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Green Days of Summer Des Plaines Public Library with image of a green Earth with green leaves underneath like a flower

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Subscription databases

These databases provide specialized information, including newspaper and magazine articles that are not available for free on the Internet. They are paid for by your library. | Information Guides

These guides are lists of library materials and Web sites selected by librarians. | Free Web sites

Enter your search terms:

Research the past in the New York Times Historical Archive.

Subscription Databases

A to Z Maps	Over 5,000 maps in a variety of formats that can be printed, modified and downloaded. Includes games and puzzles.

A to Z The USA	Detailed information and histories of the 50 states and 5 territories. Includes maps, flags, photos and more.

America the Beautiful Grolier	U.S. states and territories explored through photographs, illustrations, maps, games and more.

ARCHIVEGRID	A guide to archival collections held by libraries, museums, historical societies and archives worldwide.

Chicago Tribune Historical Archive NewsBank	Coverage of major stories from the 1920’s through 1984, front pages from 1900-1984. Dates are irregular.

Chicago Tribune ProQuest Historical Newspapers)	Full-text of the newspaper from 1890-1985.

Daily Life Online	Maps, illustrations, timelines and more exploring everyday life throughout history.

Encyclopedia Americana Grolier Online	Article links, Web sites, research Topics, current events, maps and biographies.

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Grolier Online	Articles, pictures, maps, interactive atlas, timelines, dictionary and thesaurus.

Heritage Quest Online	Contains local history books like The Massacre at Fort Dearborn and The History of Chicago.

Illinois Periodicals Online	Full-text access to Illinois Heritage, Illinois History, Illinois History Teacher, Illinois Issues, Outdoor Illinois and other Illinois-related periodicals.

Lands and Peoples Grolier Online	Encyclopedia articles and activities on geography and world cultures.

New York Times Historical Archive (1851-2005)	New York Times full-text from 1851-2005 (1995 to the present is included in eLibrary).

OAIster OAIster	A collection of digital images, including historical photographs of Des Plaines.

Salem History Online	Online version of print reference titles: Great Lives from History, Great Events from History and The Decades in America.

Student Resource Center - Silver Gale	Magazine articles, primary documents, photographs and illustrations.

World Book Encyclopedia	Multimedia version of the print encyclopedia.

History Reference Collection Virtual Reference Library Gale	Over 330 encyclopedias and specialized reference sources. Includes a large collection of reference works on American and world history.

Information Guides

Country Guide
Useful materials for researching countries

Decades
Useful materials for researching the 20th century.

Free Web sites

BBC Country Profiles
Guide to history, politics and economic background of countries and territories, and background on key institutions.

Chicago Ancestors
Historical information about Chicago neighborhoods. Search by address or intersection to find churches, important buildings, crimes back to the 1800s and more.

Chicago History Museum
Resource for Chicago and American history.

Des Plaines History Center

Digital Past
Digital Past is a vast online collection of historical materials contributed by Illinois libraries and other community institutions. The photographs, postcards, diaries, oral histories, videos and documents made available through Digital Past combine to make a rich and unique tapestry of local history.

Encyclopedia of Chicago
Historical resources including articles, photos and maps.

Google News Timeline
A browseable, graphical timeline. Sources include scanned newspapers and magazines, blog posts, sports scores and more.

Library of Congress American Memory Collection Finder
Browse American history by topic, time, place or format.

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