Along with books, magazines, and audio-visual materials, the Inglewood Public Library purchases numerous databases for you. Most of these databases are part of the library's Virtual Branch, available from your home 24/7; to search a database, click on the links below. When accessing databases from outside the library, you may be prompted to enter the number on the back of your library card, or by entering the user name and password we provide under the database description. If you need assistance in accessing your databases, please contact the library's Adult Reference Desk when we are open at (310) 412-4280, or e-mail us. Thank you!

• Auto Repair
• Biographies
• Business
• Career Resources and Sample Tests
• Directories
• Encyclopedias
• Español
• Genealogy
• Health and Medicine
• History
• Just for Kids!
• Literature
• Magazines and Newspapers
• Social Issues and Controversial Topics for Students

Auto Repair

Auto Repair Reference Center
Includes more than 28,000 vehicles from 1945 to present. Find repair manuals, troubleshooting guides, general overviews, recalls and schematics.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Biographies

Biography in Context
This excellent resource includes biographies and photographs of more than 525,000 people. You can search by name, occupation, nationality and place of birth or death; many biographies also have addresses, links to the person's website and lists of their works.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Business

Business and Company Resource Center
Thousands of company profiles, information on brands, rankings and tables, investment reports, company histories, chronologies, timelines and thousands of magazine articles related to business and economics.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

City of Inglewood Online Business Directory
A directory maintained by the City of Inglewood, which includes all licensed businesses. Each record contains the name of the business, its type, an address, telephone number and the start date of the business.
Available in the Library and from home.  

Career Resources and Sample Tests

Career Transitions
Are you looking for a new job or thinking of changing careers? Career Transitions is a self-paced application that walks job-seekers through the entire process; you can build a resume and a personal career portfolio, match your current skills and interests with fulfilling career paths, investigate thousands of industries and companies, find classes to increase hiring chances in your career, and search job listings from around the country. This resource is a great one-stop start to your future!
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321); you will need to register to create a resume or search for jobs.

Testing and Education Reference Center
One of our favorite databases; use this resource to reach your education and career goals. Take online practice tests and use test preparation books; are you looking for a GED or ASVAB book, and because of high demand the library copies are out?  Sign up here, and you have 90 days to complete dozen of practice tests.  You can also search thousands of college and graduate school entries, and identify scholarships that meet your financial needs.  Get that job or college degree with the help of your public library!
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321); you will need to register to take the online tests.  

Directories

Associations Unlimited
Locate over three-hundred-thousand international and American nonprofit associations and professional societies in all fields. This database includes IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

Gale Directory Library
The Directory Library includes directories that the library formerly received in paper; now try them online! We currently subscribe to the following resources:

• Business Rankings Annual - This database includes thousands of items from periodicals, newspapers, financial services, directories, statistical annuals and other printed material regarding different rankings. The "top 10" from each of these rankings appears in this volume, grouped under standard subject headings for easy browsing. Readers can quickly locate all rankings in which a given company, person or product appears by consulting the comprehensive index.
• Directories in Print - The most comprehensive source in its field, describing more than 16,000 rosters, guides and other address lists published worldwide; hundreds of additional directories are cited, with status notes, in the index.
• Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media - This media directory contains thousands of listings for radio and television stations, cable companies, newsletters, magazines and newspapers in all 50 states and internationally. Most of the entries include addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses, key personnel including editors, and much more.
• Trade Shows Annual - Listings for more than 10,000 trade shows, 6,000 sponsoring organizations, and 5,900 facilities, services and information sources on trade shows and exhibitions held around the world.

Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

Gale Ready Reference Shelf
The Ready Reference Shelf incorporates popular general reference databases, with more than 350,000 addresses and contacts for associations, research centers, publishers, newspapers, periodicals, databases, television and radio stations and more.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Encyclopedias

Britannica Online Reference Center
This database from the Encyclopædia Britannica includes all of their encyclopedia articles, as well as a world atlas, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, a Spanish-English dictionary, useful timelines, thousands of quotations, and even videos. This database also has access to Compton’s Encyclopedia for Kids and writing guides for students.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Español

Informe!
Una colección de revistas en texto completo en Español. Discute los negocios, salud, tecnología, cultura, temas de actualidad y otros temas. A collection of full-text magazines in Spanish. Covers business, health, technology, culture, current topics and other subjects.
Disponible en la Biblioteca y de la casa por ingresar su número de tarjeta de la biblioteca (parece 22008007654321).  

