Databases

The Ancestry Library Edition collection has approximately 4,000 databases including key collections such as U.S. Federal Census images and indexes from 1790 to 1940; the Map Center containing more than 1,000 historical maps, American Genealogical Biographical Index (over 200 volumes); Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage (over 150 volumes); The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1630; Social Security Death Index (updated monthly); WWI Draft Registration Cards; Federal Slave Narratives; and a strong Civil War Collection.

Maryland AskUsNow! is a 24/7 live online interactive service for the residents and students of the state of Maryland. It uses the expertise of trained librarians to provide answers to questions, research guidance, and help navigating the Internet. The librarian should be able to take you to various websites and will communicate with you using Internet chat. A normal session lasts no longer than 15-20 minutes. The librarian may offer to follow-up by e-mail if your question cannot be answered online in this timeframe.

Your source for the most current, accurate, authoritative Auto Service and Repair Information. Auto Repair Source includes:

• Step-by-step repair procedures
• Wiring diagrams
• Compontent location diagrams
• Maintenance schedules
• Labor estimates
• Engineering specifications
• Diagnostic trouble codes
• Parts pricing
• Technical service bulletins
• Recall notices

Beanstack is a free service provided by your local library to help families discover books and apps based on your child's age and interests. Our goal is help prepare your child for school and ensure that he or she is reading at or above grade level by third grade. All books recommended are available for free at your library.

• Access for Allegany County Library - http://alleganycountylibrary.beanstack.org (Ends June 30, 2018)
• Access for Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County - http://relib.beanstack.org (Ends June 30, 2018)
• Access for Washington County Free Library - http://washcolibrary.beanstack.org

The Berg Fashion Library is a unique online portal which offers fully cross-searchable access to an expanding range of Berg content collections – including the Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion online, e-books, reference works, images, and much more.

Scholastic BookFlix is a new online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning. The engaging way to link fact and fiction, BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.

Booklist Online contains over 120,000 reviews and thousands of features dating back to 1992.

Whether you're looking for information on books, audio books, or videos, you've come to the right place. Books In Print provides a user-friendly interface designed specifically for use by library patrons.

A collection of actual business plans compiled by, and aimed at, entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses in North America. Plans are from businesses in the manufacturing, retail and service industries, with company names and addresses changed. Also includes a business plan template, two fictional business plans, a listing of organizations, agencies, and consultants; a glossary; and an updated bibliography.

Business Source Premier is the industry's most popular business research database, featuring the full text for more than 2,200 journals. Full text is provided back to 1965, and searchable cited references back to 1998.

Guide to thousands of 2- and 4-year schools in the U.S. and Canada. Covers the expected listings and detailed descriptions, degree programs offered, scholarships, and occupational education programs.

College Navigator is your direct link to nearly 7,000 colleges and universities in the United States. If you are thinking about a large university, a small liberal arts college, a specialized college, a community college, a career or technical college or a trade school, you can find information on all of them here.

ConsumerReports.org provides ratings and reviews, recommendations and buying advice across several franchises. Each product includes an overview and a ratings report card, as well as tester reviews & recommendations.

EBSCO Discovery Service provides users with an easy, yet powerful means of accessing all of an institution's information resources through a single search. This is achieved by harvesting metadata from both internal (library) and external (database vendors) sources, and creating a pre-indexed service of unprecedented size and speed. Although the resulting collection can be massive in size and scope, the fact that it is indexed locally (on the EBSCOhost® servers) allows for exceptionally fast search response times.

Reference databases designed for use in public libraries are made available via the user-friendly search system.

