A-Z Resources

• Over 5,000 fun-filled learning activities (books, games, songs, etc.) that encompass reading, math, science, art, and music for ages 2-7+.

• Coverage on a wide range of topics. Includes peer-reviewed full text for STEM research, as well as for the social sciences and humanities.

This database is provided by the Michigan eLibrary (MeL).

A comprehensive collection of hundreds of reliable news sources from the United States and around the world, provided by Newsbank. 

• Content browsable by hundreds of subject headings 
• Browse by source title or geographic location
• All content is full-text searchable and browsable using the Newsbank web interface

(This content is currently being offered on a trial basis.)

• Full-text alternative health research database focused on complementary, holistic and integrated approaches to health care and wellness.
• It offers the latest information about the evolving practice of holistic medicine and therapies.

This database is provided by the Michigan eLibrary (MeL).

• Search a wide range of databases including cemetery records, court and probate records, census lists, and more
• From the New England Historical Society and primarily searches the whole of the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada
• Funding provided by Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation Western Michigan Genealogical Society Fund

• Census and voter lists
• Birth, marriage, and death certificates
• Military records
• Immigration and passenger lists

• Detailed information on 30 million businesses and executives, over 200 million residents, 2 million new businesses as well as new movers/homeowners, U.S. healthcare professionals, a jobs database, background and criminal search and email marketing.

• Search by make and model
• Scheduled maintenance intervals
• Detailed diagrams and instructions for interior and exterior repairs
• List of bulletins and recalls

• Coverage for several of the most popular and heavily-researched biographies and genres.
• Includes those contained within Biography Today and Biography (both dating back to the first issue published).

Formerly known as Britannica Learning Zone, Britannica Fundamentals is activity-centered learning to explore, play, read, and build technology skills. Coverage includes letters, numbers, geography, shapes, and much more. This resource is designed for kids Pre K through 2nd grade.

• Resources at three levels –  Elementary, Middle, and High School
• Includes primary sources in subjects such as people, countries, science, animals, current events, and biographies

• Research companies including histories, financial, and competitor data. Search by country, state, SIC codes, NAICS, revenue, or number of employees
• Access company profiles and industry rankings, as well as brand and product information
• Access SWOT reports, financial analysis tools, business associations, investment reports and market research reports
• Access information from Gale publications including Directory of Company Histories, Market Share Reporter, Business Rankings Annual, and Encyclopedia of American Industries

• Provides content covering all key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary and holistic medicine.

• Detailed answers to the 200 most-commonly-asked health questions.
• Available in 17 languages.
• Answers are provided in evidence-based reports that feature graphics, illustrations, easy-to-read text and links to additional information.

• Product comparisons with Consumer Reports’ (CR) comprehensive archive of expert, unbiased product reviews

• Streaming video library of 1000+ award-winning art & craft classes
• Topics include drawing, knitting, cake decorating, paper folding, home decor, and more!
• Inspiration for the entire family

• Offers demographic information on any U.S. geography, including information on income, housing, race, age, education, retail spending, and more
• Allows users to compare multiple geographies and drill down to data on a specific county, zip code, congressional district, and more. A unique mapping tool within the resource also allows users to map their results, create custom geographies and view demographic variables in thematic coloring scales
• The Business tab includes data on 23 million businesses. Users can search by company name, business type, number of employees, and other limiters
• The Households tab contains data on more than 206 million U.S. residents (approximately 135 million households) and enables users to search by name, address or a variety of U.S. Census data averages

• A driver’s education resource offering state specific practice tests
• Includes motorcycle and CDL (Commercial Driver’s License) tests
• Offers FAQ section with detailed answers on DMV related questions

• Follow Trek and Taffy the cat around the world learning about colors, numbers, and other fun things.
• Strengthen reading foundations with stories, activities and videos.
• Explore the Know It encyclopedia designed especially for early readers.
• Includes materials for educators.

Past issues of Cadence, a newspaper serving East Grand Rapids. 

Features include:

• Full text articles from 2008 to 2019
• Full-text searching
• text-only content (images are not available)

This resource is available thanks to support from the Titche Family Fund of the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation.

• Full text ebooks to help professionals and students keep up with the latest information in the business world.
• A wide range of topics is covered including business biographies, change management, communication, entrepreneurship, leadership, marketing, personal growth, productivity and technology.

• La Enciclopedia estudiantil hallazgos en línea es una enciclopedia de conocimientos generales
• Contiene información sobre gente, lugares, objetos, acontecimientos e ideas
• Aprovecha esta enciclopedia para investigar y divertirte

• The latest insights on entrepreneurship and small business topics for business students and researchers. Content comes from business journals, magazines, reference books, case studies and company profiles.

