Online Databases

African-American History Online (Facts on File)

• Biographies, many with links to select quotes from the subject
• Events and Topics, such as court cases; legislation; key social, literary and artistic movements; daily life and living conditions; important organizations
• Primary sources, some excerpted and some full text, with brief introductions
• Timelines, including Slavery in America; Civil Rights Movement; and the Harlem Renaissance
• Images and Videos, including more than 1000 historical images with explanatory captions
• Maps and Charts

America's GenealogyBank

• Historical Newspapers (1690 - 1977): Over 86 million articles, obituaries, marriage notices, birth announcements and other items published in over 1,300 historical U S newspapers, digitized in cooperation with the American Antiquarian Society and other institutions. New content added monthly.
• Historical Books (1801 - 1900): Digitized versions of the complete text of more than 11,700 books, pamphlets, and printed items including genealogies, biographies, funeral sermons, local histories, cards, and charts. New content added monthly.
• Historical Documents (1789 - 1980): Military records, casualty lists, Revolutionary and Civil War pension requests, widows' claims, orphan petitions, and land grants. Includes the complete American State Papers (1789 - 1838) and all items of genealogical value from the U S Congressional Serial Set (1817 - 1980). New content added monthly.
• America's Obituaries (1977 - current): Includes over 800 newspapers from all 50 states. New content added daily.
• Social Security Death Index (1937 - current): Over 79 million Social Security Death Index (SSDI) records, which have been enhanced with age, city, county and state information. New content added weekly.

American History Online (Facts on File)

Spans over 500 years of political, military, social and cultural history. Includes curriculum-based content. Features biographies of important and representative historical figures; events, themes, organizations, places and cultural developments; over 1700 primary source documents; timelines; overview essays outlining time periods; collection of more than 2500 images; maps, graphs and tables.

American Women's History Online (Facts on File)

• Biographies of of American women throughout history, from Bella Abzug to Zitkala-Sa
• Events and Topics, such as Affirmative Action, Crime and Violence
• Primary sources, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton's address to the New York Legislature and the report of the Glass Ceiling Commission
• Timelines by era
• Images and video gallery, including items such as Babe Didrikson winning the National Open (1948) and Sandra Day O'Connor answering questions during her Senate confirmation hearing (1981)
• Maps and Charts, including items such as Alcohol Consumption by Gender and Death Rates for Females under 45 by Race.

Ancestry Library Edition

Over 4 billion names and approximately 4,000 databases, including U S and U K census materials; Birth, Marriage and Death records, including the Social Security Death Index; Immingration Records, including ship passenger lists; Military records, including World War I Draft Registration Cards and Civil War resources; City Directories; Slave Narratives; Court, Land and Probate records; Photos; Historical Maps; Reference Sources, such as American Genealogical Biographical Index, Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Books.

Auto Repair Reference Center

The Auto Repair Reference Center database contains complete automotive repair information supplied by Nichols Publishing, publisher of Chilton Information, on most manufacturers of domestic and imported vehicles. Content includes:

• Approximately 25,000 vehicles, from 1954 to present
• Over 100,000 factory drawings and step-by-step photographs
• Over 65,000 technical service bulletins & recalls
• Wiring diagrams for easy viewing and printing
• Specifications & maintenance schedules
• Labor Time Guide & Estimator
• Quick Tips - a complete guide to vehicle ownership & maintenance

Berkshire Eagle

• Berkshire Eagle Digital Edition (Available for in library use only): Search and navigate an exact replica of the current edition of the printed newspaper, with a 30-day archive.
  Library access - Ask a Librarian to enter the password.

• Berkshire Eagle Website Archive (Available for in library use only): Full Text of articles published 1998 - current. Does not include wire service stories, photographs, advertisements.
  Library access - Ask a Librarian to enter the password.



• Berkshire Eagle, Massachusetts Newsstand Edition: Full Text of articles published June 2005 - current. Basic and Advanced Search options offered. Ability to limit by article type (for example, editorial, review, letter, obituary)
  Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.

