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A-Z Resources

A

ABC Mouse

Interactive books and educational games for children ages 2-6.
  • 8,500+ individual learning activities.
  • 850+ lessons.
  • Reading, math, science, and social studies.
Only available at Palo Alto City Library

American Physical Society (APS) Physics Journals

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).
Found In: Only available at Palo Alto City Library

Arts and the Humanities Through the Eras eBooks Library Card Required.

Explore history of the arts, literature, music, and religion.
  • Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome.
  • Medieval to Enlightenment Europe.
  • 5 volume eBook.
  • Translate or listen to articles.
  • Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.
Found In:

AtoZdatabases

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.
Found In:

B

Bay Area Consumer’s Checkbook

Check ratings on plumbers, doctors, dentists, and auto repair services.
  • Quality and price of local services and products.
  • Surveys San Francisco Bay Area consumers.
  • Independent nonprofit consumer organization.
Found In: Only available at Palo Alto City Library

Beanstack

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.
Get Beanstack App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Beanstack App in Play Store, opens an external site
Found In:

Biography in Context Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

Bookflix Audiobooks eBooks Library Card Required.

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.

Bookletters

Sign up to get book recommendations in your email box.
  • eNewsletter curated by Palo Alto City Librarians.
  • For adults, teens, and children.
  • Browse award winning, subject, and best selling lists.
  • New book notifications.
Found In:

Brainfuse

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.
Found In:

Business Insights Global Library Card Required.

Comprehensive international business intelligence at your fingertips.
  • Company and industry profiles with history and market share reports.
  • Thomson Reuters company financial reports.
  • Search in English, Spanish, Russian, or Chinese (over 30 languages for searching).
Found In:

C

California Driver’s Tests

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).
Found In:

California Mission Books

Research California's missions for your next social studies project.
  • eBooks for elementary and middle school students.
  • Login to read.
Username = missions Password = missions
Found In:

Career Transitions Library Card Required.

Find your next job or internship, or explore a new career.
  • Search job and internship listings.
  • Take career assessment.
  • Build a resume or cover letter.
  • Practice for an interview using interview simulator.
Found In:

Chilton Library

Do It Yourself Vehicle Repair and Service guides.
  • Step-by-step service and repair procedures.
  • Vacuum and wiring diagrams.
  • Close-up photographs and illustrations.
  • ASE test prep quizzes.
Found In:

CliffsNotes

Great resource for book reports, English papers, and exams.
  • Literature notes on commonly assigned books.
  • Test prep and study guides.
Found In:

CREDO Reference Library Card Required.

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
Found In:

Culture Grams

Provides detailed cultural information on over 200 countries, all 50 states in US and the Canadian provinces and territories. Includes four editions:
  • World Edition
  • Kids edition
  • States edition
  • Provinces edition
Found In:

D

Discover & Go Library Card Required.

Discover & Go provides free and discount passes to a wide variety of Bay Area museums and other cultural destinations. Use your library card with Discover & Go and then search for passes by date and location. See our Discover & Go FAQ for more info.
Found In:

Driving-Tests.org

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
Found In:

E

EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS) Library Card Required.

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
Found In:

Encyclopedia Britannica Library Card Required.

Jump start your research with this easy to use encyclopedia.
  • Articles, images, videos and primary sources.
  • For middle or high school students and adult audiences.
  • Translate, or listen to articles.
  • Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.
Found In:

Encyclopedia Britannica for Kids Library Card Required.

Make research for school projects simple.
  • Compton's Encyclopedia, Elementary Encyclopedia and a dictionary.
  • Tips on writing papers, book reviews, and science reports.
  • For elementary or middle school students.
  • Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.
Found In:

Enki Library eBooks Library Card Required.

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.
Get Enki Library App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Enki Library App in Play Store, opens an external siteGet Enki Library App in Amazon Store, opens an external site
Found In:

F

Fashion, Costume and Culture Library Card Required.

Explore costume traditions of diverse cultures from prehistoric times to the present day.
  • History of clothing, headwear, body decorations, and footwear.
  • 5 volume eBook.
  • Translate or listen to articles.
  • Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.
Found In:

Federal Statistics

Find data on communities and identify trends using US Federal Statistics. Data sets include:
  • Census Data
  • Maps
  • Federal Agency statistics
Found In:

Flipster Newspapers & Magazines

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.
Get Flipster App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Flipster App in Play Store, opens an external site

Foundation Directory Online

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.
Ask for access at the Front Desk.
Found In: is in branchOnly available at Rinconada Library

Freegal Music Music Library Card Required.