• Authoritative database of indexed and full-text education literature and resources.
• Sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, it is essential tool for education researchers of all kinds

• Explora for Primary Schools
• Explora for Middle Schools
• Explora for High Schools
• Explora for Educators
• Multiple versions of the Explora interface provide unique, age-appropriate content for primary schools, secondary schools and public libraries.
• This includes an Educator’s Edition which offers lesson plans, support materials, and professional development resources.
• Curriculum Standards Module (U.S. and Canada) to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly to curriculum standards
• Full-text translation in more than 30 languages for HTML articles
• Reading level indicators (Lexile Measures) to simplify discovery of texts that match students’ reading abilities

• Explora for Public Libraries
• Multiple versions of the Explora interface provide unique, age-appropriate content for primary schools, secondary schools and public libraries
• This includes an Educator’s Edition which offers lesson plans, support materials, and professional development resources
• Curriculum Standards Module (U.S. and Canada) to help educators correlate EBSCO content quickly to curriculum standards
• Full-text translation in more than 30 languages for HTML articles
• Reading level indicators (Lexile Measures) to simplify discovery of texts that match students’ reading abilities

World’s largest collection of free family trees, genealogy records and resources. Affiliate Library records are available on library computers only.

• High-definition, color Fire Insurance Maps, Real Estate Atlases, Plat Books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information

• Over 194 million bibliographic records that represent books and other materials held by libraries from around the world

• Revolutionary War, Civil War, and Naturalization Records
• Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940
• Passport Applications, 1795-1905
• City Directory Collection

Foundation Directory Professional by Candid. is a comprehensive database of organizations that provide grants to individuals and other organizations. With it you can:

• Search for grantmakers by name, location, field of interest, geographic focus, and more
• Search for companies giving grants by name, location, industry code, and more

Learn more about ways to use the Foundation Directory. See these special instructions for finding grants for individuals.

• Digitized material from the Library’s archives, including photographs, letters, journals, newspapers, and magazines

Complete digital issues of the Grand Rapids Press, the paper of record for Grand Rapids, via Newsbank.

Features include:

• Current issue is available the day of publication
• Complete archive of full text articles starting in 1893
• Full-text searchability
• Includes both print and web editions

This resource is available thanks to support from the Titche Family Fund of the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation.

To support the Grand Rapids Press digital edition Newsbank subscription, please donate directly to the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation with the note "Grand Rapids Press subscription" in the comment or memo line.

GuideStar Professional by Candid. is a fully searchable database of all 1.8 million tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS and thousands of other faith-based non-profits. It includes detailed financial analysis, and leadership information that is only available with an expensive subscription.

• Learn about organization's mission, vision, and values
• Examine scanned originals of available 990 tax forms
• Review financials over time including compensation of top leadership

• Consumer health information including magazines and reference books.
• Includes searchable full text for current health pamphlets.

• Covers U.S. and world history topics and features historical reference books, magazines and thousands of primary source documents

• This database offers detailed “how-to” instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby enthusiast.
• Full text is provided from leading hobby and craft magazines.

• Through a collection of comprehensive full-text content, this database provides “how-to” information covering a variety of home improvement and repair projects.
• Full-text reference books, including major reference works from Creative Publishing International
• 35,000 images not available anywhere else online
• Nearly 100 videos of popular home repair projects
• A convenient A-Z browsing tool for searching

Hoopla offers thousands of eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, television shows, and music albums to stream or download onto your device. There are materials available for all ages. With your library card you receive ten Hoopla borrows per month.

Watch movies, documentaries, classic cinema, and films from around the world. Watch up to 10 movies per month with your GRPL library card.

• Test preparation materials and interactive practice exams based on official tests
• Includes ASVAB, SAT, ACT, GED Preparation, Firefighter, Police Officer, Postal Worker, U.S. Citizenship, and improvement tests for students from elementary school through college

• Search over 12,800 state-specific legal forms by topic including Adoption, Bankruptcy, Name Changes, and more.
• A majority of the full text legal reference books provided through NOLO.

• Authoritative database for current issues, studies, thoughts and trends of the legal world

Download and enjoy thousands of eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines on your computer or compatible device.

Download and enjoy thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks, just for kids! It’s easy to get started ― all you need is a GRPL library card.

Download and enjoy thousands of eBooks and eAudiobooks, just for teens! It’s easy to get started ― all you need is a GRPL library card.

• Journals and periodicals that help librarians and researchers keep pace with the latest trends in the field.

• Choose from thousands of online courses to learn in-demand skills from real-world industry experts. Get started with your library card.

Looking for Lynda.com? Lynda.com has been upgraded and is now called LinkedIn Learning.

• Criticism, insights, and author biographies of most studied authors and works

• Online, interactive language-learning system
• Instruction in Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, ESL for Polish speakers, ESL for Spanish speakers, and ESL for Brazilian Portuguese speakers
• Individual log-ins, condensed lessons, vocabulary review, and phrasebook review

• Content from popular full-text magazines, reference books and other highly-regarded sources.
• Covers wide range of subjects including business, health, fashion, sports, and personal finance.

