Homework Help

Having trouble with your homework? Here is a list of databases available to help you from home arranged by the type of assignment. If you need a live person to help you with your homework, check our program calendar for homework help at different library branches. If you can't find what you are looking for, please call your local branch. If you are a teacher and would like to arrange for a librarian to come to your school and show how to use any of these resources, teach information literacy skills, or talk about online safety, please call 560-0111 or email kmakens@dconc.gov.

K-5th Grade | Biographies | Controversial Topics | Countries & Cultures |
Foreign Languages | Literature and Reading | Magazines & Newspapers | History |
Science Fairs | Test Prep

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Key to Link Icons

    Available from any computer with Internet access.
     Available from any computer with a library card.
 Available from any computer with a library card,
               provided by the State Library of NC.
   Available from any computer within a library building.

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K-5th Grade

These databases have articles written at a level for a younger child, suitable for most elementary school assignments.

Kids Search
Search through many encyclopedias and magazines in one place. You can search by lexile level under Detailed Search. There are also materials available for teachers and homeschool parents.

Primary Search
Contains full text of nearly 70 popular elementary school magazines which can be searched by reading level.

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Biographies for Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American History, or Women's History Month

Biography Reference Center
Short biographies of famous actors, authors, explorers, historical figures, inventors, musicians, Presidents of the United States, scientists and many others.

Credo
If you know the name of the person you are looking for and only need a short article from a reliable source, this may be a good choice. Credo will generate APA, MLA or Chicago Manual citations.

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Controversial Topics

Do you have an assignment where you need to argue your point of view on a controversial issue, such as gun control? Then these two databases will give you many reliable sources.

CQ Researcher
Explains both sides of controversial issues in the news and gives reliable facts to let you decide for yourself how you feel about a topic. These are the same articles which appear in the print version of CQ Researcher. This database will also generate its own citations in APA, Bluebook, Chicago Manual or MLA format.

SIRS Knowledge Source
A comprehensive portal offering centralized access to all SIRS products which target the needs of students with best-of content selected to support research, study, and homework in key curricula subjects.

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Countries and Cultures

Do you need information about how life was during a certain time period, and/or a certain country? Do you need quick facts about a country?

Credo
Reliable, factual information about a country including maps and flags from the CIA World Factbook.

CultureGrams
Links students to country reports that go beyond mere facts and figures to deliver a one-of-a-kind perspective on daily life and culture. In-depth reports covering 200+ countries, the United States, and Canada. More info...

Daily Life Online
This database provides coverage of history, geography, social customs, family life, leisure, arts, food, clothing, religion, holidays of over seventy countries from around the world from the 4th century CE to the present. This is a good source if you are doing a paper about what life was like during a certain time period or you need to know about customs, food, etc for another country in the present day.

History Study Center
Covers 14 centuries of history--from ancient to modern, old world to new world. A good source for Social Studies and History homework.

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Learning a Foreign Language

Transparent Language Online
Formerly known as Byki, Transparent Language Online is a rapid learning system employing spaced interval repetition. The learning method takes users through a series of simple steps to memorize words and phrases in a new language, including their meanings and proper pronunciation, in the shortest possible time. More info...

Credo
Do you need a foreign language dictionary? Get dictionaries in nine different languages translated to English. Click on bilinguals after entering Credo to see the foreign language dictionaries.

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Literature and Reading

Free Booknotes.com
A literature study guide search engine.

Literary Reference Center
Provides scholarly articles and criticism, biographies, author interviews, a history timeline, and the full text of public domain novels, short stories, and poems. 

Novelist K-8
Reader's advisory service for fiction and nonfiction titles, designed to support kids’ pleasure reading and school work. Searchable by author, title, series name, plot, and lexile level. Includes author read-alikes and lists of award-winners. More info...

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Magazine and Newspaper Articles

If you need an article from a local paper from the late nineties to the present, or from the New York Times from 1985 to the present, you can start here. If you need an older article, come in to the Main Library on the second floor for help. This is a small list of what is available, if you need more help, please come in or call your local branch.

Magazine and Journal Title List
Check here to see if NCLive carries a particular magazine or journal title that you would like to read online. If you can't find the right title, ask a librarian or call 560-0110 for help.

MAS Ultra - School Edition
Contains full text for more than 500 popular, high school magazines including America’s Civil War, American Heritage, American History, Archaeology, Astronomy, Bioscience, Careers & Colleges, Civil War Times, Congressional Digest, Discover, Economist, History Today, Nation, National Review, New Republic, New Scientist, Popular Science, Science News, Scientific American, Smithsonian, World War II, etc. All full text articles are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).

New York Times
Provides full text access to New York Times (1980-current), New York Times Magazine (1997-current), and New York Times Book Review (1997-current).

Newspaper Source Plus
Search the full text of newspapers from around the country including, the New York Times from 1985 to the present, the Herald Sun going back to 1998, and the News and Observer going back to 1999.

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North Carolina and Local History

Documenting the American South
DocSouth includes books, diaries, posters, artifacts, letters, oral history interviews and songs related to southern history, literature, and culture.

North Carolina Collection
Durham County Library has a large archive which can help with many local history questions. While some of the collection is available on the website, some things are only available in the building. Please call 560-0171 if you have any questions.

North Carolina Encyclopedia
This is a good place to get reliable information about the state of North Carolina. Maintained by the North Carolina State Library.

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Science Fairs

Credo
Contains the full text articles from many different reference books devoted to all areas of science including astronomy, biology, botany, chemistry, geology, physics and more. While you will not find suggetions for science experiments, you can find the background information you need for your project after you have decided on your topic.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the Gale Encyclopedia of Science, Encyclopedia of Biomes, and more. This is a good place to get quick, reliable information about most science topics.

NetLibrary
Not sure what you want to do for your science fair project? This is a good place to start. NetLibrary has science fair project books for students in elementary school through high school. Just click on subject in the search box, and type science projects for your search.

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Test Preparation

Learning Express
Are you going to take the SATs, ACTs, or AP exams, or are you struggling in school and need to practice skills for the North Carolina End of Course Exams? This database has free online classes and practice exams to help you score higher.

Last Update: April 26, 2013