Explora is EBSCO's interface for Schools and Public Libraries. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with the following features:

• Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results
• Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic
• Topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research
• Colorful, mobile-friendly design with feature areas that provide context to students
• Reading level indicators (Lexile® Measures) to simplify discovery of grade-appropriate content
• Text-to-speech for HTML articles to assist struggling readers or those learning English
• Curriculum Standards Module to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly and easily to Common Core, state- or province-specific curriculum standards

Explora is EBSCO's interface for Schools and Public Libraries. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with the following features:

• Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results
• Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic
• Topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research
• Colorful, mobile-friendly design with feature areas that provide context to students
• Reading level indicators (Lexile® Measures) to simplify discovery of grade-appropriate content
• Text-to-speech for HTML articles to assist struggling readers or those learning English
• Curriculum Standards Module to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly and easily to Common Core, state- or province-specific curriculum standards

Explora is EBSCO's interface for Schools and Public Libraries. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with the following features:

• Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results
• Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic
• Topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research
• Colorful, mobile-friendly design with feature areas that provide context to students
• Reading level indicators (Lexile® Measures) to simplify discovery of grade-appropriate content
• Text-to-speech for HTML articles to assist struggling readers or those learning English
• Curriculum Standards Module to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly and easily to Common Core, state- or province-specific curriculum standards

Explora is EBSCO's interface for Schools and Public Libraries. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with the following features:

• Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results
• Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic
• Topic overviews that provide students with a starting point for research
• Colorful, mobile-friendly design with feature areas that provide context to students
• Reading level indicators (Lexile® Measures) to simplify discovery of grade-appropriate content
• Text-to-speech for HTML articles to assist struggling readers or those learning English
• Curriculum Standards Module to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly and easily to Common Core, state- or province-specific curriculum standards

Discover titles similar to books you already enjoy.

The Foundation Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants.

This database provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas.

Reference eBooks are the same books that rest on our shelves, but in an electronic format. You can access them here through our database page or through our catalog by clicking chain link when you see it in the catalog record.

Grove Art Online offers the most extensive and easily searchable online art resource available today, a virtual art reference library of unparalleled scope and depth. Users can access thousands of subject entries, biographies, bibliographic citations, and images Grove Art Online, as well as Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Concise Dictionary of Art Terms, and Oxford’s Encyclopedia of Aesthetics.

Grove Music Online has been the leading online resource for music research since its inception in 2001, a glorious compendium of music scholarship offering the full texts of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition (2001), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition (2002), as well as all subsequent updates and emendations.

Health & Wellness Resource Center’s intuitive interface provides multiple pathways to key information for both novice and experienced searchers. Users can quickly retrieve the latest news, review a set of subject lists and find concise results in seconds. And new periodical and newspapers articles are added daily so researchers are never more than a click away from the latest information.

Brainfuse’s “HelpNow” is a comprehensive suite of tutoring services designed for a range of academic needs; whether it’s tackling a tough homework problem, learning an academic skill, or writing a term paper. “HelpNow” is available for students in grades K through Adult Learners in the following subjects: Math, Science, Social Studies, English/Language Arts that includes writing assistance and Reading Comprehension/Grammar/Vocabulary Skills Building, English Literature and Foreign Languages.

HeritageQuest Online is designed specifically for patrons in public libraries who are either just beginning their family research or who after years of work are still uncovering their past.

Access to this website must be done through the individual library website. Access for this URL will only work for Washington County Free Library users.

This newspaper index for the Civil War years, 1860 – 1865 is part of The Historic Newspaper Indexing Project which is a subject and personal name index to local and regional news, legal notices, obituaries, marriages, and advertisements published in Hagerstown, Maryland newspapers from 1790 - 1844 and 1860 - 1865. The regions covered in the index are Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett Counties in Maryland; Cumberland, Adams, Fulton and Franklin Counties in Pennsylvania; and Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan Counties in West Virginia.

History Reference Center is the world's most comprehensive full text history reference database, featuring full text for more than 2,000 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books from leading history publishers and more than 120 leading history periodicals. The database contains more than 59,600 historical documents; more than 49,600 biographies of historical figures; more than 110,200 historical photos and maps; and more than 80 hours of historical video

Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center provides comprehensive full text content for many of the most popular hobbies, crafts and recreation activities today. Including full text for more than 740 magazines and books, as well as access to more than 720 videos and over 140 hobby reports, this database offers detailed "how-to" instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby-enthusiast. Subject areas include arts & crafts; collecting; games & electronics; model building; home & leisure; needlework; outdoors & nature; and scrapbooking & papercraft. The database also features extensive information on over 140 topics. Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center provides full text from the leading hobby and craft magazines, including Bead & Button, Birder's World, Creative Knitting, FineScale Modeler, PaperWorks, Scrapbooking, Quilter's World, and many more.

