Social Studies

Information is excellent for students. Find all those state animals, symbols, flags, etc. Maps, geography, food, and much more. Parents will be interested too!

Covering a wide range of topics—including Literature, Philosophy, History, Geography, and Science—HistoryLab is BiblioBoard’s chief historical database. HistoryLab contains 400 Anthologies with over 14,000 full-text eBooks and over 24,000 pieces of primary source content. BiblioBoard Core Anthologies cover a range of topics from Abraham Lincoln and the Alamo to ballet, baking, chocolate, Mozart, Jack London, and Victorian Fashion.

This website, focused on Black Freedom, features select primary source documents related to critical people and events in African American history. its intention is to support a wide range of students, as well as independent researchers and anyone interested in learning more about the foundation of ongoing racial injustice in the U.S. – and the fights against it. 

The Black Women’s Suffrage Digital Collection is a collaborative project to provide digital access to materials documenting the roles and experiences of Black Women in the Women’s Suffrage Movement and, more broadly, women’s rights, voting rights, and civic activism between the 1850s and 1960. From the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)

Get free online tutoring and homework help anytime, day or night. Brainfuse HelpNow connects students and adult learners with expert tutors and study tools 24/7.

What's Available:

• Live Tutoring 24/7: Real-time help from real humans in math, science, reading, writing, social studies, and more.
• K-12 and College: Support for elementary, middle school, high school, and college students.
• English and Spanish: Tutoring available in both languages.
• Writing Lab: Submit essays and papers for expert feedback.
• Study Tools: Create flashcards, take practice tests, and build study plans.
• Test Prep: Resources for SAT, ACT, GED, ASVAB, TOEFL, and other tests.
• FAFSA Help: Get help with college financial aid applications.
• Adult Learning: High school equivalency prep, citizenship test prep, resume building, and Microsoft Office support.
• Collaboration Tools: Virtual study rooms and whiteboards for working with peers.
• And More: Additional tools and resources to support learning.

All tutors are experienced professionals who help learners work through problems instead of just giving answers.

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Explore CalMatters explainers that provide the data-driven context you need to make sense of big issues confronting California. 

CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain, and explore solutions to quality-of-life issues while holding our leaders accountable. 

Concise cultural information on countries around the world. (Grades 3-12).  CultureGrams offers:

• World Edition: Experience the world with cultural information on more than 200 countries and territories.
• Kids Edition: Get a kid's-eye view of daily life in countries around the world.
• States Edition: Explore all the U.S. states in colorful, engaging reports.
• Provinces Edition: Tour all the Canadian provinces and territories in 13 image-filled reports.

This subscription collection includes academic eBooks related to diversity, anti-racism, ethnic studies, disability studies, gerontology & age studies, migration studies, gender and sexuality studies, cultural studies, and religious studies. The collection utilizes outside resources and scholarship to ensure that the collection remains up to date and aligned with current research.

Comprehensive databases for finding articles on all topics; with the full text of more than 1,700 periodicals. Choose a specific subject collection in which to search or search all. Collections include business, children and teens, ethnic, health, home cooking and gardening, environment, science, sports, politics and more. Includes Consumer Reports magazine. 

With its curated full-text materials, Ethnic Diversity Source is essential to support the study of African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Jewish Americans, Latinx Americans, Multiracial Americans, and Native Americans, among others, with respect to their cultures, traditions, social treatment, and lived experiences. Scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, historical documents, and biographies are complemented by primary sources, such as speeches and interviews. Complete with robust collections of videos and e-books, Ethnic Diversity Source creates a dynamic research experience for students and researchers.

Full text for more than 150 popular middle school magazines. All full-text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays.

Additionally, Middle Search Plus contains primary source documents including Essential Documents in American History, reference books including the Funk & Wagnall's New World Encyclopedia; New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition; Encyclopedia of Animals™; and thousands of relevant photos, maps, and flags.

Simple search that quickly delivers relevant results including articles, essays, and primary source documents.

Easy-to-browse categories organized by popular topic. Includes topic overviews that provide a starting point for research.

Contains scholarly journals and magazines that can be used by novice historians as well as advanced academic researchers. Updated daily, U.S. History offers balanced coverage of events in U.S. history and scholarly work being established in the field.

Provides access to scholarly journals and magazines for use by novice historians and advanced academic researchers. World History offers balanced coverage of events in world history and scholarly work being established in the field.

