Access to many of our Online Database products is available from your home or office computer and requires you have one of our new 14-digit library cards.
Need your card updated? Stop by the Circulation Desk during regular library hours.
For assistance or to report a problem, contact the Reference Department at
pittsref@cwmars.org or (413) 499-9480 during
regular library hours.
A variety of online resources from the Boston Public Library are also available to Athenaeum patrons at
www.bpl.org/electronic/ Databases of particular interest include
JSTOR, making available full-text content of nearly 600 core scholarly journals covering 44 specialized subject areas.;
D & B Million Dollar Database, covering approximately 1,600,000 U.S. and Canadian leading public and private businesses; BPL's
Obituary Database, a searchable database of obituaries, for select years, that appeared in the Boston Globe or Boston Herald. Access to BPL databases requires an eCard, free to Massachusetts residents and available with
online registration.
Subject Guide to Online Databases
Alphabetical List of Online Databases
America's GenealogyBank
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- 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- Historical Documents (1789 - 1994): Military records, casualty lists, Revolutionary and Civil War pension requests, widows' claims, orphan petitions,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.
- 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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
American History by Decade:
The Twenties in America
The Thirties in America
The Forties in America
The Fifties in America
The Sixties in America
The Seventies in America
The Eighties in America
The Nineties in America
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference sets, The Twenties in America, The Thirties in America, The Forties in America, The Fifties in America, The Sixties in America, The Seventies in America, The Eighties in America and The Nineties in America.
- Includes historical narrative; biographical entries; and primary source material about the persons, events, institutions, and trends of these decades.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
American Immigration, Encyclopedia of
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Encyclopedia of American Immigration .
- Where immigrants have come from and why; how they have adapted to their new homeland; how they have contributed to American culture and society; how government policies toward them have changed; practical issues of legal and social integration; and how American immigration history has fit into worldwide migration patterns.
- Broad issues ranging from accent discrimination to AIDS, world migration patterns, and xenophobia.
- 70 articles on specific ethnic and national immigrant groups outlining the group's immigration history, emphasizing what has made each group unique.
- Events, laws and treaties, organizations and institutions, and Supreme Court rulings on immigration.
- 45 individual persons, most of whom were post-independence-era immigrants who had a significant impact on the United States.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
American Social Movements
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number at far right "Libary Barcode Login "
Provides the full content of Sharpe reference set, American Social Movements . Includes a variety of wide variety of American Social Movements related to economics, labor, government, politics, current events, global issues. Typical entries include: abolition; women's suffrage; civil rights; the minimum wage; the campaigns for clean air and clean water. Eexamines each social movement's goals, tactics, and impact, as well as its successes and failures. Provides biographical portraits of the key figures. of the nation's social movements and a variety of original documents.
Ancestry Library Edition*
Available for in library use only.
Library Access
Ancestery Library Edition includes:
• Census records from the U.S., the U.K., Australia,
and Germany
• Canadian Census (1851-1911)
• Birth, marriage, and death records for the U.S.,
Canada, and the U.K.
• Canadian Genealogy Index (1600s-1900s)
• U.S. military records (back to the 1600s)
• Canadian military collections
• Drouin Collection of French-Canadian and Quebec
historical records (1621-1967)
• Immigration, emigration, passport, and naturalization
records
• Jewish family history records
• U.S. and Canadian passenger lists (1865-1935)
• Directories and members lists from the U.S., Canada,
and the U.K.
• Court, land, tax, and probate records
• Biographies and histories, including American
Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) and WPA
Slave Narratives
• Collections that bring together diverse materials on
communities of people, such as Jewish Family History
• Photos and maps, ranging from postcards and
panoramas to family photos and headstones
*Key Differences Between Ancestry.com and Ancestry Library Edition
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Auto Repair Reference Center
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access |
Home access - Log in with your library card number.
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
Presented by the estate of Philip F Desch.
Berkshire Eagle
The Athenaeum offers several options for accessing online content in the Berkshire Eagle, Berkshire County's daily newspaper, published by New England Newspapers, Inc.
- 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, Obituaries (Available for in library use only): Obituaries February 1, 2008 - current.