Culture Grams

A resource for upper elementary, middle school and high school students and others seeking cultural and geographic information, this database includes six components:

• World Edition: Cultural reports for 190 countries and territories, including land and climate, history, language, family, diet, holidays, economy, education, health, events and trends, statistics, maps and a glossary.
• Kids Edition: Intended for upper elementary students, this component offers 68 country reports, with cultural information, images, historical timeline, fun facts, history, population, maps, flags, "life as a kid."
• States Edition: Covers the 50 U S states and the District of Columbia, with maps, flags, symbols, timelines, history, economy, geography, population.
• Photo Gallery: Over 600 images representing daily life in over 50 countries of the world.
• Recipe Collection: Five native recipes for each of the countries covered in the World Edition.
• Famous People Index: Short biographies of famous individuals from countries covered in the World Edition.

Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867 - 1970 (Massachusetts)

Founded in 1867 by D A Sanborn, the Sanborn Map Company was the primary American publisher of fire insurance maps for nearly 100 years. Sanborn maps can be used to study the history, growth and development of cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Maps include details such as building outlines, construction materials, location, size and shape of structures, building use, windows and doors, street and sidewalk widths, boundaries, house numbers, outbuildings. Factories are labeled with the owner's name and products manufactured. Also depicted are pipelines, railroads, wells, water mains, dumps and heavy machinery. Maps can be manipulated, expanded, printed and downloaded.

Foundation Directory Online

• The Foundation Directory Online is a searchable database of 80,000 grantmakers and over half a million grants.
• Includes controlled vocabulary indexes; ability to use multiple search terms;option for Free Text searching.
• Updated weekly.
• Most entries link to foundation website and 990-PF, the tax return filed by private foundations with the Internal Revenue Service.
  

Foundation Grants to Individuals Online

• An online database of more than 6,200 foundation and public charity programs that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers.

Gale Group Databases (InfoTrac)

Extensive collection of databases and periodical indexes, with many full text magazine and journal articles online.
Detailed descriptions of each database's contents are on Gale Group's menu page, available by clicking the links above.
Databases include:

• Academic OneFile
• Biography Resource Center
• Contemporary Literary Criticism - Select
• Educator's Reference Complete
• Expanded Academic ASAP
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
• General Business File ASAP
• General OneFile
• General Reference Center Gold
• Health Reference Center Academic
• InfoTrac Junior Edition (for Grades 5 - 12)
• InfoTrac Student Edition (for Grades 9 - 12)
• InfoTrac OneFile
• Kids InfoBits (for Grades K - 5)
• Massachusetts History Online
• New York Times (from 1995-)
  

Grove Art Online

Library access |  Home access - Log in with your library card number.

Grove Art Online provides access to the text of The Dictionary of Art and The Oxford Companion to Western Art. It includes 45,000 articles; over 1500 thumbnail art images and line drawings; links to searchable image databases and art images on museum and gallery web sites around the world.

Heritage Quest Online

Includes five genealogical resources of interest to those researching their family history.

• Federal Census: Find ancestors using name indexes for U S Census, 1790 - 1930.
• Genealogy and Local History Collection: Includes over 20,000 family and local history books, with every word searchable.
• Periodical Source Index (a.k.a. PERSI): A comprehensive subject index covering more than 6,500 genealogy and local hisotry periodicals since 1800. Can be searched using names, locations, keywords, periodical titles.
• Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files: Records of over 80,000 individuals who served, including rank, unit, period of service, date of birth, residence.
• Freedman's Bank Records: Documents more than 105,000 bank depositors of the Freedman's Savings & Trust Company, the primary bank for America's freed slaves from 1865-1874.

Home Improvement Reference Center

Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.

Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.

A full text database focusing on home improvement and home repair. Provides instructions, tips, suggestions. Special features inlcude: Working with contractors; Glossary of Terms; Conversion Charts; Homeowners Journal. Includes sections devoted to:

• outdoor projects
• electrical projects
• remodeling projects
• plumbing projects
• wood projects
• decorating projects
• maintenance

Learning Express

Learning Express offers online practice tests and tutorials. Take a test, receive immediate scoring, complete answer explanations, and a personalized analysis of your results.The following tests are included: Advanced Placement; Business Writing Success; Civil Service; College Entrance Exams; Cosmetology; Elementary School Skills; EMS; Firefighter; GED; Graduate School Entrance Exams; High School Skills Improvement; Job Search and Success Skills; Law Enforcement; Math Skills Improvement; Middle School Skills Improvement; Military; Nursing; Reading Skills Improvement; Real Estate; Resume and Interviewing Success Skills; Skills Improvement with Spanish Instructions (for Native Spanish speakers who want to improve their English writing skills); Teaching; Technical and Career College Skills; TOEFL; U.S. Citizenship; Writing Skills Improvement.