Genealogy

African American Heritage
Search historical records for African Americans, including the US Census, marriage, military draft and service records, the Register of Slaves and Free Persons of Color, records of the Freedman's Bank and much more. Join the AfriGeneas volunteer social network, explore Black Genesis, a resource book on African genealogy in North America, and consult dozens of other online books about the specific issues in African American genealogy and heritage.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

Ancestry Library Edition
A genealogy research tool that provides you instant access to a wide range of resources for genealogical and historical research.  These include the U.S. Census, birth, death, marriage and military records, immigration applications, old phone directories, and hundreds more.
Available in the Library only.  

Health and Medicine

Health and Wellness Resource Center
This database offers thousands of articles from health and medical journals, numerous reference volumes, over 700 videos from Healthology, Inc., hundreds of pamphlets, and health-related articles from over 2,200 general interest publications. For informational purposes only; ALWAYS consult a doctor for any serious illness.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

History

United States History in Context
Access to thousands of primary (original) documents, articles, images, videos and audio recordings from dozens of reference books and over a hundred full-text history journals covering themes, events, individuals and periods in United States history.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

World History in Context
A comprehensive collection of full-text history articles, images, maps, videos and charts from leading scholarly publications and journalists. From ancient Europe to Latin America and from the Far East to the Renaissance, world history curricula is supported with thousands of primary sources, dozens of reference books and more than 110 journals.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Just for Kids!

Britannica Online for Kids
This database from the Encyclopædia Britannica includes Compton’s Encyclopedia, an elementary level encyclopedia, and a dictionary! It also has subject guides, information on animals, geography, statistics about states and countries, a world atlas, biographies of important people, videos, and guides on how to write papers or do research for students. One of our best resources!
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

Kids InfoBits
A great database developed especially for young beginning researchers in Kindergarten up through Grade 5, covering geography, current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports and more. This is where kids can learn to use the Inglewood Library Virtual Branch!
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).  

Literature

Literature Resource Center
The essential database for anyone doing research on books, plays, authors, critics and playwrights. Thousands of full-text journal articles, literary criticism, reviews, biographical information, and brief overviews of over 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world. A fantastic resource.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

NoveList
Looking for a good fiction book? This database contains thousands of fiction titles, book reviews and booklists on a wide range of topics. NoveList also includes book discussion guides useful for Book Clubs.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

Online Book Club
Join our Online Book Club and every weekday we will e-mail you a short excerpt or chapter of a book that takes about 5 minutes to read! A quick way to catch up on your reading; we offer book clubs for teens, romance lovers, general fiction, popular nonfiction, inspirational titles, business and the classics. NEW! Enjoy our audio book club, which sends you free audio books to listen to on your iPod or other PDA!
Enroll at the website, and enjoy excerpts through your e-mail account.  

Magazines and Newspapers

A to Z Title Search
One of the largest collections in the Inglewood Virtual branch, A to Z is a shortcut to almost 27,000 online magazines and reference books included in the other databases listed on this page. A to Z is also a connection to over 9,000 "open access" online journals on the Internet. Just click on the link and search or browse for a title or a subject; each title lists our online holdings and links you directly to them! NOTE: This database is NOT for searching articles, just magazine titles by subject. To find magazine articles, use General OneFile; for e-journal articles, use EBSCO E-Journals, both below.
Available in the Library only.

EBSCO E-Journals Search
EBSCO E-Journals consolidates over 20,000 online journals from all major publishers, covering practically all disciplines. Paper magazines are going online! With this database, you can find journals, view tables of contents and abstracts, and discover new e-journals in your field of interest by browsing subject categories.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

General OneFile - Magazine Article Search
Start here if you’re looking for millions of magazine or scholarly journal articles on a very 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. Ideal for homework, research or reading for pleasure, the vast majority of these citations include the full text of the article, and many include either photographs or an actual .pdf image of the article. For scholarly journals only, check the box that says "peer-reviewed only". Updated daily.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).

InfoTrac Newsstand
Here is your virtual library resource for newspapers (except for the Los Angeles Times, a separate database below). Search more than seventy million articles within over 1000 newspapers worldwide, many dating back to the early 1980s.
Available in the Library and from home by entering your library card number (looks like 22008007654321).