Joplin Public Library Funded Reference Databases

 

Passport Application

The following databases are available for research.
For access to other Internet resources (email, job hunting, web surfing) please
visit the Computer Lab.

Please ask the Reference Staff for assistance in the use of these resources. Some of these databases are available for home use – inquire at the Reference Desk.

Ebsco Discovery Service – Access multiple resources with one search (results include materials in the library collection, magazine/journal articles, and information from electronic resources).

Explora – General Research and eBooks – An easy to use search pulling information from magazines, reference books, primary source documents, and Associated Press videos.

Show-Me the World (Worldcat Discovery-Firstsearch)
Connecting you to a world of information online with WorldCat (a database of over 45,000,000 books, periodicals, and other materials held in libraries around the world.

Joplin Public Library Catalog – did you need our Catalog? We have some Catalog only machines nearby.

Business/Telephone

  • AtoZdatabases
    Find phone numbers, addresses and much more for over 220 million residents and 30 million businesses in the U.S. Find New Homeowners and New Businesses as well as Healthcare Professionals and Job listings.
  • Business Source Complete
    Indexing and abstracting for business journals and magazines, books, country economic reports, industry reports and yearbooks, SWOT analyses, market research reports, over 67,000 Associated Press videos and Regional Business News. Subjects include “marketing, management, MIS, POM, accounting, finance, econometrics and economics.”
  • Gale Directory Library
    Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media: newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, and other media around the world.
    Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S.: organizations in the U.S.
    American Wholesalers and Distributors Directory: wholesalers and distributors in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
    Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans: education-related financial aid.
  • Legal GPS
    Offers customizable help in a gaming format to complete the legal work needed to start a business. Work through levels 1- 3 to reach your goal and unlock additional resources.
  • Value Line
    Investment research, data, expert analysis, and unbiased commentary on ~3500 stocks covered in The Value Line Investment Survey and Value Line Investment Survey–Small and Mid-Cap. Limited to 3 users at one time; if you cannot get in, please try again later.