Library access -
In dropdown search limiters enter name/keyword; date. Select Massachusetts and The Berkshire Eagle. Click Search.
- Berkshire Eagle, Library created index (Available for in library use only): Library staff have created a full text keyword searchable database covering December 1989 -March 1999.
Ask in the Local History Department.
- Berkshire Eagle, Library created index databases to Local History Department Vertical Files: Includes Berkshire Eagle clippings and other resources.
Ask in the Local History Department.
Boston Globe
Log into this database from any computer in Massachusetts, through geolocation athentication. (If the authentication does not recognize your computer as located in Massachusetts, it will request you enter your library card number.)
Contains full-text articles from the Boston Globe, starting in 1980.
Cancer
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Health reference set, Cancer.
- Coverage includes diseases, conditions, medications, procedures, specialists, social issues, personal coping tips, print and online academic resources, and support resources.
Civil War Era & Reconstruction
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number at far right "Libary Barcode Login "
Provides the full content of Sharpe reference set, Civil War Era & Reconstruction . Provides an in-depth view of the non-military history of the Civil War and Reconstruction, covering the years 1861-1877. General and specific entries on politics and business, labor, industry, agriculture, education and youth, law and legislative affairs, literature, music, the performing and visual arts, health and medicine, science and technology, exploration, life on the Western frontier, family life, slave life, Native American life, women, and more than a hundred influential individuals. Includes Primary Documents; Chronologies; Glossary; Maps; Images.
Consumer Reports - New!
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
The go-to source for evaluation of a wide range of products, produced by Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit organization. CR tests appliances, cars, electronics, baby gear, products for the home and garden.
Presented by the estate of Philip F Desch.
Critical Survey of Graphic Novels
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number and select Critical Surveys.
- Provides the full content of Salem Literature set, Critical Survey of Graphic Novels, with four components: Heroes & Superheroes; History, Theme & Technique; Independents & Underground Classics; Manga.
- Critical essays covering graphic novels; manga metaseries and stand-alone titles; and core comics series.
- Essays look beyond the "pop culture" aspects of the medium to show the wide range of literary themes and artistic styles used to convey beliefs and conflicts, some harking back to ancient times.
- Typical entries are: Akira; Naruto; Golgo 13; 1960’s: The Foundations of Today’s Graphic Novels; Superheroes: Archetypes for the Modern Myth; Lettering in Comics; Harvey Kurtzman’s Jungle Book; Art Spiegelman’s Maus; The Hernandezes Love & Rockets; Cerebus; Grendel; Daredvil, Born Again; Just a Pilgrim; Hellboy; Sandman; Mage; Watchmen.
Culture Grams
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access
|
Home Access
- Log in with your library card number.
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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867 - 1970 (Massachusetts)
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access
|
Home Access
- Log in with your library card number.
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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Early Republic & Antebellum America (1783 -1861)
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number at far right "Library Barcode Login "
Provides the full content of Sharpe reference set, Early Republic & Antebellum America. More than 550 authoritative signed articles, essays, and sidebars. Covers America as a new nation, including the creation and ratification of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, the War of 1812 and burning of Washington, the Indian Wars and Trail of Tears, the California Gold Rush, the rise of abolitionists and the Underground Railroad. Includes Primary Documents; Chronologies; Glossary; Maps; Images.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Earth Science
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Earth Science, with four components: Earth Materials & Resources; Earth's Surface & History; Earth's Weather, Water & Atmosphere; Physics & Chemistry of the Earth.
- Comprises 500 lengthy essays on basic topics in geology, geophysics, atmospheric sciences, oceanography, environmental science, paleontology and planetology, and providing an introduction to the latest understanding of the Earth's physical features and dynamic processes, as well as those of the solar system in which it resides.
Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Encyclopedia of Mathematics and Society .
- Presents 490 articles showing the math behind our daily lives, explaining how and why math works, and allowing readers to better understand how disciplines such as algebra, geometry, calculus, and others affect what we do every day.
- Appropriate for both high school and undergraduate research.
