Reference & Research
Research Databases by Subject
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Art & Literature »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
The Literature Resource Center and LitFinder databases are excellent resources for literary criticism. Search by author, work, or theme.
- The Grove Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture
- The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts
- International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Rhetoric
- Literature Resource Center (Gale Infotrac) — Includes biographies, bibliographies and critical analyses of more than 120,000 authors from hundreds of sources including Gale Group print publications and scholarly journals.
- Litfinder — An index to poetry, short stories, essays, speeches and plays, many in full text.
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
- International Encyclopedia of Dance
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance
Web Resources We Recommend
- Artcyclopedia — Index of onlne museums and image archives; find out where the works of over 800 different fine artists can be viewed online.
- Kovels — Information about collecting and antiques.
- Union List of Artist Names Online — Find artists and their biographies.
- Playbill — Offers complete Broadway, off-Broadway, regional, and London theatre listings as well as daily updated theatre news.
- Arts & Letters Daily — News, reviews, latest trends, breakthroughs, disputes, and gossip in art and culture.
- Google Book Search — Google's project to digitize the world's books.
- The Writer's Almanac — Brief biographies and notable events associated with writers and particular days.
Automotive »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- ChiltonLibrary (Gale Infotrac) — Includes repair and maintenance information for many popular vehicles.
- Consumer Reports (EBSCOhost)
- Academic Search Elite and Masterfile Premier databases provide access to full text articles from Automotive Design & Production and Automotive Manufacturing & Production. They also contain the bibliographic records for Motor Trend and Road & Track.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Arkansas Driver's License Manual
- Arkansas DFA Office of Motor Vehicles
- Autoblog — Blog covering the auto industry with test drives and commentary on articles from other sites.
- Auto Channel — Automotive information and opinion for consumers, auto industry executives, in-market buyers, and auto enthusiasts.
- Edmunds — Car buying guide lists new car prices, used car prices, car comparisons, car buying advice, car ratings, car values, and auto leasing.
- Fuel Economy Site — Gas mileage, safety, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions for new and used cars and trucks.
- Internet Movie Cars Database — Database of vehicles seen in movies and TV series. Search by movie title or browse by vehicle make.
- Kelley Blue Book — Resource for prices, values, and reviews on new and used cars.
- Lemon Law America — Lemon law resource for consumers with defective cars, trucks, vans, suv's, motorcycles, boats, RVs, motor homes, computers, and other consumer products.
- NADA Guides — New car prices, used car values, car buying guides, car reviews, specs, safety ratings, photos, videos, car comparisons, tips and adice at the official used car guide of the National Automobile Dealers Association.
- National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration — U.S. Administration responsible for reducing deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting from motor vehicle crashes.
- Supercars — A comprehensive database of the world's most exotic, rare and fast automobiles.
Books and Book Reviews »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- AR BookFinder — The complete list of over 100,000 Accelerated Reader titles.
- Bookflix — An 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. Intended for use by PreK to 3rd grade students.
- Bookletters — Book reviews, recommendations, author interviews, best seller lists, etc.
- Booklist Online — Book reviews published in Booklist Magazine from 1992 through the present If you wish to print or email from this database, please make sure your computer security is set to allow pop-ups.
- Novelist — (Ebscohost) — Includes subject headings, reviews, summaries and more for over 135,000 fiction titles. Use Novelist to find other books by a favorite author, or similar books to a title you've already read.
- Novelist K-8 — (Ebscohost) — Includes information on many titles popular with students in grades K-8, arranged by instructional unit, theme or topic. Teachers can find appropriate fiction to complement classroom instruction.
Business & Law »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Business Source Elite (Ebscohost) — Provides full text articles from more than 1,100 scholarly business journals.
- Consumer Reports
- Mergent Online— A database of business and financial information on US and international publicly-held companies.
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History
- Reference USA —Includes directory listings for over 12 million businesses and 120 million households in the United States.
- Regional Business News (Ebscohost) — Provides indexing and some fulltext from regional business publications. Arkansas Business is indexed from July 1996 through May 2001.
