Access a wide variety of free online resources.
Library Resources
Enjoy these resources free with your library card. Simply login with your library card number and your PIN.
Access thousands of full-text U.S. and international newspapers, including many local and regional newspapers and videos and web-only content. Popular titles include USA Today, The Atlantic, The Wire, Smithsonian, and many more.
Achieve your learning and career goals with live one-on-one academic coaching, a practice test center and writing lab. Includes U.S. Citizenship test prep, resume writing, GED Prep and Microsoft Office help.
Ancestry Library Edition (In Library Use Only)
Access to Ancestry.com via the Library. Find information from censuses, vital records, immigration records, family histories, military records, court and legal documents, directories, photos, maps and more. Content is continually added and updated.
Black Freedom Struggle in the United States: Challenges and Triumphs in the Pursuit of Equality
Find approximately 1,600 primary source documents that represent a selection of primary sources available in several ProQuest databases. The databases represented in this website include American Periodicals, Black Abolitionist Papers, ProQuest History Vault, ProQuest Congressional, Supreme Court Insight and Alexander Street’s Black Thought and Culture. (ProQuest)
Get detailed information on vehicle maintenance and repairs including wiring diagrams, photographs and illustrations, ASE test prep and quizzes and step-by-step service and repair procedures.
Comics Plus Children’s Collection
Explore the Children’s Collection of Comics Plus including picture books, readers, graphic novels, comics and manga for ages 4-10. Read in a browser or download the free Library Pass app onto your mobile device. Titles are always available; no wait times, holds lists or due dates.
Access childrens, teens, young adult and adult graphic novels, comics and manga. Read in a browser or download the free Library Pass app onto your mobile device. Titles are always available; no wait times, holds lists or due dates. Includes some titles in Spanish.
Discover the Teen Collection of Comics Plus including graphic novels, comics and manga for ages 11-14. Read in a browser or download the free Library Pass app onto your mobile device. Titles are always available; no wait times, holds lists or due dates. Includes some titles in Spanish.
Find information and advice on consumer products featuring ratings and recommendations on thousands of products and services in categories including appliances, cars, electronics and computers, home and garden, health and fitness, babies and kids, food, personal finance and travel.
Get crafty with this online resource for all creative makers offering basic instruction to advanced techniques. There are over 1,400 instructional videos on the topics of cake decorating, cooking, crocheting, drawing, gardening, jewelry making, knitting, photography, woodworking, yoga and more.
EBSCOhost Magazine and Newspapers
Get full text for general reference magazines and newspapers covering a variety of subject areas, including business, health, education, science and world issues. Includes more than 50,000 full-text documents and images, maps and flags.
Learn to code with a place to write and run your own code. Curriculum is available for Scratch, HTML, CCS, Javascript, Python SQL, Makey Makey, Raspberry Pi, Ozobot and Sphero. Users are able to display websites, video games and apps they have created.
Foundation Directory Online Professional (FDO) (In Library Use Only)
Research and identify potential grant-making organizations with detailed information on foundations, corporations and government agencies. Includes information on the organization’s giving interests, application process, geographic focus, recent grant awards and contact details.
Access articles from more than 17,000 scholarly journals and other sources—including thousands of podcasts and transcripts from NPR and CNN, as well as videos from BBC Worldwide Learning.
Gale Business: Entrepreneurship
Discover a comprehensive database that covers all aspects of starting and operating a business, including accounting, finance, human resources, management, marketing, tax and more. Review journals and reference content to support prospective and current entrepreneurs as well as business students. Get information on four key stages of business development—plan, fund, start and manage.
Gale Business Insights: Global
Explore information on business intelligence, combining Gale reference content with business sources and full-text magazines and journals to help researchers understand today’s global business environment. Access more than 430,000 detailed company profiles with company financial data, in-depth country overviews and comprehensive industry profiles to stay current with the ever-evolving business landscape.
Find a collection of full-length business plan samples to help entrepreneurs seeking funding for small businesses.
Explore a database of encyclopedias and reference sources. Enjoy unlimited access to top reference e-books and business plans.
Find general reference magazines, newspapers, e-books and images perfect for conducting general reference queries, business searches and current event research. Browse-by-subject for easy viewing of popular content in several categories, including news and current events, health, and computers and technology.
Access full-text medical journals, magazines, reference works, multimedia and much more in this comprehensive consumer health resource. Get information on a full range of health-related issues, from current disease and disorder information to in-depth coverage of alternative medical practices.
Discover biographical information for more than 600,000 people, including international, contemporary and historical figures. Search for people by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places or gender.