- The essays in this resource fall into one or more of the following broad categories: architecture and engineering; arts, music, and entertainment; business, economics, and marketing; communications and computers; friendship, romance and religion; games, sports, and recreation; government, politics, and history; history and development of curricular concepts; mathematics around the world; mathematics culture and identity; medicine and health; space, time and distance; travel and transportation; and weather, nature, and environment
Environmental Issues
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Environmental Issues .
- Includes 770 articles that range in length from 300 to 3,000 words.
- Assembles information from numerous fields of knowledge relevant to the study of environmental issues, including biology, geology, anthropology, demographics, genetics, and engineering, and explains the interrelationships of these issues in easily understood terms.
- Topics covered include endangered animal species; air pollution; national parks; environmental legislation; oil spills; alternative energy sources; and global climate change.
- Articles on human-made environments, include such topics as sick building syndrome; noise pollution; smog; and urban planning. Articles range from broad concepts such as ecology to specific issues like the conflict between loggers and defenders of the endangered northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest of the United States.
- Specialized articles include biographies, events, books, legislation and international treaties, court cases, and organizations.
- Sample articles: Biopiracy and Bioprospecting; Ecotourism; Electronic Waste; Johannesburg Declaration; Wangari Maathai; Nature Conservancy.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Forensic Science
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Forensic Science .
- Includes Forensic accounting, Forensic anthropology, Forensic archaeology, Forensic botany, Forensic entomology, Forensic geoscience, Forensic nursing, Forensic odontology, Forensic palynology, Forensic pathology, Forensic photography, Forensic psychiatry, Forensic psychology, Forensic sculpture, and Forensic toxicology
- Covers specific types of investigations, such as arson, child abduction and kidnapping, homicide, and computer crime; investigative techniques, such as autopsies, ballistics, chromatography, crime scene documentation, fingerprint analysis, and polygraph analysis; specialized equipment, such as bomb and nuclear detection devices; types of evidence, such as fire debris, fibers and filaments, glass, and blood residue and stains.
- Over 450 essays ranging in length from 500-3,000 words.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Foundation Directory Online
Available for in library use only.
Library access
- 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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Foundation Grants to Individuals Online
Available for in library use only.
Library access
- An online database of more than 6,200 foundation and public charity programs
that fund students, artists, researchers, and other individual grantseekers.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Gale Databases
Log into the Gale Databases from any computer in Massachusetts, through geolocation athentication. (If the authentication does not recognize your computer as located in Massachusetts, it will request you enter your library card number.)
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 the Gale Database menu page, available by using Log In above.
Databases include:
Academic OneFile
Books & Authors
Business Insights: Essentials
Contemporary Literary Criticism: Select
Educator's Reference Complete
Expanded Academic ASAP
Gale Biography in Context
Gale Criminal Justice Collection
Gale Global Issues in Context
Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context
Gale Science in Context
Gale U S History in Context
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale World History in Context
Gardening, Landscape & Horticulture
General Business File ASAP
General OneFile
General Reference Center Gold
Health & Wellness Resource Center
Health Reference Center Academic
InfoTrac Junior Edition (for Grades 5 - 12)
InfoTrac Student Edition (for Grades 9 - 12)
Kids InfoBits (for Grades K - 5)
Literature Resource Center
Massachusetts History Online
Nursing Resource Center
New York Times (1985- )
Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine
Vocations & Careers
Provided by the MA Board of Library Commissioners and Massachusetts Library System.
Global Resources
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Encyclopedia of Global Resources .
- 575 essays on all aspects of our natural resources, from their economic applications and benefits to the impact of their extraction.
- Covers Top resources—119 mineral based, 41 biologically based, and 39 energy related (such as oil and tar sands). Also ecological resources such as Earth's atmosphere and its biodiversity.
- Includes 40 core nations from Argentina to Zimbabwe; government laws and international conventions; milestone historical events such as the 1992 Earth Summit and the construction of China's Three Gorges Dam; and energy resources from biofuels to coal to hydropower to wind and nuclear power.
- Sample articles: Athabasca oil sands Borax; Canada; Deep ecology; Energy politics; Kyoto Protocol; Land Institute; Wangari Maathai.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Global Warming
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Press reference set, Encyclopedia of Global Warming .
