Research Resources

Your library subscribes to many online databases ranging from magazine and journal subject indexes to dictionaries and encyclopedias. Below is a categorized list of both premium and free databases which may help you in your research.

Need Help? In the library, ask at the Reference Desk. Not in the library? You can still Ask a Librarian.

Note: Databases listed with a plus (+) before the link must be viewed in the library.

Choose from the Categories Below:

NOVEL New York Online Virtual Electronic Library

NOVELny at Saratoga Springs Public Library: NOVELNY is an online library of literally hundreds of magazines, newspapers, encyclopedias, maps, charts, research, homework resources, business resources and reference books that are available to every New Yorker, free of charge. All you need is your public library card, New York driver license -or- New York Non-Driver ID. Students may also access the NOVELny databases through their school or academic library.

Magazines, Journals & Newspapers Full-text Articles, Journals, Newspapers

MasterFILE Elite: MasterFILE Elite provides full text for magazines, periodicals and reference books covering a wide-range of subject areas including business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more.This database also provides an Image Collection containing photos, maps and flags. Includes Consumer Reports!
Academic OneFile: The premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects - authoritative and comprehensive. Millions of articles available in both PDF and HTML full-text with no restrictions; updated daily. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
General OneFile: A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business, computers, current events, economics, education, environmental issues, health care, hobbies, humanities, law, literature and art, politics, science, social science, sports, technology, and many general interest topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
New York Times Historical File through (ProQuest): The New York Times (1851-2015) offers full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. However, there is always a three-year lag. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue. Coverage includes: editorials and letters to the editor; obituaries and death notices; birth and marriage announcements; historical photos; classifieds and display advertisements.
Newsstand: "InfoTrac Newsstand is an innovative Web-based full-text newspaper database which allows users to search articles instantly by title, headline, date, newspaper section or other assigned fields. [...] With InfoTrac Newsstand, you can search a collection of thousands of national, international, state and local newspapers" - GALE CENGAGE. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Chronicling America - The Library of Congress: "This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860-1922 and find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program".
General Reference Center Gold with InfoTrac Collections: General-interest sources include magazines, children’s magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and more. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Gannet Newsstand: Contains over 85 Gannett newspapers, 6 of which are New York newspapers. These include the Ithaca Journal, Poughkeepsie Journal, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Journal News (White Plains), Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton) and Star-Gazette (Elmira). The Gannett newspapers are available in full text and include all articles of substance written by staff writers, death notices, birth notices, editorials, reviews, letters to the editor, and selected online content. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Informe Académico: Spanish interface provides access to Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals both from and about Latin America. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
New York State Newspapers: A subset of InfoTrac Newsstand, this database includes articles from newspapers from around New York State including: Glens Falls Post-Star, New York Times, New York Observer, New York Post, and Newsday. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
RBDigital: RBDigital, the world's largest newsstand, offers full color, interactive digital magazines for your enjoyment. Browse from your library's collection of popular titles with no holds, no checkout periods, and no limit to the number of magazines you can download. NOTE: Access is limited to Saratoga Springs School District residents only.
GreenFILE: This free research database provides scholarly, government and general-interest sources covering the environmental effects of individuals, corporations and governments and what can be done at each level to minimize negative impacts.

Guides by Librarians Information compiled by librarians on a variety of topics

Recommendations from Our Librarians: These guides made by our librarians include reading recommendations in a variety of subject areas, as well as guides about library services, programs, and helpful links and tools.

Educational / Tutoring Homework help, tutors, test prep ...

Brainfuse: The Adult Learning Center is a unique academic skills center featuring live online tutoring, test preparation, writing assistance, practice GED tests and U.S. Citizenship tests.
Educators Reference complete: Resource for educators and education students. Provides access to periodicals covering pre-school to college and most educational specialties. Includes full-text for many titles cited in ERIC. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Expanded Academic ASAP with InfoTrac Collections: Resource for academic research includes scholarly journals and selected general interest titles in a wide variety of subjects. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Explora: With Explora, EBSCO's dedicated interface for students, completing research and writing essays is easier than ever. Watch this video to learn how Explora helps!
Explora Educator's Edition: Focuses on the needs of teachers and librarians offering professional development resources, lesson plans, research guides, and curriculum standards.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context: This database, which develops research skills and promotes issue awareness, information literacy and critical thinking, will support the new Common Core Curriculum Standards adopted by New York State. It contains a range of perspectives on many important issues, with over 13,000 pro/con viewpoints. Students of all levels will benefit from a variety of resource types: reference, news, primary sources, multimedia and more. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
Teacher Reference Center: A complimentary research database for teachers, Teacher Reference Center (TRC) provides indexing and abstracts for more than 220 peer-reviewed journals to aid in curriculum development, instructional media, assessment, and best practices to name a few.