Allegany County: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=...

Garrett County: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=...

Home Improvement Reference Center is a full text database designed for use in public and school libraries. Content contained in the database will focus on home improvement and home repair. The main navigation will direct researchers to high-quality repair information. Thousands of repairs will be available in the areas of outdoor projects, electrical projects, remodeling projects, plumbing projects, wood projects, decorating projects and maintenance. In addition to the repair information, other magazines and reference books focusing on home improvement will be included in the database.

Allegany County:   http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=s7143206&geocustid=s7143206&profile=hirc

Garrett County: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=s7143483&geocustid=s7143483&profile=hirc

hoopla is a groundbreaking digital media service offered by your local public library that allows you to borrow movies, music, audiobooks, ebooks, comics and TV shows to enjoy on your computer, tablet, or phone – and even your TV! With no waiting, titles can be streamed immediately, or downloaded to phones or tablets for offline enjoyment later. We have hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, with more being added daily. hoopla is like having your public library at your fingertips. Anytime. Anywhere.

Checkout limit per user is 5 per month. (Not available for county Student cards.)

LearningExpress Library features online tutorials, practice tests, and e-books to help patrons of all ages. It offers job search and workplace skills improvement, skill building in reading, writing, math, and basic science, career certification and licensure exam prep, college and grad school entrance test prep, GED® test prep, and more.

Please use the access links from your local library website.

The purpose of the Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage Project is two-fold. First, the MDCH Project is a collaborative effort to digitize Maryland-related historical documents, images, audio, and video for Maryland's public libraries and cultural heritage institutions. Second, the MDCH Project website provides centralized, one-stop access to these culturally significant items that will benefit the patrons and staff of the libraries and cultural heritage institutions, as well as future generations, by promoting research, education, and tourism.

Mango Languages creates engaging language-learning experiences for individuals, libraries, schools, corporations, and government agencies across the continent and around the globe.

Casual, cultural, and conversational learning

Speak like a local in 70+ languages with practical, conversation-based language lessons for web, iOS, and Android. Learn Spanish, French, German, and more — download the free Mango app to get started.

Access should be done through your local library.  The link provided for this resource will only work inside Washington County Free Library.

MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other government agencies and health-related organizations. Preformulated MEDLINE searches are included in MedlinePlus and give easy access to medical journal articles. MedlinePlus also has extensive information about drugs, an illustrated medical encyclopedia, interactive patient tutorials, and latest health news.

Milestone Documents in American History is a robust online database that includes the complete content of printed reference sets, free. Purchasing printed reference delivers online access at no additional cost. Salem currently offers this service with three series of historical reference: Milestone Documents - A new, primary source series; The Decades - Salem's critically acclaimed American history series; Great Lives from History - The definitive, worldwide biographical resource.

NewsBank, Inc. has been one of the world’s premier information providers for more than 40 years. NewsBank’s comprehensive, Web-based research products satisfy the diverse needs of public libraries, colleges and universities, schools, military and government libraries, professionals and researchers.

This subscription provides access to America's News.

Direct link for America’s News:
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/signin/RuthEnlowLibraryofGarrettCounty/NEWSBANK

NewsBank, Inc. has been one of the world’s premier information providers for more than 40 years. NewsBank’s comprehensive, Web-based research products satisfy the diverse needs of public libraries, colleges and universities, schools, military and government libraries, professionals and researchers.

This subscription provides access to the Herald-Mail Newspaper as far back as December 1996.

This comprehensive news collection is ideal for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national and international level. Its diverse source type includes print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos. Use it to explore a specific event or to compare a wide variety of viewpoints on topics such as politics, business, health, sports, cultural activities and people.

Allegany County Library System (must use ACLS website):
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/signin/AlleganyCountyLibrarySystem/AWNB

Ruth Enlow Library of Garrett County (must use RELGC website):
http://infoweb.newsbank.com/signin/RuthEnlowLibraryofGarrettCounty/AWNB

Discover titles similar to what you already enjoy

In addition to locating books to read, users can learn more about books and authors through Feature Articles, Book Discussion Guides, and BookTalks.

