eResources

Reference librarians are available during all library hours to help you navigate these resources, as well as to help you find library materials and information. You can also reach us by phone at (717) 394-2651 ext. 128 or send us a message at AskUs@lancasterpubliclibrary.org. If you have a question when the library is closed, we still have answers. Give Ask Here PA, Pennsylvania’s 24/7 Virtual Reference Service, a try. 

All resources marked with a star (*) are provided by Power Library.

ResourceDescription
Chat with a Librarian is designed to provide fast answers to your questions by connecting you to a real librarian who can help find the answers you’re looking for. In most cases, Chat with a Librarian will provide an answer online in 15 minutes or less! If your question involves lengthy research, we’ll get you started and/or provide a referral for you or your question.

Please note, in most cases you will be communicating with a librarian who does not work at your local library and does not have access to your individual records related to overdues, renewals and other account-specific activity.
AtoZdatabases offers detailed profiles for over 30 million businesses and executives, 2 million new businesses, 15 million executive email addresses, 220 million consumers, and 2.3 million jobs as well as healthcare professionals, new movers, new homeowners, background & criminal searching, and genealogy.
Academic Search Main Edition*
This online resource provides about 1,800 full-text journals and 1,300 that are full-text and peer-reviewed. Some of ASME’s subjects include biology, chemistry, engineering, physics, psychology, religion, and theology.
AP Images*
View the greatest events in world history with photographs, audio sound bites, video, and graphics, for over 185 years. Over 3,000 photos/images/sound bites/graphics added daily, including audio and visual snapshots.
Auto Repair Source*
Discover the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: A selection of Primary Sources*
By centering on the experiences and perspectives of African Americans, it is hoped that this collection imbues the study of Black history with a deeper understanding of the humanity of people who have pursued the quest for freedom, and the significance of movements like Black Lives Matter.
BookFLIX*
Watch videos and read books about Animals and Nature, Earth and Sky, People and Places, ABC’s and 1, 2, 3’s, Family and Community, Music and Rhyme, Adventure, and more. Enjoy read aloud with words highlighting and interactive games. Some films and books are available in Spanish too!
Books, movies and more in a PA library (Access PA Catalog)*
Search a single catalog reflecting the holdings of over 1,500 Pennsylvania libraries and their combined collections of over 41 million books, audio materials, reference materials, movies, and much more.
Brainfuse HelpNow
Brainfuse HelpNow provides online academic support for all ages and levels. We offer innovative services designed to meet the needs of your students. Our unique suite of tutoring, writing, study, and collaboration tools has been proven to boost academic performance and increase student retention.
Brainfuse JobNow
Most online career tools provide resume building software or tips and job-hunting strategies. While such services can be helpful, they do not give users one-to-one advice from an experienced career coach. JobNow connects users with online career coaches to assist them during all stages of their job search.
Contemporary Authors*
Discover biographical and bibliographical information on more than 145,000 of today's most influential authors.
Credo
Credo is an easy-to-use tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations and subject-specific titles, as well as 500,000+ images and audio files and over 1,000 videos.
E-Books (EBSCO)*
Select from over 16,000 eBooks from the world's leading publishers across all major subject areas. Perform full-text searches of a single eBook, search thousands of volumes simultaneously, browse topic categories, or read eBooks directly online.
First Research is a superb business resource for industry trend information. Includes industry profiles (including forecasts and links to association web sites) for over 1000 industry segments. Also for sales personnel–includes call prep sheets for helping you to understand the issues before making sales calls and state/province profiles for regional trends.
Foundation Directory Online is a research tool to help nonprofits find the grantmakers most likely to fund their projects. It provides information and funding history for 140,000+ foundations, corporations, and federal agencies.
In-library use only.
Foundation Grants to Individuals Online is the premier funding research tool for finding foundations that provide financial support for individual grant seekers.
In-library use only.
GREENR (Environment, Energy, etc.)*
Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (GREENR) offers researchers an interdisciplinary resource for environment and sustainability studies. GREENR provides news, background information, video, commentaries, primary source documents and statistics in relevant topic areas such as energy systems, healthcare, food, climate change, population, and economic development.
