Encyclopedias and General Research

Websites for this Topic | Research guides and databases

Databases

These databases are available from outside the Library using your Carol Stream Library card and pin number.

Browse or search for detailed cultural information on more than 200 countries.

Encyclopædia Britannica
Authoratative resources for both adults and kids. Includes videos, an atlas, quotations, and news feeds.
Access this eBook reference collection covering business, health, history, literature, science, and more.
Access 7 encyclopedia databases including Encyclopedia Americana, The New Book of Knowledge, and The New Book of Popular Science.
An encyclopedia of countries, cultures, and current events for middle and high schools. Access through the link on the left hand side of the main page of Grolier Online.
Search millions of digital resources including books and articles, audio files, images, movies, and datasets.

Look up definitions, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.
Search magazine and newspaper articles specially selected for elementary school students. Also included are an almanac, encyclopedia articles, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.
Search for specific publications and see each title’s publisher, online availability, subject area, abstracting & indexing coverage, tables of contents and full-text reviews.
Use this basic reference source for students and general users that includes Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia and four almanacs.
The popular World Book encyclopedia in an online format that includes articles, printable maps, images, and videos.
En Espanol
  
This beginning-level Spanish encyclopedia, with thousands of articles, illustrations, and maps, has an easy-to-use, bilingual interface.
Use this comprehensive Spanish-language encyclopedia to search 100,000 articles as well as images, maps, videos, animations, and sounds.
For information on individuals, see Biographies.
For currents events, see also News and Current Events or Magazines and Newspapers.
   

Websites

Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free content encyclopedia that is being written collaboratively by contributors from all around the world." The quality of the content on this site varies dramatically because of the lack of editorial oversight, but it is worth exploring.