Explore content to reinforce the development of skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation. Access news content including full-text newspapers and magazines like The Economist, The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Popular Science, Smithsonian and more. Provides images, videos and audio selections that include archival film clips, broadcast video, BBC News, New York Times video and NPR.
Gale in Context: Global Issues
Access a variety of U.S. and international newspapers, magazines and journals. With a global view, find information on business and economics, conflict and diplomacy, society and culture, environment and climate change and more.
Access topic overviews, primary sources, biographies and critical essays on topics within business and economics, geography, government, history, literature, science and health, social issues and more. Titles include full-text newspaper, magazine and journal articles from sources like The Economist, The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Popular Science, and Smithsonian. Includes podcasts, archival film clips and broadcast video from BBC News, the NYTimes.com video collection, NPR and more.
Gale in Context: Middle School
Explore content written for middle school students on topics including government, U.S. and world history, geography, literature, science and social issues. Access more than 300 topic pages providing content that supports national and state curriculum standards for grades 6-8 in English language arts, social studies and science. Features a variety of nonfiction, informational text and formats, including books, images, audio, video, newspapers, primary sources and more to support learning. Content is provided from sources such as National Geographic, NPR, NASA, AP video news and more.
Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints
Discover viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps and infographics to prepare students to argue any side of the issue. Cross-search Gale In Context: Global Issues and find current events, news and commentary, economics, environmental issues, political science and more. Viewpoints are collected from the opinion sections of a variety of published sources, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The American Conservative and National Review.
Access a wide selection of essential state-specific (and multi-state) legal forms that may be customized for the most common legal procedures. Forms are used by attorneys and law firms and include real estate contracts, wills, premarital agreements, bankruptcy forms, divorce forms, landlord-tenant forms and many others. Many forms support legal tasks relevant to business owners, such as filing for copyrights, patents and trademarks, articles of incorporation, licenses and more. Includes Legal Definitions, a Law Digest and Legal Questions and Answers.
Access a wealth of literary works and secondary sources covering world literature and authors throughout history. Includes full-text poems and poetry citations, as well as short stories, speeches and plays. Biographies, work summaries, photographs and a glossary are also included.
Gale Presents: Peterson’s Test Prep (formerly known as TERC – Testing and Education Reference Center)
Access a central hub for standardized test prep, college planning, career assessment, job searching and more. Prepare for a variety of standardized exams, including college entry exams like the SAT and ACT and vocational exams in industries like law enforcement, journeyman, cosmetology, as well as U.S. citizenship. Explore college planning tools, including a school search and a scholarship search. Job seekers can use career exploration tools including career assessments, advice, help creating resumes and cover letters and a job search engine.
GuideStar (In Library use only)
Access information about charity organizations and nonprofits, including contacts, financials, annual reports, board members and more. Search by organization name, geographic location, affiliations, incomes, people and keyword.
Discover more than 4 billion records and an online collection of genealogical and historical sources with coverage dating back to the 1700s. Find ancestors and discover a place’s past. Powered by Ancestry®, this collection includes census collection, city directories, military records, wills and probate, Freedman’s Bank, US Serial set and maps and photos.
Discover the available commercial sites and buildings in Pierce County, along with County demographics and analytics.
Access live, anytime, anywhere job assistance, including up-to-date nationwide and local job search engines, professional resume critique and proven interview techniques. Experience a personalized career center seamlessly integrated with advanced virtual technology to help job seekers of diverse backgrounds and needs. Receive live job coaching, real-time interview practice, full-service resume lab, 24/7 access to local job resources and more!
Watch on demand online videos with unlimited access. Includes the Great Courses, British TV and Cinema, World Cinema, The Criterion Collection, Kanopy Kids and a variety of entertainment and documentary titles.
Access to competitive benchmarking data. Examine industry benchmarks compiled from Dun & Bradstreet®’s database of public and private companies.
LinkedIn Learning for Library (For app, use code www.linkedin.com/learning-login/go/piercecountylibrary)
Start learning with 16,000+ online courses in seven languages. Expert Instructors with real-world experience. Courses cover: Leadership, Project Management, Excel, Sales, Job Hunting, Photography, Videography, 3D and Animation, CAD, Cloud Computing, Python, DevOps, Data Science, Digital Marketing and much more. New courses added each week. Valid library card account required.
LISTA (Library Information Science & Technology Abstracts)
Research Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) indexes with more than 560 core journals, nearly 50 priority journals and nearly 125 selective journals; plus books, research reports and proceedings. Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more. Coverage in the database extends. (EBSCO)
Discover over 3,000 picture books in 65+ languages. Every book includes English as a second language (ESL) or LOTE subtitles and fully-voiced narration. New books and languages added every week! Mobile App is also available. Recommended for ages 3-8.