NoveList K-8 contains materials for all K-8 grade levels and includes picture books, children's "chapter" books and young adult titles. Updated monthly, NoveList K-8 is your starting place for learning about the books that you and your students need and will want to read!

Browse hundreds of downloadable audiobooks! Check out and download best-selling titles to your PC, then transfer to a supported device or burn many titles to CD to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

Oxford Reference Premium is a one-stop shop for reputable information from a well-trusted source. It covers 25 different subject areas, including art & architecture, history, language, law, philosophy, religion, science, and more. Over 260 titles are searchable in one place with new titles added all the time. A great first stop for any research needs.

Remote access to the site must be through the WCFL website: https://www.washcolibrary.org

Free audiobook downloads for 5,000+ titles and magazines.

Allegany County use: https://alleganycountymd.rbdigital.com/
Garrett County use: https://ruthenlowmd.rbdigital.com/

RB Digital is the world’s largest newsstand and bookstore. With its many digital products and services, RB Digital creates better ways for people to discover published content, get more of it and do more with it. Now, readers can purchase content once to be read on any screen. RB Digtial provides the ability to shop for, search inside, read, share and save digital content in 23 local newsstands in any country in the world.

Each county also has access to branded content through RBdigital.  Magazines and Audiobooks are available through these links:

• https://alleganycountymd.rbdigital.com/
• https://ruthenlowmd.rbdigital.com/
  

ReferenceUSA has vital information on every business & consumer in the United States & Canada. It assists business executives in finding valuable sales leads, conducting market research or competitive analysis, and provides an avenue for businesses to do effective marketing & outreach. Students are able to reference this data for research projects and job seekers may find gainful employment. ReferenceUSA provides data on businesses, consumers, healthcare providers, new movers & homeowners, as well as historical business information.

Regional Business News provides full text for nearly 100 regional U.S. and Canadian business publications (including titles from Crain Communications).

Recognized as a leader in technology-based language learning, Rosetta Stone® offers libraries and their patrons the proven immersion method that more than 20,000 schools and 9,000 businesses have trusted for over the last 20+ years. Our award-winning interactive approach has been used by millions of learners around the world and now is accessible in the library— or anywhere, anytime.

Rosetta Stone® Library Solution features:

• 30 languages to meet a range of community needs
• 50 hours of foundational instruction
• Core lessons to build reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills
• Focused activities to refine grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation,and more
• Mobile apps that enable learners to reinforce language on the go Provide an award-winning language program that pokies..online.com benefits individual patrons and the community you serve. With Rosetta Stone Library Solution, administrators and database managers are able to get a new program up and running quickly— so learners can begin their language journey right away.

PLEASE NOTE: The State contract for Rosetta Stone will end on June 30, 2019.  Mango Languages is available now and replaces Rosetta Stone.

Salem Health covers diseases, disorders, treatments, procedures, specialties, anatomy, biology, and issues in an A-Z format, with sidebars addressing recent developments in medicine and concise information boxes for all diseases and disorders. Titles include:

• Magill's Medical Guide
  
• Salem Health: Infectious Diseases & Conditions
• Salem Health: Cancer
  

Salem History is a robust online database that includes the complete content of printed reference sets. Salem currently offers this service with three series of historical reference: Milestone Documents - A new, primary source series; The Decades - Salem's critically acclaimed American history series; Great Lives from History - The definitive, worldwide biographical resource. Titles available include:

• The 50 States
• American Immigration, Encyc. of American Immigration
  
• Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society
  
• Great Lives from History: Latinos
  
• Milestone Documents in African American History
• Milestone Documents in American History
  
• Milestone Documents of American Leaders
  
• Milestone Documents in World History
  
• Milestone Documents of World Religions
  
• Musicians & Composers
  
• Weapons & Warfare

Salem Literature is a robust online database that includes the complete content of printed reference sets. Titles currently available:

• Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: Heroes & Heroines
• Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: Love, Sexuality, and Desire
• Critical Survey of Mythology and Folklore: World Mythology