Online access to full-text articles from Michigan History Magazine from July 2009

• Most recent six months are citation only (there is a 180 day moving embargo).
• Articles are text-only; illustrations and photographs are not included. 
• Access to content is provided through Gale OneFile

• From the State of Michigan, excellent help for the self-representative! Automated forms for divorce, family, housing, expungement and more

• Middle school magazines and reference books including thousands of biographies, primary source documents, over a million photos, maps and flags.
• Subjects covered include history, current events, science, sports and biographies.

• Morningstar analyst reports on ratings on stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs
• Screening tools for investments
• Articles and videos on investing and personal finance

• MyHeritage Library Edition is one of the largest, most internationally diverse genealogy databases of its kind.
• Access to billions of historical documents, millions of historical photos and other resources in thousands of databases that span the past five centuries.

• Includes millions of articles from newspapers, newswires, and news magazines. Offers television and radio transcripts and ongoing daily updates from popular news sources. Primary full coverage newspapers are The Washington Post and USA Today.

• Nexis Uni features more than 15,000 news, business and legal sources from LexisNexis—including U.S. Supreme Court decisions dating back to 1790—with an intuitive interface that offers quick discovery across all content types.
• Library Express provides access to more than 6,000 news, business, and legal sources. Includes The New York Times, June 1980 – current.

• Readers’ advisory guide for fiction and nonfiction
• Includes read-alikes, award winner lists, book discussion guides, feature articles, recommended reads, and more for adults, teens, and children

• Draws on acclaimed reference content to provide a complete one-stop source for information on social issues
• Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles

•  PreK-3 database for reading and research
• Improve reading and research skills by building on children’s interest
• Articles and activities for Animals and Social Studies

• Draws on acclaimed reference content to provide a complete one-stop source for information on social issues
• Access viewpoint articles, topic overviews, statistics, primary documents, links to websites, and full-text magazine and newspaper articles

• Children’s magazines, easy-to-read encyclopedia entries, and an image collection designed for elementary school libraries.

• ProQuest Historical Black Newspapers offer essential primary source content and editorial perspectives of the most distinguished African American newspapers in the U.S.
• Includes Chicago Defender (1909-1975) and Michigan Chronicle (1939-2010).

• Covers a broad range of subjects in the fields of psychology, behavioral sciences and related disciplines.
• For psychologists, counselors, researchers and students.

• Designed for middle and high school students who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need adapted reading material for a variety of subjects.

Reference Solutions, by Data Axle, provides a wealth of information on people and businesses across the country.

• Provides detailed information on U.S. Businesses
• Search by company name, size, geographic location, type of business, and more
• Residential database can be searched by name, phone number, or address

Funded by the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation , opens a new windowTitche Family Fund.

• Theme-based Spanish-language interface designed to make content readily accessible to non-English users.
• This full-text Spanish-language database covers a broad array of subjects inside and outside academia. It offers content from a variety of sources, including reference books, general interest magazines and health reports.
• Daily updates ensure availability of the most current articles from a dozen prominent newspapers from 10 Latin American countries.

• Provides coverage from regional business publications for the U.S. and Canada.

• Consumer health information in Español

• Offers coverage that addresses many small business topics from consumer small business reference books, business videos, help and advice section and how to create business plans.

• This reference database provides detailed yet user-friendly repair guides for all manner of small engines.
• A full collection of Clymer repair manuals, with new and updated content added regularly
• Coverage of more than 90,000 repairs

• Provides market and consumer data
• Contains more than 1 million statistics on more than 80,000 topics from across 170 industries and 150+ countries

• Animated, talking picture books for children
• Books which you can read OR can be read to you!
• Includes games and puzzles
• Books are available in English, Spanish, and French

The USA Today Collection from Newsbank provides access to current and past issues of this well-known national newspaper. 

• View full page images from 2006 to the present
• Access to full-text content starting in 1987 (text only)
• All content is full-text searchable and browsable using the Newsbank web interface

(This content is currently being offered on a trial basis.)

• Value Line provides valuable research and analysis of approximately 1,700 if the most actively traded U.S. stocks.
• Value Line helps investors conduct basic research, formulate investment strategies, and make sound investment decisions.

• Designed specifically for the research needs of two-year colleges.
• Scholarly content most relevant to vocational programs.
• Wide range of subjects covered including counseling, biotechnology, cosmetology, fashion design, forensics, graphic arts, health information technology, law enforcement, and veterinary assistant.

• Contains eight major subject categories: Arts, History and Government, People, Places, Plants and Animals, Science and Mathematics, Sports and Hobbies, World Religions.
• Has three sets of activities divided into: Make It! Think It! and Be It!
• Includes full-featured pictures, sounds and videos.
• Also includes a section for teachers.