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.
Get Freegal Music App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Freegal Music App in Play Store, opens an external site
Found In:

G

GradeSaver

GradeSaver is an editing and literature site.
  • Study guides
  • School paper editing services
  • Literature essays
  • College application essays
Found In:

Grants to Individuals Online

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.
Found In: is in branchOnly available at Rinconada Library

Great Courses Audiobooks Library Card Required.

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.
Get Great Courses App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Great Courses App in Play Store, opens an external siteGet Great Courses App in Amazon Store, opens an external site

H

Health and Wellness Center Library Card Required.

Research health and medical topics.
  • Information on diseases, conditions, and alternative medicine.
  • Search by symptom and for specific drugs and herbs.
  • Search directories of medical professionals and facilities.
  • Take online health assessments.
Found In:

Heritage Quest Library Card Required.

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
Found In:

Historical Newspaper Collection

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 (1/9/1908-1912)
Found In:

Hyper History

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

I

Informe Académico Library Card Required.

Informe Académico es la base de datos enfocada en proveer material iberoamericano confiable de carácter académico, científico y de interés general.
Found In:

InstantFlix Movies & TV Library Card Required.

Watch independent and foreign films, classic TV, PBS, shorts & documentaries.
  • Includes videos from PBS, Sundance, Cannes, and Tribeca.
  • Stream anytime, anywhere.
Getting started with InstantFlix
Found In:

J

K

Kanopy Movies & TV Library Card Required.

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.
Limit 5 films per month per library card. Check out Kanopy FAQs if you need help.
Get Kanopy App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Kanopy App in Play Store, opens an external site
Found In:

Kids InfoBits Library Card Required.

Learn about animals, plants, people and more.
  • Articles on social studies, the arts, and science.
  • For elementary students.
  • Translate or listen to articles.
  • Citation tools make creating a bibliography easy.
Found In:

L

LINK+ Library Card Required.

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

Literature Resource Center Library Card Required.

Full-text articles on authors, their works, and literary movements from scholarly journals and literary magazines
  • critical essays
  • author work and topics overviews
  • full-text works
  • biographies
Found In:

M

Mango Languages Library Card Required.

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.
Get Mango Languages App in Apple Store, opens an external site
Found In:

Morningstar Investment Research Center Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

N

Novelist K-8 Plus

Book recommendation service for K-8 readers:
  • Notification services
  • Fiction and non-fiction recommendations
  • Mood-based recommendations
  • Core Curriculum recommendations
Found In:

O

Opposing Viewpoints in Context Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

P

Philanthropy InSight

Explore patterns of foundation giving and funding relationships.
  • Aggregated data and demographic maps.
  • From Foundation Center Partnership.
Found In: is in branchOnly available at Rinconada Library

Project Gutenberg Audiobooks eBooks

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).
Get Project Gutenberg App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Project Gutenberg App in Play Store, opens an external site
Found In:

R

Rand

Statistical facts about all the states with an emphasis on California.
  • National, state, and local social science data.
  • Population, education, health, economy, and crime.
  • Review data as a table, chart, or graph.
  • Download data as CSV or Excel file.
Found In:

Rosen Teen Health & Wellness Center Library Card Required.

Articles, videos, and self-help support on health topics for teens.
  • Diseases, drugs and alcohol, nutrition, and mental health.
  • Teen-friendly, sensitive, respectful, and age-appropriate.
  • Reviewed by leading medical and health professionals.
  • Links to hotlines and help lines.
 
Found In:

S

Safari Tech Books Online eBooks Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

Santa Clara County Law Library

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
Found In:

Science in Context Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

Social Studies Fact Cards: California Edition

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.
Found In:

Storyplay*r Audiobooks Library Card Required.

Picture books in French and in English for kids 3 to 10.
  • Read at your own pace, or listen to an audio narration
  • Use the built-in audio recorder function to record yourself reading
  • Share the recording, synchronized with images of the book, by e-mail link
Found In:

Sutro Library

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).
Found In:

T

Total BooX eBooks Library Card Required.

Total Boox provides access to 50,000+ instantly downloadable eBooks without waitlists, expiration dates, or other limitations.
Get Total BooX  App in Apple Store, opens an external siteGet Total BooX  App in Play Store, opens an external siteGet Total BooX  App in Amazon Store, opens an external site
Found In:

U

U.S. History in Context Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:

V

Virtual Privacy Lab

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
Found In:

W

World History in Context Library Card Required.

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.
Found In:
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