Research & Learn

Get access to subscription-based resources that Google can’t offer

Your Oak Park Public Library card and PIN give you access to the online resources listed here. Have questions? Get answers to FAQs, watch how-to videos, read about your data privacy, and contact us.

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Need to search multiple resources at once? Use the catalog's Article Search to find full-text results. Let's get started »



 

Excel Adult High School Diploma

An opportunity for Oak Park Public Library cardholders ages 20+ to earn a high school diploma (not a GED) virtually and for free through the library.


FamilySearch

Genealogical service that includes over a billion individual ancestral entries worldwide. Additional content—including millions of records and images—is available in-library only.

Get step-by-step instructions on how to set up an account (first-time users must create an account; a library card is not needed but name and birthdate are required):


Financial Times [U.K.]

Search (full-text articles): current (1996-present)


FinancialFit

Curated collection of personal finance lessons to guide learners in making life’s biggest financial decisions.

Create an account

First-time users will be prompted to create an account.

  1. Click the link above for “FinancialFit.”
  2. Select “Sign In / Register” near the top right.
  3. Select the “REGISTER” button under “New User” on the right.
  4. “Oak Park Public Library – Financial Fit” should already be selected as your institution.
  5. Fill out the required information and select the “REGISTER” button.

FirstSearch

Access to 14 databases, including both indexes to articles and books and some full text.


Foundation Directory Online (FDO) (access available at the Main Library only)

Candid’s grant-seeking tool, which includes 232,000+ funder profiles, 18.4+ million grants, 900,000+ grant recipient profiles, and 1+ million key grant decision-makers and leaders, along with contacts, maps, charts, federal grants, requests for proposals (RFPs), and more.

As a Funding Information Network partner, the library provides access to Candid’s websites: Foundation Directory Online and Grants to Individuals, both offering information and resources to assist and strengthen nonprofit organizations.


Fresh Air (NPR)

Search (full-text articles): current (2008-present)


Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia

Images, maps, and full-text articles on a wide variety of subject areas.


Gale In Context: Biography

Authoritative biographical entries covering international figures from all time periods and areas of study.


Global Newsstream

The most recent global news content, as well as archives that stretch back into the 1980s, featuring content from newspapers, newswires, and news sites—including Barron’s, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Daily Herald, Financial Times, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and more—in active full-text format.


Grants to Individuals (GTI) (access available at the Main Library only)

Candid’s tool for students, artists, researchers—and other individual grant seekers—with profiles on 10,000 foundations that provide grants, and details on scholarships, fellowships, and other grants available to individuals.

As a Funding Information Network partner, the library provides access to Candid’s websites: Foundation Directory Online and Grants to Individuals, both offering information and resources to assist and strengthen nonprofit organizations.


GreenFILE

Articles from scholarly and general interest titles focused on the environment, with the ability to limit to full-text or peer-reviewed.


Health Source: Consumer Edition

Full-text database covering a wide variety of medical subjects, including information on specific diseases as well as overall health topics, plus current health pamphlets and Merriam-Webster’s Medical Desk Dictionary.


Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition

Full-text scholarly journals focusing on many medical disciplines—such as critical care, mental health, and nursing management—for researchers, allied health professionals, nurses, and medical educators.


HeritageQuest Online

Genealogical and historical records, including images of U.S. federal census documents.


Historical Newspapers: U.S. Major Dailies

Historical newspaper collection (covering 1849-2020)—including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post—with easily searchable, first-hand accounts and coverage of the politics, society, and events of the time.


History Reference Source

Full-text historical reference books, magazines, journals, and thousands of primary source documents.


Hobbies & Crafts Source

Detailed how-to instructions and creative ideas for hobby enthusiasts of all kinds, with full-text articles from leading hobby and craft magazines.


Home Improvement Source

Full-text magazines and books with detailed, user-friendly, how-to information covering a variety of do-it-yourself home improvement and repair projects.


i [U.K.]

Search (full-text articles): historical (2019-2020)