Learn over 70 world languages at your own pace, including English as a second language (ESL) tutorials in more than 20 languages and American Sign Language. Explore Mango Movies to practice your proficiency.
Find reliable, up-to-date health information in a language you can understand. (No library card required.)
Access an expansive directory database including more than 100 million private U.S., Canadian and global businesses, more than 6,000 U.S. public companies and more than 200 million residents and local businesses, with previous addresses and allowing for reverse telephone lookups.
Morningstar Investment Research Center
Explore information for individual investors, providing research to stocks mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and information on many companies.
MyHeritage Library Edition (formerly World Vital Records)
Discover, share and preserve your family history. MyHeritage provides families with an easy way to share their story, past and present and for generations to come. Available in 40 languages.
Find cover-to-cover full text for hundreds of U.S. newspapers, as well as international and regional newspapers. Includes television and radio news transcripts from major networks.
Access news from the Tacoma News Tribune. Includes an image format option, with photos and a layout similar to the physical paper, content is available from 2018 to present. Full-text news is available from 1992 to the present.
Enjoy this self-paced online learning tool to help you learn basic digital skills. From identifying digital devices to using email and social media, Northstar can help you find your way in today’s online world.
Explore this comprehensive database to help you find book recommendations for your next read. Search among thousands of popular fiction and nonfiction titles. Find author read-alikes, book lists, book discussion guides and more.
Search for the perfect match in children’s books by genre, appeal, award winners and age for fiction and nonfiction. Use the appeal mixer to customize choices for ages birth through teen to find just the right book!
Get expert homework help 24/7 from a live tutor for elementary through college courses. Includes help with test prep, FAFSA and writing assignments.
Read newspapers and magazines from around the world. Access content from over 120 countries in 60 different languages. Read online or download. Includes the Economist, the New Yorker, the Guardian and USA Today.
Published International Literature on Traumatic Stress (PILOTS) Database
Access the PILOTS Database produced by the National Center for PTSD. It is an index to the worldwide literature on PTSD and other mental health consequences of exposure to traumatic events. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the PILOTS Database attempts to include all publications relevant to PTSD and other forms of traumatic stress, whatever their origin without disciplinary, linguistic, or
Find searchable articles from news services and youth magazines from around the world, with full issues scanned and available for browsing articles in context and layout. Use pre-constructed searches grouped into themes to find articles or build your own. A teacher’s section includes lesson plans, headlines, and tools to help students apply structure and extract information from their reading.
Get unlimited access to a wide variety of activity sheets and teacher-created lesson plans for Pre-K to Grade 8 updated monthly. Content includes crafts, games, puzzles, printable coloring sheets, classroom management tools and a collection of mini-books.
Enables non-technical users to quickly create professional-quality thematic maps and reports using extensive demographic, business and marketing data. Limited to 5 simultaneous users.
Access a database of online e-books and educator resources perfect for middle and high school students. Includes a selection of Graphic Novels, Enhanced Novels, e-books, classic literature, National Geographic videos, educator resources and some audiobooks. (TumbleWeed Press)
Access news from The Seattle Times including an image format option, with photos and a layout similar to the physical paper, content is available from 2018 to the present. Full-text news is available from 1985 to present.
Explore an online collection of animated, talking picture books and e-books for children offering stories, chapter books, graphic novels and educational videos to promote reading and literacy skills. Accessible on-demand, it provides a fun and interactive way for kids to enjoy books anywhere.
Explore engaging, animated talking picture books, all with a math theme. (TumbleWeed Press)
Continue your lifelong pursuit of knowledge with Universal Class. Access over 500 online and self-paced classes offered in office skills, science, teacher resouces, business and finance and many more.
Access news from USA Today including an image format option, with photos and a layout similar to the physical paper, content is available from 2006 to the present. Full-text news is available from 1987 to present.
Access investment information and advice on companies, industries, markets and economies. Value Line offers comprehensive historical fundamental data, spanning companies in approximately 100 industries. Updated weekly, Value Line DataFile consists of 450+ annual and 150+ quarterly data fields, covering approximately 6,000 active companies traded in North America, including those in key benchmark indexes, such as the S&P 500 and Russell 3000.
Access news from The Wall Street Journal. Content is available from 1984 to the present.
Explore news sources from across Washington state including the Tacoma News Tribune, Bellingham Herald, Chinook Observer, Peninsula Daily News, Peninsula Gateway, Puyallup Herald, Seattle Times and many local newspapers.
WOIS The Career Information System
Navigate WOIS/The Career Information System to access career, education and current labor market information. Created by a private, nonprofit organization located in Washington state.