Hoovers is the largest commercial database of 85 million companies, 100 million professionals, and 900 industry segments; relevant social media links; and customizable news feeds. Industry-specific business analysts compile unbiased insights on the top 43,000 global companies, including publicly traded and private ones. Find reports on key competitors, financials, and executives in clear summary formats.
InfoTrac Newsstand*
Browse and read full-text newspapers from more than 2,300 major U.S. regional, national, and local newspapers, plus leading titles from around the world, or search articles instantly by title, headline, date, author, newspaper section, or other fields. InfoTrac Newsstand also includes thousands of images, radio and TV broadcasts, and transcripts.
InfoTrac Student Edition*
Secondary school students will have access to age-appropriate content from magazines, journals, newspapers, reference books, and engaging multi-media covering a wide range of subjects, from science, history, and literature to political science, sports, and environmental studies.
Kids InfoBits*
Elementary students in kindergarten through grade five will find age-appropriate content covering a broad range of educational topics such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, people, social studies, technology, etc. Kids InfoBits includes full-text proprietary content from Blackbirch Press®, U-X-L, KidHaven Press™, and more! Content is continuously updated and provides interesting and important facts with connections to current and past events.
Pennsylvania Job Resources*
Discover job resources for Pennsylvania job seekers and employers. These Pennsylvania government provided resources are designed to help you find a good career, review job openings, and match you with employers.
Research in Context*
Discover reliable and trusted information on a variety of topics to support middle school student research for government, U.S and world history, geography, literature, sciences, and social issues. Research In Contest offers cross-curricular content aligned to national and state standards, and presents material organized into a highly visual and topic portal approach to quickly find answers.
Science Reference Center*
Perform research from hundreds of full text science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, and other reliable sources. View more than 280,000 high-quality science images from sources such as UPI, Getty, NASA, National Geographic and the Nature Picture Library.
Simply Analytics contains data to help answer key research questions, make sound business decisions, and understand the socio-demographic and economic conditions of any geographic area in the United States. Offers more than 75,000 data variables related to demographics, employment, housing, market segments, businesses, consumer spending, brand preferences, and public health.
SkillUp
SkillUp Lancaster is a flexible, self-directed web-based e-learning service that offers online courses to allow jobseekers to improve their marketability to prospective and current employers.
TrueFLIX*
Learn about people, places, nature, history, and science from videos and eBooks on topics such as American Indians, Ancient Civilizations, Farm to Table, The Civil War, Continents, The Thirteen Colonies, U.S. Government, Disasters, Earth Science, Experiments, Extreme Science, Nature, and many more.
TumbleBooks
The TumbleBook Library is a fun and interactive library of animated, talking story books for preschoolers, beginner readers and older independent readers. Read along and listen, or read on your own. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing story books, adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic (e-book) story book. TumbleBooks will help teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love! Flash Plug-In required.

POWER Library is the online portal to all that Pennsylvania libraries offer. This is the place to find trustworthy answers to questions about healthcare, consumer purchases, personal finances, and much more. Enjoy free 24/7 access to newspapers, magazines, journals, historical documents and photos, online databases, and eBooks. Research a subject. Learn about your family history. Locate a title. Explore career options. It’s all here at POWER Library.

ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA’S POWER Library services are funded primarily by:

  • The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s “Library Access” budget line item; and
    Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.
  • These funds are administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.

Notice of these funding sources must be provided on all printed or electronic presentations of POWER Library resources as listed below.

This project is made possible in part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services and through Library Access Funds administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Tom Wolf, Governor.

OCL reserves the right to change or terminate the ACCESS PENNSYLVANIA POWER Library program based on the availability of funding, program needs, or the availability of vendors that can provide qualified services.

 

If you have a valid Lancaster County Library card, another choice is to search the online resources of the Library System of Lancaster County.