Massachusetts Commonwealth:
Central Register and Goods & Services Bulletin

Library access

The Central Register (published weekly each Wednesday) contains information about state, county and municipal contracts being put out to bid for the design, construction and reconstruction of public facilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Invitations to bid, lists of contractors picking up specifications on a weekly basis, and final awards of contracts are all published. Proposals and advertisements for the lease, sale or transfer of real property are published; as are lists of certified minority and women contractors and contractors who have been debarred from state work.

The Goods and Services Bulletin (published weekly each Monday) contains solicitations for the procurement of commodities and services (which, generally, are unrelated to construction of public facilities). State purchases of goods and procurements of certain services or consultants are published, while municipal contracts exceeding $100,000 are required to be advertised pursuant to the Uniform Procurement Act (M.G.L. c. 30B). Notices advertising sole source procurements and the availability of surplus property are also published in the Bulletin.

Massachusetts History Online

Contains full-text articles gathered from almost 50 sources that directly relate to Masschusetts history, both past and present, and include people, places, and historical events.

Massachusetts Newsstand

Massachusetts Newsstand offers access to the following fulltext newspapers:

• Berkshire Eagle 2005 - Current
• Boston Globe 1980 - Current
• Boston Herald 1991 - Current
• BusinessWest (Chicopee) 1992 - Current
• Gazette (Haverhill) 12/31/92 - 8/9/97
• North Adams Transcript 2005 - Current
• Patriot Ledger (Quincy) 1991 - Current
• Plymouth County Business Review 1991 - Current
• Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg) 2005 - Current
• Standard Tiimes (New Bedford) 1/4/92 - 8/19/97
• Sun (Lowell) 2004 - Current
• Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) 1989 - Current

New England Historic Genealogical Society Online Databases

Includes Atlases; Bible Records; Cemetery & Church Records; Census, Tax and Voters Lists; Court Records; Diaries; Heraldry; Land Records; Local Histories; Military Information; New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1847-2004; Newspapers and Periodicals; Records for People of Color; Probate Records; School Records; Social Security Death Index; Town Records; Vital Records. Includes sources for Canada, England, Ireland, New England States, and New York.

New York Times, Historical Backfiles 1851-2005

Full text news articles; birth and marriage announcements; advertisements; cartoons; editorials; legal notices; letters to the editor; lottery numbers; obituaries; photos; real estate transactions; book, movie and theater reviews.

NoveList

Library access  |  Home access - Log in with your library card number

• Fiction reader's advisory service: contains lists, reviews, feature articles, and more.
• Search by authors, plot lines, series, reading level, etc.

Salem Publishing History Reference Sources:
The Seventies in America
The Eighties in America

Library access |  Home access - Log in with your library card number.

• Provides the full content of Salem History reference sets, The Seventies in America and The Eighties in America.
• Includes historical narrative; biographical entries; and primary source material about the persons, events, institutions, and trends of these decades.

Science Online

Library access |  Home access - Log in with your library card number.

Science Online contains thousands of entries covering animal anatomy; anthropology and archaeology; astronomy and space technology; atomic physics; biochemistry; biology; botany; chemistry; computer science; earth science; environmental science; general science; health and medicine; human anatomy and physiology; marine science; physics; weather and climate. It includes diagrams, definitions, biographies, essays and experiments.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center

Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.

Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.

Small Engine Repair Reference Center is a full text database providing reference and instructional information about small engine machinery maintenance and repair. SERRC contains the full set of Clymer's small engine repair manuals. Routine maintenance, such as tune-ups and brake service, as well as more extensive repairs involving engine transmission disassembly are covered. Provides many photos and detailed illustrations. Engines types include:

• ATVs
• boats
• generators and other small engines
• lawn mowers
• motorcycles
• outdoor power equipment, including chain saws and snowthrowers
• personal water craft
• snowmobiles
• tractors

This page updated February 2010.