- Legal Collection (Ebscohost) — A database of full text articles from scholarly law journals.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce — Information and introduction to the city's services and qualities with a focus on future business development.
- Arkansas Business — Source of Arkansas business news, research, and trends.
- Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center — Provides free consulting and research services to both existing small businesses and emerging ones.
- Arkansas Small Business Guide — Resources and information about starting and running a small business in Arkansas.
- Arkansas Business and Communities Extension Service — Offers a range of professional services and data products to help communities make informed decisions.
- Arkansas Judiciary — Directory of the court systems, resources, and decisions of the judicial branch.
- Arkansas Bar Association — Provides law-related education to the citizens of Arkansas. Includes an attorney directory.
- Arkansas General Assembly — Information on Arkansas budgets, bills and resolutions, acts, committees, legislators, and laws.
- Arkansas Elections — Information and resources about elections from the state agency charged with overseeing elections and voting.
- THOMAS — Featuring information on current legislation in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, the Congressional Record, links to Committee reports, and more.
- Federal Judicial Center — Education and research agency for the federal courts.
- The White House — Features statements and press releases by the President as well as documents, an index of government information, history, and tour information.
Education & Jobs »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Curriculum Resource Center (Facts on File) — Provides a library of printable teacher handouts for the middle school, high school and junior college curriculum.
- Curriculum Resource Center: Junior Edition (Facts on File) — Provides a library of printable teacher handouts for the elementary school curriculum.
- ERIC (Ebscohost) — The Educational Resource Information Center, with digests, citations and abstracts from almost 1,000 education-related journals.
- Ferguson's Career Guidance Center — Provides detailed information on more than 3,300 careers in 94 different industries and allows you to polish your interviewing and job skills, find sample cover letters and resumes, and research scholarships, schools, internships and more.
- LearningExpressLibrary.com (Learnatest) — An interactive database with practice tests and tutorials for many standardized academic and licensing tests, such as the GED, SAT, Nursing, Real Estate, etc. Access: Sign in as new user and create personal account using your library card number as your user name.
- Professional Development Collection (Ebscohost) — A database of fulltext journal articles of interest to professional educators.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Arkansas Schools — Information about Arkansas K-12 schools, including School Report Cards, Arkansas Education Directory, and Charter Schools. Also includes regulations on homeschooling in Arkansas.
- Little Rock School District — History of district and directory of information and programs including magnet schools, early childhood education, and school sites.
- Arkansas Department of Higher Education — Information about institutions of higher learning in Arkansas.
- FAFSA — Official site for the Department of Education Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Includes an online submission form with necessary documents, deadlines, eligibility, and general student aid information for college students.
- U.S. Department of Labor — Fosters and promotes the welfare of job seekers, wage earners, and retirees by administering a variety of Federal labor laws.
- Arkansas State Jobs — Lists job openings with the state of Arkansas.
- Arkansas Online Jobs — Job listings, news, and articles from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook — Provides career information describing what workers do on the job, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations.
Genealogy »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- African-American Heritage — A resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research. Includes such records as draft cards from World Wars I and II, the Freedman's Bank, and the US Census, as well as help finding other information sources.
- Ancestry Library Edition — Includes census, church, court and immigration records, as well as historical maps and many other genealogy resources, from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and other areas. Available at all CALS libraries.
- Dictionary of American Family Names
- Digital Sanborn Maps — The Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps for the state of Arkansas. Covers the years 1867-1970; not all years are available for all locations. (Please call 918-3000 for login and password.)
- Heritage Quest (Proquest) — Includes searchable images of U.S. Federal Census records, digitized family and local history books, an index to genealogical and local history periodicals, and other genealogy resources.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Butler Center for Arkansas Studies — Information and resources for conducting genealogical research, particularly in Arkansas.
- National Archives Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians — Information, events, and research in genealogy and family history.
- Genealogy Learning Center — Resources for beginners to genealogy and family history.
- African-American Genealogy Research — Resources for researching African-American genealogy, including beginner's guides, guidebooks, case studies, and bibliographies.
