders.
• Includes EBSCO Master File Complete:
  • Consumer Reports
  • NOLO Press Legal eBooks

Topics Include:

• Business & Economics
• Computer Science & Engineering
• Current Events
• Environment
• Education
• Health Sciences
• History
• Law
• Life Sciences
• Literature
• Performing Arts & Theatre
• Philosophy & Religion

Search directories of companies, publishers, and associations.

• Regional, State & Local; National; and International Organizations.
• Find contact information, Asset and income, and organizational type.
• Export to Excel.

Enki Library is an eBooks platform created by libraries in California with great content from indie publishers.

Downloadable eBooks in Enki are compatible with most eReading devices, PCs & Macs.

Check out Enki FAQs if you need help.

An online library of education-related research, including:

• research reports
• journal articles
• conference papers

See the ERIC Product Guide for detailed information on how to search this database.

Find data on communities and identify trends using US Federal Statistics. Data sets include:

• Census Data
• Maps
• Federal Agency statistics

A next-generation digital magazine service for browsing the latest issues of popular magazines on your mobile device or computer.

Check out Flipster FAQs if you need help.

Discover the funders most likely to support your organization or project.

• In depth profiles on over 140,000 grantmakers.
• With an inside look at grants they've made.
• From Foundation Center Partnership.

New expanded access during Covid-19 shelter-in-place order. You can now access this resource from home!

Download music to your computer or device.

• 3 million songs
• Over 10,000 labels
• Over 60 countries

Five song limit per library card per week.

Research database covering:

• business
• computers
• current events
• economics
• education
• environmental issues
• health care
• hobbies
• humanities
• law
• literature and art
• politics
• science
• social science
• sports
• technology

Search over 10,000 funding sources.

• Scholarships, fellowships, grants, and awards.
• For students, artists, researchers, and small organizations.
• Giving programs and application information.
• From Foundation Center Partnership.

Listen to college-level lectures and literature.

• Download audiobooks into mobile or desktop app.
• Courses on history, religion, business, and politics.
• Literature and fiction: Moll Flanders, White Fang, The Odyssey.
• Use your login for RBDigital/Instant Flix.

Titles check out for 21 days.

Reveal your families history with this rich genealogy resource.

• Search historical census databases
• 28,000 local and family histories
• Revolutionary War database search
• Freedman's Bank search

Learn about Palo Alto history. This online collection contains Palo Alto newspapers going back to the 1870s.

Full-text digital scans are searchable by keyword, name, place, and publishing year.

• Palo Alto Live Oak (10/28/1896 – 1903)
• Palo Alto Press (1901-1902)
• Palo Altan (12/1/1905-12/28/1906, 1912-1914)
• Mayfield Enterprise (3/5/1870-5/3/1871)
• Citizen (3/5/1904-12/31/1905)
• The Daily Palo Alto (published by students of Leland Stanford Univ. 9/3/1902-12/17/1902)
• The Palo Alto Times (1893-11/23/1905)
• The Daily Palo Alto Times (1/9/1908-1918)

Download and stream digital content to your computer or device:

• Streaming movies & TV.
• eBooks
• eAudiobooks
• graphic novels
• Music albums

Limit 3 checkouts per month per library card. For a limited time Hoopla also offers a Bonus borrows collection which will not deduct from this checkout limit. 

HyperHistory is an expanding scientific project presenting world history with an interactive combination of synchronoptic lifelines, timelines, and maps.

Infoplease is a free reference site, and it provides Homework Help on many subjects.

Find data for your research project or grant.

IssueLab contains social sector knowledge covering 30 major areas.  

The documents in each collection area include reports from major organizations, such as:

• the Knight Foundation
• Pew Charitable Trust
• the National League of Cities

Free reports on the state of the Silicon Valley business environment and community. Requires submitting an email address for access to downloads.