General Reference

  • AtoZ the USA
    Provides comprehensive articles about the USA, plus the 50 states, the five US territories, and the District of Columbia. This resource will help students and researchers find information about the country’s people, history, economy, geography, symbols, and culture.
  • AtoZ World Food
    Explore food culture and recipes from 174 countries; includes traditional recipes, dining etiquette, beverages, ingredients, spices, and much more.
  • American Sign Language (ASL) on Mango Languages
    Mango Languages has partnered with ASL Inside, one of the leading American Sign Language learning platforms. Learn how to start conversations in ASL with basic greetings and introductory phrases. In addition to learning cultural insights, lessons provide modeling by native ASL signers with a variety of ASL accents.
  • Antiques Reference (P4A Antiques Reference)
    Descriptive information and values for antiques, fine art, and collectibles from over 190 U.S. and regional auction houses.
  • Auto Repair Mitchell ProDemand
    Auto repair information for mechanics and DIYers combining both OEM and real-world information from professional technicians. Repair information covers vehicles from 1960 to the present.
  • Brainfuse VetNow
    Assists veterans and their families with navigating Veterans Affairs, and provides academic tutoring and employment transition assistance. (Provided courtesy of the Missouri State Library.)
  • Gale in Context: Biography
    Learn about the challenges, motivations, successes, and failures of more than 500,000 of history’s most notable people. Biographies are from authoritative sources and some include multimedia.
  • Book Collection: Nonfiction – High School Edition
    A research database for students containing searchable full text for more than 2,450 popular nonfiction books including high interest titles on careers, health, life skills, ethnicity, disabilities, adventure, sports, technology, biographies, music, science, history, civics and more.
  • Book Collection: Nonfiction – Middle School Edition
    A research database for students containing searchable full text for more than 3,100 popular nonfiction books. The database includes high interest titles on careers, health, life skills, ethnicity, disabilities, adventure, sports, technology, biographies, history, science, women, civics and more.
  • Book Collection: Nonfiction – Elementary Edition
    A research database for students containing searchable full text for more than 1,300 popular nonfiction books. The database includes high interest titles on animals, weather, holidays, adventure, sports, Native Americans, United States, Canada, biographies, nature, civics and more.
  • Computer Skills Center
    100+ self-directed video tutorials for getting started a using a computer and for commonly used software applications from Adobe, Microsoft and the Windows operating system.
  • Creativebug
    Learn a craft via streaming video tutorials on a wide variety of arts and crafts, including knitting, paper art, cake decorating, downloadable patterns, and more. Create your free account and get unlimited access to thousands of classes for all skill levels, learning at your own pace. New content is added weekly.
  • Digital Literacy
    Resource designed to give the knowledge and skill set needed to safely and effectively navigate the digital world. Topics include communication basics, cyberbullying, social media, privacy, research skills, and gaming.
  • Driving-Tests.org
    Free driver education program for Missouri; includes 10 practice tests, 6 motorcycle practice tests, 3 CDL practice tests, online driver’s manuals (car, motorcycle, CDL) and FAQs.
  • ERIC
    The Education Resource Information Center provides citations to education literature and resources.
  • Exploring Race in Society
    This free Ebsco database, designed for high school and undergraduate students, offers essays, articles, reports, and other reliable sources covering important issues related to race in society today.
  • Financial Literacy
    With something for everyone, this economics and personal finance resource promotes financial literacy. Designed for grades 7-12, it has articles, financial calculators, and activities such as creating a podcast or a multimedia presentation.
  • Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
    General interest encyclopedia containing over 25,000 articles on various subjects.
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library
    Full digital access to over 700 nonfiction ebooks covering a variety of subjects including biographies, health, science, business plans, authors, and much more.
  • Global Road Warrior
    Information on 175 nations and territories including geography, demographics, culture, society, and religion. The database also contains information travelers would need such as money, security, health, technical & electrical connections, and essential terms.
  • Learning Express Library (LearnATest)
    A Library of test preparation materials and interactive practice exams based on official tests including the GED, ACT, and ASVAB, Occupation Practice Tests, Popular Software Tutorials, Computer & Internet Basics, and U.S. Citizenship. Also included is Job & Career Accelerator. This database has moved to a new platform that requires a new registration. Any tests or courses you were using did not transfer to the new platform.
  • Mango
    Language learning software for over 50 languages with ESL courses for 15 languages. Learn the most asked for languages such as Spanish, French and German as well as Hungarian, Yiddish and how to talk like a pirate.
  • Missouri Digital Heritage (formerly Virtually Missouri)
    The website for the Missouri Digitization Planning
    Project (MDPP).MDPP coordinates access to digital collections and exhibits
    created by Missouri libraries, archives, historical societies and museums.
  • Read It!
    Designed for middle and high school students and adults who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need adapted reading material for a variety of subjects. It offers resources to help build background knowledge, conduct research and improve study skills.
  • Resume and Cover Letter Builder
    Contains more than 200 expert-developed resumes covering a range of occupations and preparation levels. Users can also build their own resumes and cover letters.
  • Salem Press Online
    Digital access to the full content of the Health, History, Science, and Literature Salem Press titles owned by the library. Titles include Magill’s Encyclopedia of ?Medicine, Great Events, Great Lives, and Defining Documents of History, the Solar System, Masterplots and many more.
  • UniversalClass
    Explore UniversalClass: Dive into a diverse catalog of over 600 online courses, each offering CEUs. Delve into a vast array of subjects, from Computer Training, Personal Finance, and Writing Skills, to Pet and Animal Care, Professional Development, Health, Arts & Crafts, and beyond.

Genealogy

  • Ancestry Library Edition
    A genealogy research tool that provides instant access to a wide range of unique resources for genealogical and
    historical research including more than 1.5 billion names in over 4,000 databases, records from the United States Census,
    military records, court, land and probate records, vital and church records, directories, passenger lists and more.
  • Find A Grave
    Search for graves and cemeteries from around the world. The information is member input so not all graves and cemeteries are recorded on this website.
  • Fold3 Library Edition
    Powered by Ancestry, this database of military records, photos, and personal documents has content from many county, state, national, and international archives, providing more than 470 million searchable records.
  • HeritageQuest
    This online database is an essential collection of unique material including the U.S. federal census images and
    indexes from 1790 to 1930, more than 20,000 book titles, including nearly 8,000 family histories and over 12,000
    local histories, in addition to more than 250 primary source documents such as tax lists, city directories, probate
    records, and more.
  • Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970 – Missouri
    Detailed property and land-use records from towns and cities in Missouri.
  • Missouri Birth & Death Records
    Search the Missouri Archives for birth and death records before 1910 and death certificates from 1910-1961.
  • Newspaper Archive
    Online access to digital copies of select newspapers in Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. The Joplin newspapers are covered from 1898 to the present with some gaps in coverage. This database can only be accessed on computers in the Joplin Public Library.