Business Company Profiles, Finance, Investment

Reference USA: Detailed information on 12 million businesses and 120 million households. Business information includes executive names, number of employees, credit ratings, SIC code, and more. Search using whatever information you have, even if it is incomplete.
Business Insights: Essentials: Business Insights: Essentials is provided by NOVEL, a project of the New York State Library. Research and analyze companies and industries around the world. Featuring the content you need to explore a global business landscape. Extensive reference content from Gale's core business collection; easy-to-use company fundamentals and investment research reports; industry rankings, profiles, market share data, company histories, and more... Compare companies, generate lists, and see more of what's inside!
Thomas Register: Thomas Register is a comprehensive online resource for finding companies and products manufactured in North America. You can search this free Web site by Product or Service, Company Name or Brand Name. Helpful Search Tips and a Site Demo that gives step-by-step directions, makes this site user friendly.
Valueline: Value Line provides investment research on stocks, mutual funds, options and convertibles, and offers a family of no-load mutual funds. Updated every Friday at noon.
Morningstar Investment Research Center: Morningstar Investment Research Center is an online database designed specifically for libraries. With data and analysis on over 41,000 investments, the database is available to fulfill the investing needs of patrons, students, and researchers across all levels of expertise.
Financial Literacy Resources: A jam-packed guide full of financial literacy related topics, guidelines, services, and reference materials.

Job and Search Sites Job Search, Resources, Local Employment

Department of Civil Service: Resources to assist with the types of questions and the format of examinations of NY State and local civil service employment exams.
National Labor Exchange: A national job search website.
CareerOneStop: The CareerOneStop provides job seekers with career information and business and economic developers access to labor market information, business services, and skills competency information. America's Service Locator provides tools to find employment and training services.
Indeed: This easy to use site has combined job listings from job boards, newspapers and company career pages.
Glassdoor: Search more than 15 million job listings by title, location, and more as well as reviews and ratings on more than 300,000 companies. Research and compare companies by overall rating, CEO ratings, pros & cons and more. Set up job alerts to get new listings sent to your email inbox and find out what current employees are saying about their employers, all under a single website resource of Glassdoor.com.
Snagajob: This site's focus is on hourly employment only. It has the most up-to-date hourly job openings currently found on the internet and is searchable by zipcode.
SimplyHired: Search jobs by category, keyword and location. This site searches millions of listings across the web and also features international jobs.
GotResumeBuilder: A free and feature-rich online résumé building tool allowing the creation of a résumé online by filling out a few forms. Résumés can be formatted in 2-3 clicks by choosing a template, and can be downloaded in a neatly organized file with various formats (text, Word, ODT, HTML, PDF) or stored online and even sent by fax (for free). Samples, a résumé tutorial, and context-sensitive résumé writing tips are also provided.
Resumonk: A free resource to assist you in creating a professional looking résumé, easily, quickly, and beautifully. Save your résumé as a PDF or store it online.
NY Department of Labor: Jobs Express: "The site takes thousands of job openings and sorts them by region to help job seekers evaluate what industries are growing in their area and find out what opportunities are available in specific companies. Complete with other helpful features - like video tutorials on resume writing, interview techniques, and transitioning to a new career - use Jobs Express to enhance your job search today." - Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, and some special purpose databases

Britannica Academic: Includes Encyclopedia Britannica plus Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, magazines and periodicals, and many other research tools.
Britannica Escolar: Accurate and age-appropriate content in Spanish for native Spanish speakers, bilingual students and students learning Spanish. Available at two levels—primary and secondary.
Grolier Encyclopedia: Searchable online version includes Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Americana, New Book of Knowledge, and America the Beautiful

Genealogy & Local History NYS Genealogical Information, Saratoga History, ...

(+) Ancestry Library Edition: Start your own genealogy using the U.S. Census (1790-1930), New York Passenger lists (1851-1891), World War I Draft Registration Cards (1917-1918), Civil War Service Records, the Social Security Death Index, and the England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland Parish and Probate Records plus much more. In-library use only.
HeritageQuest: Your library's resource for census data, family records and local histories. This collection assembles every extant U.S. federal census, banking and military records, genealogies, local histories, primary source materials, and genealogical and local history serials. HeritageQuest Online is an ongoing project (new content is added regularly).
Where to find historical information on Saratoga Springs: A guide to the physical location of information on Government/laws, Business records, Horse racing, Battle of Saratoga (1777), and Personal papers.
The Saratogian Index: The Saratogian Index is an in-house project undertaken by the library staff. The Saratoga Springs Public Library's index to The Saratogian begins on January 1, 1999 and is ongoing. It currently has a one-month lag. Items included in the index are births, deaths, marriages, and engagements.
Ellis Island: Research passenger records from 1892 to 1924.
Familysearch.org: Search international genealogical index, pedigree resource file, US Social Security Death Index, Vital Records Index, other genealogical sites, and more.
American Memory: American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 digital collections. Enter the name of your hometown to find historical images.
Local History Resources at the Saratoga Springs Public Library: Look for the local history collection, history and genealogy links, and the Saratoga History Roundtable listing the best source for a variety of Saratoga Springs information.
Cyndi's list of genealogy sites on the web: A categorized and cross-referenced index to genealogical resources on the Internet.
NY GenWeb: Link to each County within New York State, where you will find a wealth of county related genealogy information.
NYS Slavery Records Index: The NYS Slavery Records Index is a searchable compilation of records that identify individual enslaved persons and their owners, beginning as early as 1525 and ending during the Civil War.
The World Genealogy Web Project: The WorldGenWeb Project is a non-profit, volunteer based organization dedicated to providing genealogical and historical records and resources for world-wide access!
The US Genealogy Web Project: This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to all the state genealogy websites which, in turn, provide gateways to the counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.