National Geographic magazine, the official journal of the National Geographic Society,  built its reputation delivering the highest-quality photojournalism and cartography in the world.

The iconic monthly publication provides unparalleled, in-depth coverage of cultures, nature, science, technology, and more — making it an essential resource for educators and students as well as general readers. Enjoy unlimited access to the magazine from the first issue in 1888 through 2015. That's every article from every issue, each fully searchable.

Build skills for classroom and homework success. The Grades 4-8 Educator Resources Center helps elementary and middle school educators prepare students for important tests, get extra help with assignments, and boost their skills in important subjects. From LearningExpress Library

You will be required to create a LearningExpress Library account to use this resource.

Also known as Learning Express.

Homework Central gives student researchers access to five resources: 

• CultureGrams: Offers unique, concise cultural information, multimedia, and vital statistics on the countries of the world, US states, and Canadian provinces. (Grades 3-12)
• eLibrary: Offers a collection of multidisciplinary periodical and digital media content, designed for beginning and intermediate researchers. (Grades 6+)
• ProQuest Research Companion: eLearning platform offering multimedia-based lessons on information literacy principles including finding, evaluating, and using information. (Grades 8+)
• SIRS Discoverer: Selected content for novice researchers, especially elementary and middle school students and educators. (Grades 3-9)
• SIRS Issues Researcher: Curriculum-aligned database of content organized by complex issues, ideally for middle and high school students and educators. (Grades 6+)

hoopla BingePass lets you, well, binge! Entire collections of streaming content are at your fingertips with just one borrow. Each borrow allows you to consume as much content as you want for 7 days. Not done? Check out another pass!

Each Kids' BingePass offers eBooks, eAudiobooks, and/or Streaming video focused on fun subjects, popular publishers, and more.  Check them out!

This ground-breaking project, launched in celebration of Native American Heritage Month, is an interactive online map that features audio recordings of 47 contemporary Native American poets, including Louise Erdrich, Natalie Diaz, and Ray Young Bear, among many others.  The project was conceived by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo.

This ebook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for high school students. Topics include biography, history, careers, language arts, literature, government, health, math, science, current events, and social-emotional health.

This ebook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects. Topics include biography, history, careers, cooking, literature, genealogy, health, parenting, personal finance, politics, architecture, science, current events, social-emotional health, sports, and travel.

Middle Search Plus provides full text for more than 140 popular, middle school magazines. All full-text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Full text is also available for thousands of biographies and historical essays. Middle Search Plus also contains 84,774 biographies, 105,786 primary source documents, and a School Image Collection of photos, maps, and flags.

This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for middle school students. Topics include social studies, math, history, language arts, technology, geography, culture, and science.

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the nation's record keeper. Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever.

Those valuable records are preserved and are available to you, whether you want to see if they contain clues about your family’s history, need to prove a veteran’s military service, or are researching a historical topic that interests you

Native Land offers an interactive map of the territories of Indigenous nations and includes territories, language maps, and maps of treaties. The site also includes teaching guides, resources, a guide to territory acknowledgment, and morel

See: Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

Primary Search provides full text for more than 70 popular, magazines for elementary school research. All full-text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles), and full-text information dates as far back as 1990.

This eBook reference collection offers a rich selection of eBook titles covering a broad range of general reference subjects for primary school students. Topics include social studies, history, language arts, geography, culture, math, and science.

Free online tutoring and homework help for K-12 students, available 24/7. No library card required. 

• Live Tutoring: Connect one-on-one with a tutor in English, Spanish, or Vietnamese.
• School Subjects: Get help with math, science, English, reading, writing, social studies, world languages, and more.
• Test Prep: Prepare for AP, ACT, SAT, and IB exams with practice tests and study tools from The Princeton Review.
• College Planning: Explore colleges, track applications, and prepare for admissions.
• Study Skills: Build confidence and develop effective study habits.

Notes:

• You don't have to create an account for live tutoring.
• You can create an account if you want to save your work, schedule sessions, or use some more features.
• HomeworkCA is supported in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Funding is administered in California by the State Librarian.

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Check out our At-Home and On-the-Go Access option.

Enjoy free, full access to The Washington Post with your library card—anytime, anywhere.

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• Expert reporting and award-winning investigations
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This reference resource, produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), offers almanac-style information about the countries of the world.