Salem Science is a robust online database that includes the complete content of printed reference sets.Titles currently available on Salem Science:

• Encyclopedia of Mathematics & Society
• Earth Science: Earth Materials and Resources
• Earth Science: Earth’s Weather, Water, and Atmosphere
• Earth Science: Earth's Surface and History
• Earth Science: Physics and Chemistry of the Earth
• Environmental Issues
• Encyclopedia of Global Warming
  

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 provides access to more than 660,000 large-scale maps for more than 12,000 American towns and cities. Sanborn fire insurance maps are the most frequently consulted maps in libraries, and are valuable historical tools. In electronic form, Sanborn maps allow users to easily manipulate the maps, magnify and zoom in on specific sections, and layer maps from different years.

Provides more than 4,200 sources of education-related financial aid and awards at all levels of study. Includes a section on federal financial aid that features a quick summary of programs sponsored by the federal government. Also includes a state-by-state listing of agencies that users can contact in their home state.

Science Reference Center™ is a comprehensive research database that provides easy access to a multitude of full-text science-oriented content. Designed to meet every student's science research needs, Science Reference Center contains full text for hundreds of science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other sources.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center is a full text database designed for use in public and school libraries. Content contained in the database will be derived from the full set of small engine repair manuals from Clymer (http://www.clymer.com/). Clymer repair manuals provide step-by-step procedures based upon the complete disassembly of the machine. This hands-on experience combined with extensive research results in a manual that is both detailed and user-friendly. Hundreds of original photos and illustrations guide the reader through every job, making it easy to reduce repair costs. Whether it is routine maintenance, such as tune-ups and brake service, or more extensive repairs involving engine and transmission disassembly, Small Engine Repair Reference Center provides reliable information required to perform the job.

Allegany County: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=s7143206&geocustid=s7143206&profile=serrc

Garrett County: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=geo,ip,url,cpid&custid=s7143483&geocustid=s7143483&profile=serrc

Smithsonian Global Sound is a virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions. The collection provides educators, students, and interested listeners with an unprecedented variety of online streaming audio recordings that support the creation, continuity, and preservation of diverse musical forms.

TrueFlix™ is the only online resource that leverages the award-winning True Books content to help students hone literacy skills, build knowledge of subject-area content, and cultivate 21st Century skills through the inquiry process.

Browser Check:

Please click on the following link to make sure your computer meets the necessary technical requirements* and has the proper plug-ins installed: http://go.grolier.com/browsercheck

*TrueFlix Technical Requirements

TrueFlix streaming video and animations require a T1 connection or higher and Macromedia Flash Player 9 or higher (this is a free download at www.adobe.com).  

For PC:

• At minimum a Pentium II processor with 128 MB of RAM with Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating system.
  
• Browsers: IE 6.0 (7.0 for Windows XP) and Firefox 2.x.
  
• 15-inch monitor with the resolution set at 1024 x 768 for best viewing (will operate fine at 800 x 600) with high 16-bit colors or higher selected.

For Mac:

• Macintosh OS
  
• XBrowsers: Safari 1.0 or higher and Firefox 2.x.
• 15-inch monitor with the resolution set at 1024 x 768 (will operate fine at 800 x 600) with "thousands of colors" selected.

 TrueFlix includes numerous audio features and therefore requires speakers or headsets.

e-Books for e-Kids

Investment information and analysis to meet the changing needs of investors.

Value Line recently went through a website redesign, please review their Users Guide page to see how to navigate the new website.

Free,  live,  online  academic  and  job  assistance  for  veterans  transitioning  to  civilian  life.

Resources include:

• Resume Review
• Job interview coaching
• Standardized test practice
• Live academic tutoring

To access VetNow remotely, you must use your local library website.

Allegany, Garrett, and Washington Counties in Western Maryland have a rich and diverse history. View images from the collections of the libraries, historical societies, and individuals in the three counties. There are photographs, newspaper articles, and indexes, rare books and more.

Features the content of The World Book Encyclopedia, plus 16 additional databases, which include an online atlas, Spanish-language encyclopedia, teacher resources, World Book Kids, images and sounds, current events, and an online version of the World Book Dictionary.