Stream great movies to your PC or device, including:

• Great cinema from the Criterion Collection.
• A broad collection of foreign films.
• Engaging lectures from The Great Courses.
• Documentaries from PBS.

Viewing Limits

Limit 3 films per month per library card. However, Kanopy Kids provides unlimited views.

Get Started

Watch Kanopy Tutorial online to get started. Check out Kanopy FAQs if you need help. 

Asian language magazines, including publications from:

• China
• Japan
• Taiwan
• Hong Kong

Legal resources including:

• Immigration
• Family Law
• Housing

Full-text legal books from NOLO Press:

• renter's and landlord's rights
• divorce
• small business start ups

LINK+ enables you to borrow books from outside the Palo Alto Library system.

Search citations of local news stories going back to 1989. Some of the articles can be retrieved from the microfilm collection at Rinconada Library.>

Learn a new language using real life situations and conversation.

• 70 languages including English
• Memory-building exercises and interactive tools.
• Ages 6 and up.
• Need Adobe Flash to use on desktop.
• One time registration required to save sessions or use mobile app.

Getting started with Mango Languages.

Research thousands of stocks and funds.

• New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and NASDAQ.
• Track performance of particular indexes, and sectors.
• Create short lists of stocks, funds and ETF's.

Watch Morningstar Tutorial online to get started.

Get access to current news from the New York Times website.

Also includes, access to articles from 1981-present, as well as 1851-1922

Checkout Procedures

• Click on the authentication link.
• Log in with your 14 digit library barcode and PIN.
• Once logged in, you will be prompted to create an account.
  • During the account creation process, an email must be provided to the New York Times.
• Once logged in, you have access to the New York Times Online for 24 hours.
• After 24 hours has expired, simply click on the authentication link once more to receive another 24-hour checkout.

Book recommendation service for K-8 readers:

• Notification services
• Fiction and non-fiction recommendations
• Mood-based recommendations
• Core Curriculum recommendations

Book recommendation service:

• Notification services
• Fiction and non-fiction recommendations
• Mood-based recommendations

Search Palo Alto obituaries from 1890 to present.

Find career information to help you on your career choices:

• outlook for hundreds of occupations
• descriptions of job types and typical duties
• education and training requirements
• pay ranges

Topical resource on current issues in several areas.

• Business & Economics
• Health & Medicine
• Energy & Environmentalism
• Law & Politics
• Society & Culture
• Science, Technology & Ethics
• War & Diplomacy

Great resources for debates and pro/con papers.

Overdrive is a platform for eBooks and audiobooks.

• Almost 3000 eBooks
• Over 3600 audiobooks
• For Windows 10+, download Window's app
• For iOS and Android, click "View available apps" below

Check out Overdrive FAQs if you need help.

Dive into the history of Palo Alto. PAHA's collections include:

• Historical images
• Local publications
• Obituaries
• Organizational and business archives
• Oral histories

Explore patterns of foundation giving and funding relationships.

• Aggregated data and demographic maps.
• From Foundation Center Partnership.

Full-text access to today's national and international newspapers and magazines. Sign in to the PressReader app or website while connected to the library's wifi to checkout 2-day 'hotspot access' from your device at home or on the go.

Watch PressReader Tutorials online to get started.

Project Gutenberg offers free eBooks and audiobooks.

There are several file formats for download, including the ones compatible with Kindle (mobi), as well as Nook, Kobo or iBooks (epub).

A gateway to digital magazines, audiobooks and streaming video.

• Magazines such as Discover, National Geographic, Forbes, and Newsweek.
• Art House cinema from Indieflix
• British television shows via Acorn TV
• Qello Concerts. Watch Qello Tutorial online to get started.
• Spanish television via Pangalo

Some services require multiple accounts and apps.

Check out RBDigital Help if you need help.

Read computer, technology, and business "How To" eBooks online.

