The Westerville Library provides access to many online services, tools and subscriptions (referred to as online collections or databases) that patrons and staff can utilize to help with research or to answer practical life questions.

1. Online Collections
The Basics
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2. What are Online Collections, anyway?
They’re subscription
websites, kind of like
ConsumerReports.com.
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Also referred to as reference databases, online resources, etc.

3. What are Online Collections, anyway?
The library pays for
the subscription on
behalf of our
patrons.
Total cost is almost
$100,000 a year!
Also referred to as reference databases, online resources, etc.

4. What are Online Collections, anyway?
They’re jam packed
full of useful
information or tools that
you can’t find with
Google.
No, seriously.
Also referred to as reference databases, online resources, etc.

5. Who can use them?
Anyone with a
Westerville
Library card
OR
Anyone in the
building
Note: Ancestry.com & Haines Criss+Cross are in-library use only.
Patrons with temporary card numbers or $5+ in fines can still access.

6. Where can you find them?
westervillelibrary.org > Online Collections

7. Why should you care?
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8. Get the Columbus Dispatch – for FREE.
From July 1985
to PRESENT.
Select obituaries
included.
Other newspapers
include Plain Dealer
Cincinnati Post
Dayton Daily News…
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Use NewsBank to get started.

9. What about other newspapers & magazines?
New York Times
Newsweek
People
Time
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
Washington Post
Use EBSCOhost, Newsweek or ProQuest to get started.

10. Buy a TV (or a toilet).
Find product
reviews, buying
advice and ratings
for cars, household
appliances, electro
nics and more.
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Use Consumer Reports to get started.

11. Get a job.
Create a resume.
Write a cover letter.
Build a portfolio.
Prepare for an
interview.
Use Optimal Resume or LearningExpressLibrary.
Choose Create an Account to get started.

12. Build your family tree.
Find your aunt’s birth certificate.
Or your grandpap’s marriage license.
Or your father’s draft card.
Or your meemaw’s death certificate.
Use Ancestry.com or HeritageQuest to get started.

13. Fix your car.
Find car repair
manuals for
thousands of
makes and
models from 1940
to present.
Use Auto Repair Reference Center or Chilton Library
to get started.

14. Learn a language.
Spanish
Sign Language
French
German
Greek
Latin
Japanese
Swedish
Biblical Hebrew
& many more
Use Mango Languages or Signing Savvy to get started.

15. Start a business.
Scope out the competition.
Discover potential clients.
Learn about emerging trends.
Find industry profiles, market
research reports, SWOT
Analyses, etc.
Use Business Dateline, Business Insights:
Essentials, Business Source Premier, Haines Criss+Cross
or ReferenceUSA to get started.

16. Practice for a test.
ACT
CLEP
SAT
TOEFL
U.S. Citizenship
Civil Service
GED, etc. Image courtesy of http://bit.ly/THvXvu
Use LearningExpressLibrary to get started.

17. Speak legalese.
Find a model release
form. Or do you need to
file a Power of Attorney
form? Or write a will? Or
change your name? Or give notice of
maternity leave? Or give notice of eviction?
Or file for divorce? Or adopt a pet? Or hire a contractor?
Use Legal Forms Library to get started.

18. Find out about a book.
Learn about an author.
Find book reviews.
Discover underlying themes.
Find the next in the series.
Get book recommendations.
Find full-text poems, essays
and short stories.
Use Contemporary Authors, eSequels, LitFinder, Literature Criticism
Online, Masterplots or Novelist Plus to get started.

19. Get schooled.
Find an encyclopedia article
about lions.
Learn about osmosis.
Catch up on current events.
Find primary source
documents.
Learn about famous people.
Use Biography Reference Bank, eLibrary, Grolier Online Passport, Science
Online, SIRS Knowledge Source, World Book or World News Digest to get started.

20. Start a debate.
Abortion
Same-Sex Marriage
Racial Profiling
Animal Rights
Gun Control
Health Care Reform
Strip Searches
Global Warming
Use Issues & Controversies to get started.

21. Dress for success.
Learn about the culture of
other countries or
states.
Personal appearance
religion, housing
diet, holidays
government, economy,
etc
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Use CultureGrams to get started.

22. How do I use it?
So, it depends.
Browse
Search by Keyword
Advanced Search
Create an Account
Try them all.
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23. What if it’s broken?
Don’t worry.
We can help.
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Call Computer Services at extension 5013.