Grants Monetary grants, research funding, non-profit assistance, etc...

(+) Foundation Directory: This database will help grant writers find sources for grants. It should be most helpful to nonprofit organizations looking to raise money. The Saratoga Springs Public Library is a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center. "Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public." - Source: Foundation Center
(+) Foundation Grants to Individuals: Look here for information about foundation programs that fund students, artists, researchers and other individual grant seekers. The Saratoga Springs Public Library is a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center.
(+) Foundation Center Maps: Foundation Maps is Foundation Center’s premier data visualization tool and the easiest way to see who is funding what and where around the world.
Grants.gov: "Grants.gov is your source to FIND and APPLY for federal government grants. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proud to be the managing partner for Grants.gov, an initiative that is having an unparalleled impact on the grant community." - grants.gov
GrantSpace: GrantSpace, a service of the Foundation Center, offers information and resources that are specifically designed to meet the needs of grant-seekers. GrantSpace is a free service of Foundation Center that can be accessed by anyone via the web.

Health Diseases, Prevention, Treatment, ...

Health Reference Center Academic: Multi-source database providing access to full-text of nursing and allied health journals, plus a wide variety of personal health information sources that offer reliable health information to researchers, including nursing and allied health students. The material contained in this database is intended for informational purposes only. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.
MEDLINEplus: This site has a wealth of electronic resources and links to other sites. Consumers can also subscribe to their electronic mailing lists at no cost. Health consumers are encouraged to discuss search results with their health care professional.
Drug Digest: Search this site for information on various prescription drugs and medications.
NY State of Health: Affordable Health Care for Residents of New York State. Individuals, families, and small businesses can use this website to shop for, compare and enroll in health insurance coverage online, in-person, over the phone or by mail.
HealthCare.gov: Affordable Health Care for Non-NYS Residents. The Health Insurance Marketplace. Learn all you can about qualifying healthcare options for individuals and families, and small businesses.

Technology Computer industry publications ...

Computer Database: Provides access to business and technical publications in the computer, electronics, and telecommunications industries. This database is funded by NOVEL, New York Online Virtual Electronic Library.

Language Instruction Learn languages online

Mango Languages: Language Learning Tool: Mango is an online language-learning system that teaches actual conversation skills for 42 different languages. Recommended by LA Times Travel as an online language learning resource for travelers.

There are also mobile apps for your phone for on-the-go learning!
MUZZY Online: #1 Language Course for Children: An award-winning language program hailed by kids and adults alike, "with eight (8) world languages MUZZY Online is a comprehensive, interactive, and fun way to learn a second language."

Law & Government Consumer Law, Patent Law, State Government, ...

New York State Unified Court System: Provides continuous and easy access to New York State courts and the services they provide. This site has a link to all public access law libraries in the state.
FindLaw: Best legal information starting point for the consumer. Serious researchers can find Supreme Court Decisions from 1983-date.
USA.gov: "Whatever you want or need from the U.S. government, it's here on USA.gov. [...] Our powerful search engine and ever-growing collection of topical and customer-focused links connects you to millions of web pages from the federal government, local and tribal governments and to foreign nations around the world." From the U.S. General Services Administration. (Formerly FirstGov.gov.)
Cornell's Legal Information Institute (LII): Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute is probably the most expansive legal reference tool online. Useful features include Law About with links to every legal topic imaginable, constitutions and codes, court opinions, law by source or jurisdiction (the 50 states and DC), and the American Legal Ethics Library. Key features are The United States Code, U.S. Supreme Court (1990-date), and New York State Court of Appeals opinions.
GOVInfo.gov: Official Federal government information from the US Government Printing Office. Included here are popular regulatory materials such as the Federal Register (1994-date) and The Code of Federal Regulations, critical Congressional products such as the Congressional Record (1994-date) and Congressional Bills, and important business materials such as Commerce Business Daily (CBDNet).
International Trademark Association: Listings for nearly 3,000 registered trademarks and service marks with their generic terms and indicates capitalization and punctuation.
United States Copyright Office: Key publications, including informational circulars, application forms for copyright registration and links to the copyright law.
New York State Legislature: Current Congressional legislative information, a service of the Library of Congress.
New York State Assembly: Information on bills, hearings, laws, committees and more.
New York State Senate: Includes senator information, schedules, press releases and senate reports, and bill information.
New York State Government: A portal for links to all areas of New York State government information, websites, and governing entities...laws, rules, regulations, etc...

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