- U.S. Genealogy Web Project — Provides links to all the state genealogy web sites.
- National Genealogical Society — Guide to the internet for genealogists.
Grants »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available only in the Reference Department at the Main Library. For more information, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Foundation Directory Online — A database of foundations that make funding available to nonprofit organizations. Available only in the Reference Department at the Main Library.
- Foundation Grants to Individuals Online — A database of foundations that make funding available to individuals in the form of scholarships, fellowships, grants, awards and other financial support. Available only in the Reference Department at the Main Library.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Grants.gov — Find, apply for, and manage grants. Includes a tutorial and links to types of grants, grant-making agencies, and related links.
- National Endowment for the Arts — Independent federal agency that makes grants to art organizations and artists in all fifty states and six U.S. jurisdictions.
- School Grants — Resources for locating, writing, receiving, and managing grant proposals for the elementary and secondary education community.
- Non-Profit Guides: Grant Writing Tools for Non-Profit Organizations — Overview of grant writing with sample proposal summaries, inquiry letters, cover letters, and applications.
Health »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Health and Wellness Resource Center (Gale Infotrac) — Includes magazines, newspapers, journals, directories and other information on health- and wellness-related topics.
- Health Source: Consumer Edition (Ebscohost) — This database provides consumer health information on many health topics including medical sciences, nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health.
- Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition (Ebscohost) — A database with fulltext from many scholarly journals and indexing from many journals.
Web Resources We Recommend
- National Institutes of Health: Health Information — Consumer health information from the NIH.
- FirstGov for Consumers: Health — Large collection of links to federal health resources.
- GlobalHealth.org — Searchable directory offering information that promotes health as a global concern.
- World Health Report — Annual report on human health around the world, including research on health risks, diseases, and disabilities.
- Small Steps to Better Health — Offers tips and encouragement to help people learn how to eat better and live healthier lives.
History/Geography »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- African-American History Online (Facts on File) — Provides information on more than 500 years of African-American history.
- American History Online (ABC-CLIO) — A comprehensive, accessible research collection covering American history from the first explorers through today's headlines.
- American Indian History Online (Facts on File) — Provides information on more than 15,000 years of Native American culture, history, and biographies.
- Annals of American History Online (Encyclopaedia Britannica) — Provides a year-by-year documentary of American thought and action. Includes speeches, writings, memoirs, poems, and interviews by more than 1,500 authors who made and analyzed American history.
- Black Women in America — provides expanded coverage of the achievements and contributions of African American women.
- CultureGrams (ProQuest) — Provides concise, reliable, and up-to-date cultural information on the countries of the world and delivers an insider's perspective on daily life and culture, including the history, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people.
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895 — Documents the African American experience from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass-and shows how American culture, history, and national identity have been influenced by the experience of African Americans.
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present — Traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement, up to and including the 2008 election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.
- Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
- The Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
- Index Arkansas — an index to articles and other information published in county history journals as well as selected statewide magazines, newspapers and books. Check the CALS catalog to see which of the titles are available at CALS and submit an Interlibrary Loan request if the title is not available at CALS.
- The Oxford Companion to World Exploration
- The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium
- The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World - Provides information about major world developments from 1750 to the present, with close attention to social, economic, cultural, and political topics.
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation
- The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History
- World Atlas (Facts on File) — Provides printable maps and flags as well as statistical information for states, countries and regions around the world.
- World History: The Modern Era (ABC-CLIO) — Provides globe-spanning coverage of events from 1500 to the present.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Arkansas History Commission and State Archives — Official archives of the state, responsible for collecting and preserving the source materials of the history of Arkansas.
- Old State House Museum — Museum of Arkansas' history, people, and culture.
- Arkansas Historic Preservation Program — Identifies, evaluates, registers, and preserves the state's historic and cultural resources and seeks to instill a preservation ethic in Arkansas.
- BBC: On This Day — Highlights worldwide historical events using audio and video clips from the archives of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
- American Memory — Provides free access to written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
- U.S. Census Bureau Geography — Maps and cartographic resources.
