Homework & Research Resources
General
- Explora Secondary
Research project? This is a great place to start. Get articles, biographies, and current events from trusted sources. When your teacher says “don’t just google it”, this is what they want you to use instead. You’ll need your library card number and password to access Explora.
- Khan Academy
Free lessons and practice on a wide array of subjects. Sign up for a free account to track your progress.
Biography
- Academy of Achievement
Biographies of and interviews with some of the most important people in the 20th and 21st century.
- BBC Historical Figures
Short biographies of famous historical figures, grouped by their personal timeline.
- Biblio
Strong biographies of over 300 noted literary figures, plus their complete bibliographies.
- Biographical Directory of the Library of Congress
This directory has basic career-focused information on every person ever to serve in the United States Congress, from 1774 until today.
- Biography Channel
Quick facts, biographies, and videos on today’s pop stars, ancient kings, and everyone in between.
- Gale Biography in Context
The best, most in-depth resource you’ll find for biographies on the web. Find everything from extensive biographies, academic articles discussing the figure, and relevant videos and photographs. You’ll need your library card number and password to use Gale Biography in Context
- Infoplease
With short biographies on a variety of historical American and contemporary figures, this is a good place to start your research.
- Time 100
Looking for inspiration on a subject to choose? Find short profiles on people deemed most influential in the world in recent years by Time magazine.
College & Test Prep
Finding a College
- College Affordability Guide
Find your dream school’s affordability score – how does the cost of tuition compare with the quality of the education and job prospects posts-grad?
- College and University Rankings
This site is maintained by the University of Illinois and brings together a wide variety of university ranking services, giving insight on the methodology used and allowing you to make better-informed decisions as you seek out the right school for you.
- College Navigator
Search for colleges using official statistics collected by the government to find the best match.
- US News & World Report: Best Colleges
The classic guide to University rankings. Use their sidebar to narrow your results by tuition, enrollment, acceptance rate, and majors; further refining requires a paid account.
Financial Aid
Test Prep
- ACT
The official website for the test – register, see sample questions, and learn your score when it’s all over.
- CollegeBoard
Learn about, register, and see your results for the variety of tests administered by the College Board – the PSATs, AP tests, CLEP exams, SATs and more.
- Khan Academy
Create a free account to make a practice schedule and improve your math and verbal skills. You can even link it to your College Board account and use past PSAT or SAT scores to identify areas for improvement.
- TOEFL
Learn about, register, and prepare for the Test of English as a Foreign Language if your school requires you to submit a score as part of your application.
Driving
History & Current Events
- CIA World Factbook
Get an introduction to and statistics about any and every country in the world: geography, society, form of government, and more.
- Digital History
Articles and primary sources on American history, including the day-to-day lives of average Americans.
- History Channel
Short articles, videos, and biographies on American and world historical topics and figures.
- Knoema Atlas
Knoema uses a variety of international governmental resources to compile data, statistics, maps, and rankings of the world’s countries.
- Library of Congress: Digital Collections
Primary source materials from presidential papers to local folklore.
- PBS: History
Video clips from PBS’s extensive collection of history documentaries.
- Point of View Reference Center
Find comprehensive overviews of controversial contemporary topics with articles arguing viewpoints and either side and guides critical analysis of the topic. You need your library card number and password to access this database.
- Smithsonian: History & Culture
Hundreds of online resources from the Smithsonian Institute for learning about American history.
- Veterans History Project
Personal accounts by American war veterans of their service.
Language Learning
- Dictionary (Merriam-Webster)
The classic American dictionary.
- Etymology Dictionary
Get a brief background on the origins of virtually any word in the English language.
- Idiom Site
Definitions of common American-English expressions that do not directly translate into other languages.
- Learn a Language
A collection of free language-learning resources for nineteen different languages.
Literature, Research, & Paper Writing
- Bartleby.com
Full text of classic works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, plus advice on essay-writing.
- EasyBib
Choose a style, enter a title, and generate a citation.
- Gale Literature Resource Center
Explanations, articles, and critical essays of classic and modern literature, plus author biographies, full text reproductions, and primary sources. You’ll need your library card number and password to access this resource.
- Literary Reference Center
Find author biographies, work overviews, full texts of works, plus critical analyses and essays not available on the open web. You need your library card number and password to access this resource.
- Newark Public Library Guide to Literary Analysis and Criticism
A collection of free websites to better understand and find literary criticism.
- Newark Public Library Guide to Writing
A collection of guides to improving your grammar and overall writing skills.
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
Find writing and research advice and highly authoritative and easy-to-use guides to MLA, APA, and Chicago style. Sample papers with precise formatting instructions are included.
- Read.gov for Teens
Book lists and free access to classic texts.
Math & Science
- All About Birds
You guessed it – this website is devoted to scientific information about a vast number of species of birds.
- Animal Diversity Web
An online database of animal natural history including an encyclopedia of species accounts and a large taxonomy from phylum down to the species level.
- Chemicool
An interactive periodic table with information on every discovered element.
- Famous Inventions
Articles on famous inventors and their inventions.
- Khan Academy – Math
Get free lessons and practice on all levels of high school math.
- Khan Academy – Science
Get free lessons and practice in biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, and more.
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Learn from the best. Find articles on astronomy, the technology used to go to space, and current NASA missions.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Information about the climate, oceans and coasts, atmosphere, and research being carried out by NOAA.
- Nautre.com
The classic scientific journal, online. Advanced research articles must be bought, but current news and features are free to read.
- Popular Science
Brief articles on a variety of topics from the pop science magazine.
- SciCentral
This site aggregates breaking research news from the most reliable and reputable sources in the scientific fields.
- Smithsonian: Science & Nature
Articles from the Smithsonian Institution’s Insider about news and discoveries in the scientific community.
- US Geological Survey
Explore various geological topics including biology, climate change, and the oceans.