Health

Law/Legal

  • Gale Encyclopedia of Everyday Law
    A guide dealing with the law and its everyday effect citizens includes: brief descriptions of each issue’s historical background, covering important statutes and cases; profiles of various U.S. laws and regulations; and details of how laws and regulations vary from state to state.
  • Gale LegalForms
    Provides a wide selection of Missouri-specific (and multi-state) legal forms across the most popular legal areas. Includes real estate contracts, wills, pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant and many others. Also included is a comprehensive attorney state directory and a dictionary of legal definitions explained in laymen’s language.
  • Lawchek
    Basic law information database covering the 50 states. The database includes legal forms, information on federal agencies and lawyers, and selected form letters.
  • Missouri Revised Statutes
  • Missouri Code of State Regulations
  • Representing Yourself in Missouri Courts
    Provides access to many resources available for those considering representing themselves in court including standardized forms (divorce included), legal resources, and legal information.

Magazine/Newspaper Indexes

  • Academic Search Elite
    Provides core resource of scholarly information for academic Institutions containing full text for more than 2,100 journals and over 1,700 peer-reviewed, full-text journals.
  • Flipster
    Full-issue digital magazines including the latest Consumer Reports Buying Guide.
  • MAS Ultra – School Edition
    Specifically designed for high school students incudes full text for nearly 500 popular high school magazines, 85,670 biographies, over 107,000 primary source documents, more than 360 reference books, and an Image Collection of over 592,000 photos, maps & flags, color PDFs.
  • MasterFILE Premier
    Designed for public libraries, MasterFILE™ Premier contains full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more; full text more than 500 reference books; over 107,000 primary source documents; and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps & flags.
  • Middle Search Plus
    Middle Search® Plus contains full text for more than 140 popular middle school magazines, primary source documents, reference books, and thousands of relevant photos, maps and flags.
  • New York Times (1980 to present)
    This ProQuest database offers searchable access to full-text articles from The New York Times, the New York Times Book Review, the New York Times Magazine, and The Daily (podcast).
  • Newspaper Archive
    Online access to digital copies of select newspapers in Missouri, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. The Joplin newspapers are covered from 1898 to the present with some gaps in coverage. This database can only be accessed on computers in the Joplin Public Library.
  • Newspaper Source
    Provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 national (U.S.) and international newspapers, selective full text for more than 370 regional (U.S.) newspapers, and full-text television & radio news.
  • Primary Search
    Primary Search®, designed specifically for elementary school students contains full text for more than 80 popular elementary school magazines, the Encyclopedia of Animals™, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, the American Heritage® Children’s Dictionary, and thousands of relevant photos, maps and flags.
  • Professional Development Collection
    Professional Development Collection™ includes full text for nearly 520 high-quality education journals.

Literature

  • Ebsco eBook Collection
    eBooks are digital editions of 50,000+ printed books for all ages including many fiction, general interest, reference, technical, and how-to titles. They can be viewed on any device connected to the Internet or dowloaded to a computer or device. Titles in the Sharpe Global History & Culture collection are now accessed here. To use eBooks from a device outside the library you must have a Joplin Public Library card. See Reference Staff.
  • Novelist Plus
    A reader’s advisory tool that allows you to search for novels and readable nonfiction works by author, subject, plot, etc., as well as finding similar titles to a specific title or author.
  • Salem Press Online
    Digital access to the full content of the Health, History, Science, and Literature Salem Press titles owned by the library. Titles include Magill’s Encyclopedia of Medicine, Great Events, Great Lives, and Defining Documents of History, the Solar System, Masterplots and many more.

Computer Lab Parent Consent Form