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boy carrying books RESEARCH TOOLS
A Research Guide for Students
Provides "all the necessary tools for students to conduct research and to present their findings." A wealth of resources, including writing tips, help on how to cite your sources, and much more.
 

person at computer
SEARCH ENGINES, DIRECTORIES & IMAGE SEARCHES
Clusty
A great search engine that groups your results into categories -- very useful.		 Librarians' Index to the Internet
Browse by topics in this directory.

Internet Public Library
Another great directory, this also has a special page just for Teens.

Planning to use a search engine?  Check out NoodleQuest, an easy-to-use online form that will suggest the best search engine for your needs.

 

laptop on desk ONLINE DATABASES
*See library staff for database passwords for Electric Library and FirstSearch. A number of excellent databases are available through Kansas Online Research (no password needed) or Education Desktop (individual password required) from any computer with Internet access.
*Ask your librarian about getting a Kansas Library Card, which gives you access to state-sponsored audiobooks, music, videos, e-books, and subscription databases.
Kansas Online Research
Acess to all the Kan-Ed and State Library-sponsored databases with no password required. 		Kansas Online Research, list and details Lists the available databases and gives information about each one.

Electric Library (Password Required)
Database of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, books, maps, pictures, and audio & video clips.

FirstSearch (Password Required)
Acess to thousands of professional and academic journal articles, some in full-text.
Literature Resource Center (Password Required -- scroll to bottom of page)
Includes author biographies, literary essays, overviews, plots, criticism and critical essays		 ThomsonGale (Password Required)
Database of full-text magazine and newspaper articles, multimedia, etc.
*See library staff for database passwords. 

 

stack of books
REFERENCE RESOURCES
RefDesk 
Over 100 links to help answer all kinds of reference questions.  Includes links to encyclopedia, dictionary, currency converters, newspapers, periodicals, and over 200 search engines. 		 Merriam-Webster Dictionary & Thesaurus A free site that lets you look up word meanings and synonyms.
World Book Online
An online version of the popular encyclopedia, plus maps, pictures, videos, sound files, and more.
 Information Please
Online almanac, plus encyclopedia, atlas, dictionary, and more.
National Geographic MapMachine
Great online maps.		 CIA World Factbook
Up-to-date country facts.

 

sleeping in library
HOMEWORK HELP
High School Hub
A portal to excellent, free resources for high school students.		 Homework Spot
Great list of links for study tools and resources for a variety of subjects.
B.J. Pinchbeck's Homework Helper
Created by a kid, this site includes more than 700 links organized into twelve major subject areas.		 RefDesk "Homework Helper"
Lists of links organized by grade level and subject