- NationMaster — Allows users to graphically compare any combination of countries on a vast array of statistics drawn from the CIA World Factbook, the UN, and more.
- National Geographic Map Machine — Offers maps for just about every place on Earth, viewable by population, climate, conservation, and topography.
Reference »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Biography Resource Center (Gale Infotrac) — Includes thousands of biographies from Gale Group print publications as well as full-text articles from hundreds of magazines.
- Dissertation & Theses — The database represents the work of authors from over 1,000 North American graduate schools and European universities and includes citations for masters and doctoral dissertations from 1637 to those accepted as recently as last semester. Some full text accompanies the abstracts, or copies may be requested through interlibrary loan.
- FirstSearch — Provides access to several databases including Worldcat, which is a catalog of books, videos and other materials owned by libraries across the country. Please call 918-3000 for login and password.
- Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (Ebscohost) — A general encyclopedia that covers a variety of subject areas.
- Gale Discovering Collection — A database of information from Gale Group print publications on topics such as history, literature, geography and cultures, and science.
- Kids Search (Ebscohost) — Articles and other reference materials for students in grades K-5.
- Marcive — A searchable catalog of all U.S. government publications published since July 1976.
- Newspaper Source (Ebscohost) — A database with selected articles from about 30 national and international newspapers, as well as some regional newspapers, and television and radio transcripts. Some articles from The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette October 2000 through September 2002 are indexed.
- Reference USA —Includes directory listings for over 12 million businesses and 120 million households in the United States.
- SIRS Researcher (SIRS) — Provides fulltext articles on topics such as aging, the environment, substance abuse, and many other social issues.
- Student Research Center (Ebscohost) — Articles, primary source documents and other reference materials for researchers in grades 6-12.
- TOPICsearch (Ebscohost) — Provides information about current events which are likely to be discussed in the classroom. Includes more than 1,000 fulltext periodicals.
- WorldCat — Search the collections of libraries in this community and around the country to find books, music, movies, etc.
- World Data Analyst Online (Encyclopaedia Britannica) — Provides current and historical statistics on 217 countries. Users may create tables and charts, and may export information to a spreadsheet.
- The World News Digest (Facts on File) — Provides an archival record of domestic and international news, covering major political, social, and economic events since November 1940.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Bartlett's Familiar Quotations — Famous quotes, passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources. Quotations can be searched or browsed by date, author, and keyword.
- Merriam-Webster Dictionary — Free online version of the Merriam-Webster English dictionary, with searchable dictionary definitions, thesaurus, and a student dictionary.
- Ask Oxford — Searchable online version of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, as well as thesauri, quotations, foreign language dictionaries, a word of the day, and games.
- Old Farmer's Almanac — Fun and practical information for everyday life including moon calendars, planting charts, recipes, weather predictions, and more.
- How Stuff Works — Series of articles that explore the workings of electronics, computers, autos, finances, health, and scientific and social phenomena.
- Guiness World Records — Official site of GWR, chronicling all kinds of strange and extreme talents, feats, and accomplishments.
Science »
Online Subscription Databases
These online resources are available to you from any computer with internet access unless otherwise noted. If you're at home or school when you access these, you'll be asked to log in. Type the number underneath the barcode on the back of your library card to log in. If you have any trouble, call the Reference Department at 501.918.3000.
- Encyclopedia of Evolution
- Encyclopedia of Global Change
- Science Online (Facts on File) — Provides printable diagrams and illustrations, as well as more than 1,100 science experiments, thousands of biographies, definitions and essays on major topics and issues in science and technology.
Web Resources We Recommend
- Live Science — Chronicles the daily advances and innovations made in science and technology with original stories and news feeds, images, and video clips.
- National Science Digital Library — Provides educational resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education.
- National Science Foundation — Features news and discoveries, research, publications, funding guidelines, awards, and more.
- Science.gov — Gateway to authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. government agencies, including research and development results.
- Ask the Experts — Submit questions to scientific experts and browse questions and answers by topic.
- 20 Things You Didn't Know About… — From Discover Magazine, this series covers quick facts on a variety of topics.