• Over 6,000 technology, digital media, and business eBooks.
• Programming, SQL databases, network administration, and project management
• Titles from Microsoft Press, Adobe Press, Peachpit, and Jossey-Bass.
• Read online.

Limited number of people able to login at any one time.

The Santa Clara County Law Library is a public library providing free access to its legal collection and databases.

Open to residents of Santa Clara County.

For access to the online resources of SCCLL, please contact:

(408) 299-3567 (Recorded Information)
(408) 299-3568
circdesk@sccll.org

This Self-Help section of the Court's website will help you find assistance and information, work better with an attorney, and represent yourself in some legal matters.

Find your next science fair project or explore science topics and news.

• Articles, videos, images and audio files on science topics.
• Chemistry, Biology, Health and Medicine, Math and Technology.
• 200+ experiments and projects from U*X*L Experiment Central.
• Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.

California social studies facts for beginning researchers.

• Missions and Ranchos, Indigenous Peoples, governors and explorers.
• Explore California history by decade.
• Topics from California social studies curriculum.
• Grades 4-8.

An invaluable resource to explore American history as seen through the eyes of Stanford undergraduates.

• The collection contains 18,931 issues dating back to 1892.
• Issues are presented both as originally printed and in plain text.
• The collection is entirely searchable.

The Sutro Library holds the original collection of Adolph Sutro (1830–1898), California businessman and San Francisco mayor.

• The largest genealogy collections in the U.S.
• William Shakespeare's First, Second, Third and Fourth folios (1623–1685);
• Letters and papers of British explorer and naturalist Joseph Banks (1800s);
• The Mexican Collection: materials on Mexican culture, religion and politics (1540–1889)
• Belgian mapmaker Pieter van den Keere's World Map (1611).

Teaching Books is an online database of thousands of multimedia resources you can use to explore children's and young adult books and their authors. Look up any favorite author--from David Macaulay to J.K. Rowling, from Dr. Seuss to Shakespeare--or any title, fiction or nonfiction.You instantly get online teaching/learning resources about that author or specific book.

It also provides immediate access to useful materials and exciting programs that add a multimedia dimension to reading in the clasroom, library, and home:

• short movies
• audiobook readings
• book discussion guides
• and more

• English and math skill-building
• AP Subjects and High School Equivalency tests
• College Prep like the ACT and SAT
• Career and military tests
• GMAT, GRE, LSAT and other college exams
• TOEIC, TOEFL and US citizenship exams

* Requires customers to create a user name and password on the NelNetSolutions.com site (after authenticating as a library user with barcode and PIN when accessing outside the library).

Tumblebook Library is an online collection of eBooks for kids. It requires Flash player.

• Animated, talking picture books
• Reading comprehension quizzes
• Educational games
• Teacher resources

Explore U.S. history from pre-colonial time to present.

• Articles on events, individuals, and periods of U.S. History.
• Translate or listen to articles.
• Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.

Data from the United States Census Bureau

The Virtual Privacy Lab at San Jose Public Library offers ways to educate yourself on the underlying technical issues that make online privacy challenging.

• Privacy topics
• Customizable privacy toolkit
• Solutions to privacy issue

Unlimited digital access to WashingtonPost.com without creating a new account.

• Expert reporting and analysis from Washington and around the world.
• Real-time Q&A Discussions providing a behind the scenes look at key stories.
• Live-streaming of Washington Post Live events.

Checkout Procedure

• Click on the authentication link.
• Log in with your 14 digit library barcode and PIN.
• Once logged in, you have unlimited access to The Washington Post website.
• Note that closing your web browser or restarting your computer may require revisiting the authentication link.

Learn more about world history, politics, economics, and culture.

• Articles on history, political movements, and current events.
• Cross searchable with U.S. History In Context.
• Translate or listen to articles.
• Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.

Search library catalogs from around the world.

Note: Palo Alto City Library does not have inter-library loan services with libraries outside the LINK+ system. Most resources found in WorldCat will require a library account with the library holding a particular item.