- Comprehensive coverage of the questions of global warming and climate change, including scientific descriptions and explanations of all factors, from carbon dioxide to sunspots, that might contribute to climate change.
- Animals; Arctic & Antarctic; astronomy; chemistry & geochemistry; climatic events & epochs; conferences & meetings; cryology & glaciology; diseases & health effects; economics, industries & products; energy, environmentalism, conservation & ecosystems; ethics, human rights & social justice; fossil fuels, geology & geography; laws, treaties & protocols; meteorology & atmospheric sciences; nations & peoples; oceanography; organizations & agencies; physics & geophysics; plants & vegetation; pollution & waste; popular culture & society; science & technology; transportation; water resources.
- Over 500 essays ranging in length from 400 - 2,000 words.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Athletes
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Athletes.
- Over 1400 biographical essays, averaging 3- 4 pages, on athletes from around the world.
- Includes Football; Baseball; Olympic Sports; Basketball; Golf & Tennis; Boxing & Soccer; Racing & Individual Sports.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Events from History: 19th Century
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Events from History: The 19th Century .
- Covers important social and cultural developments in daily life: major literary movements, significant developments in art and music, trends in immigration, and progressive social legislation
- Coverage of Canada, Africa, Latin America, and Asia
- Sample topics included: Tripolitan War; European revolutions of 1848; Boer Wars in South Africa; Boxer Rebellion in China; Beethoven's Eroica symphony; Puccini's opera Tosca; Romanticism; Naturalism; the Waltz; Barnum's Circus; The Brooks Brothers Button-Down Shirts; expeditions to the Pacific Northwest, the Amazon, Australia, and polar regions; McCormick's reaper; the internal combustion engine; gas lighting; the telephone; the light bulb; transatlantic communications; discovery of the first asteroid; Freud's interpretation of dreams.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Events from History: Modern Scandals
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Events from History: Modern Scandals .
- 400 of the most important and most publicized scandals throughout the world since the beginning of the twentieth century
- Sample articles included: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire; White Sox Players Conspire; Thalidomide & Birth Defects; French Sink Greenpeace Ship; Faked Hitler Diaries; Martha Stewart Convicted; Deadly Pet Food from China; Teapot Dome scandal; Watergate; the death of Princess Diana; Enron; the Tour de France doping scandal; 2007 subprime mortgage industry collapse
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Lives from History: The Incredibly Wealthy .
- Features 445 essays covering 446 people from all time, worldwide. The subjects of these essays are wealthy people who earned their fortunes in a wide range of endeavors from ancient times into the twenty-first century.
- For purposes of this set, the term "incredibly wealthy" is defined to include men and women who were or are among the wealthiest people during the times in which they lived. Many of these individuals were members of the wealthiest families of their times; profiles of numerous members of the Vanderbilt, Rothschild, and Rockefeller families, for example, are represented here.
- Each article includes Early Life, First Ventures, Mature Wealth, Legacy and authoritative resources for Further Reading.
- Many individuals are household names, famous for high-profile professions in entertainment, politics, and business, while others have received less public attention but made important contributions to civil rights and science or helped pave the way for others in their community in areas such as education and sports.
- Sample articles include: Croesus; Mohammed bin Laden; Aliko Dangote; Elizabeth II; Bill Gates; John D. Rockefeller; Carlos Slim; Oprah Winfrey.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Lives from History: Jewish Americans
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Lives from History: Jewish Americans .
- 646 essays covering 654 people (including 124 women) from the eighteenth century to the present. Articles include Early Life, Life's Work, Significance, and authoritative resources for Further Reading.
- The subjects of these essays are Jewish Americans who undertook a wide range of endeavors from colonial times into the twenty-first century.
- Many individuals are household names, famous for high-profile professions in entertainment, politics, and business, while others have received less public attention but made important contributions to civil rights and science or helped pave the way for others in their community in areas such as education and sports.
- Sample articles include: Hannah Arendt; Red Auerbach; Harry Houdini; Henry Kissinger; Chaim Potok; Art Spiegelman; Rosalyn Yalow.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem History reference set, Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives .
