How Do I
Do Your Research!
There are lots of online resources you can use to get information for school projects and homework. Here are some ideas for ways to use them.
Find a book
The eiNetwork Library Catalog will let you search for books in libraries throughout Allegheny County. Use the yellow CATALOG SEARCH box at the top of this page. The Access PA Online Catalog is available to search for books in school libraries and public libraries all over Pennsylvania. These books can be requested from your local library.
Online Databases Especially for Kids
eReading
Classic Disney favorites including 101 Dalmatians, Bambi, and Aladdin, as well as newer titles like the High School Musical series are available.
TumbleBooks add animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books, producing an electronic picture book which you can read or have read to you. TumbleBooks are created in flash animation and require the Adobe Flash Player Plugin.
eWriting
Create your very own story using my StoryMaker. You control the characters and objects, my StoryMaker creates sentences for you or you can enter your own words. Once you are done with your story, you can print it out.
eLearning
Interactive online language learning program for children. Learn English, French, Italian, German, Mandarin or Spanish, with more languages coming soon.
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh children's librarians lead parents and their young children through a variety of rhymes and songs.
Got homework? Get online help every day from 3 pm to 10 pm from real tutors for grades 4th and up in English, math, science and history.
eInfo
A virtual trip to the zoo for elementary school-aged children, with interactive information on over 1,200 animals.
Aimed at elementary and middle school-aged children, America the Beautiful includes "profiles" (biographies) of famous Americans.
Well known general reference encyclopedia, suitable for high school students and up.
Students and other information seekers will find articles, links to credible websites, images, maps and more through this collection of resources. Teacher's guides, lesson plans, worksheets, and other teaching resources are also available.
Authoritative articles and multimedia resources such as maps, panoramas, photographs and videos across all subject areas. Geared towards middle school-aged children.
Graphical interface for kids in grades K - 8. Searches content from Primary Search and Middle Search Plus.
Countries, cultures and current events of the world are examined in this resource intended for middle school and high school students.
Full text for a variety of 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.
General reference encyclopedia designed for elementary school aged children includes biographies.
In-depth science, health and technology research and news of use and interest to middle school-aged children, teens and adults.
Information about more than 38,000 fiction titles of interest to students in grades K-8. Full text reviews from professional journals and book talks for selected titles are available in this database.
Contains the full-text for more than 80 of the most popular elementary school magazines. All full-text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Also, features Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, providing students with easy-to-read encyclopedic entries written specifically for kids.
Science Experiments and more. This database will not only help you find a science experiment but it will provide definitions, diagrams, facts, timelines and essays, too.
Animated, dinosaur-themed search interface for kids in grades K - 8. Searches content from Primary Search and Middle Search Plus.
Full-text articles and graphics from newspapers and magazines for elementary and middle school students.
This online version of the World Almanac for Kids provides facts and statistics on many topics, including states, countries, animals, U.S. presidents, space and more. (CLP Card)
Find a word
Merriam Webster's WordCentral (http://www.wordcentral.com/) offers a dictionary, thesaurus and rhyming dictionary.
Cite your sources
Learn how to cite your sources at EasyBib.
Haven't found what you need?
Ask a Children's Librarian for more help.