- 637 biographies, with sidebars, primary source quotes, photos, illustrations and graphs
- Categories of "notorious" include: Assassins; Bad Popes; Biblical Villains; Con Artists, Cheats, and Frauds; Corrupt Politicians; Cult Leaders; Dictators, Tyrants and Bad Rulers; Gangsters; Military Figures; Murderers and Accused Murderers; Nazis; Outlaws and Gunslingers; Pirates; Political Rebels and Revolutionaries; Racists and Hatemongers; Unethical Scientists and Doctors; Serial Killers; Sexual Predators; Terrorists; Thieves and Bank Robbers; Traitors and Spies; War Criminals; White Collar Criminals; "Witches" and Occultists
- Sample articles include: Benedict Arnold; Gilbert Gauthe; Attila; Ma Barker; William Bligh; William H. Bonney; John Wilkes Booth; Marcus Junius Brutus; Joseph McCarthy; Asahara Shoko
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Heritage Quest Online
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access
|
Home Access - Log in with your library card number.
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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Learning Express
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access |
Home access
-
Log in with your library card number.
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.
Presented by the estate of Philip F Desch.
Magill's Literary Annual, 1977-2012
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
- Provides the full content of Salem Literature set, Magill's Literary Annual.
- For each year, provides authoritative essay-reviews of 200 notable titles significant fiction and nonfiction published in the previous calendar year.
- Nonfiction titles considered include works on current affairs and social issues, ethics and law, history, literary biography, philosophy and religion, psychology, and women's issues.
- Works considered include novels, biographies,autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, letters, histories, poetry, and books on current affairs and other topics.
- Searchable by Title of Work; Author of Work; Topic; Biographical Subject.
- Each essay-review analyzes and presents the focus, intent, and relative success of the author of each work, as well as the makeup and point of view of the title under discussion. Eessays are supplemented by a list of additional "Review Sources" for further study in a bibliographic format. Every essay includes a sidebar offering a brief biography of the author or authors.
Paid for by a Gift from the Estate of Eileen M O'Connor.
Massachusetts Commonwealth:
Central Register and Goods & Services Bulletin
Click for 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
Log into this database from any computer in Massachusetts, through geolocation athentication. (If the authentication does not recognize your computer as located in Massachusetts, it will request you enter your library card number.)
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.
New England Historic Genealogical Society Online Databases
Available for in library use only.
Library Access
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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
New York Times, Historical 1851-2008
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access
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Home Access
- Log in with your library card number.
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.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
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.
Oxford Art Online
Library access | Home access - Log in with your library card number.
Oxford 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.
Provided as a benefit of our membership in CWMARS.
Philanthropy In/Sight
Available for in library use only.
Library access
Philanthropy In/Sight is an interactive mapping tool combining Foundation Center data on grantmakers and their grants with Google maps. Choosing from a wide range of customization options, users can create maps that reveal patterns of giving and funding relationships and overlay grant data with their choice of over 150 demographic, socio-economic, and other data sets to visual portraits showing where philanthropy has made an impact and where opportunities exist to fill critical needs.
The demographic data in Philanthropy In/Sight comes from a variety of sources, including the American Human Development Project of the Social Science Research Council, the United Nations Development Programme's annual Human Development Report (HDR), the World Bank's Data Catalog, the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS), and a number of other government agencies.
Purchased with funds provided by the Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
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.
Provided as a benefit of our membership in CWMARS.
World Terrorism
Available to Berkshire Athenaeum cardholders only.
Library Access | Home Access - Log in with your library card number at far right "Libary Barcode Login "
Provides the full content of Sharpe reference set, World Terrorism . Typical entries include Oklahoma City Bombing; Pan Am Flight 103; and other terrorist acts. Includes historical background of different eras: from ancient Greece through 1939; during WWII; and modern terrorist compaigns worldwide. Discusses specific types of terrorism; techniques and methods; and the psychology of terrorism. Focused entries on terrorist groups and campaigns, with emphasis on the Middle East (including the 1996 peace process); covers radical Muslim terrorism, terrorism in Latin America, post-Colonial Asia and Africa, and war and civil war since 1945. Entries devoted to terrorism in the industrialized world: the United States, Europe, Israel, Britain, and Latin America as well as responses to terrorism.
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This page updated February 2013.