Behind-the-scenes software update - you can now log in to the online catalog, view your account, and place holds. Phone renewals are not available yet - for now, you can renew online or by contacting us.

Online resources

Online research, learning, and entertainment, all available (and free!) with your Durham County Library card.

Our resources are provided by a variety of vendors. Please see our privacy policy for more about how they and we handle your account data.

All online resources

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Durham’s Partnership for Children

Category: Durham community
Audience: Adults
Access: No card required

Organization serving Durham's young children and their families with programs promoting healthy development and learning.

Ebooks from NC LIVE

Audience: Adults
Access: Library card + PIN

Even more ebooks. Most of the sources here focus on reference, scholarly, professional, and other nonfiction titles.

Provided by NC LIVE

Education Database

Category: Education and college resources
Audience: Adults
Access: Library card + PIN

Research on primary, secondary, and higher education, as well as special education, home schooling, adult education, and hundreds of related topics.

Provided by NC LIVE

eLibrary

Category: Biography, Homework help
Audience: Adults, Kids, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

Curated info on common and trending research topics. Geared toward a wide range of users including middle and high school students, college-prep and college-level researchers, and professional educators. Educators can search for resources that correlate to state and national standards, including Common Core State Standards.

Provided by NC LIVE

Energystar.gov

Category: Consumer resources and personal finance, Green resources
Audience: Adults, Kids
Access: No card required

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency site that gives information about going green. Features an excellent Kids section.

English Poetry

Category: Books and poetry
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

Poems from 600 to 1900, including Thomas Percy, Walter Scott, Robert Dodsley, Francis Turner Palgrave, and more.

Provided by NC LIVE

Entrepreneurship Database

Category: Business and entrepreneurship
Audience: Adults
Access: Library card + PIN

Info for entrepreneurs and researchers. Includes business start-up plans, video clips, journals, business cases, and more.

Provided by NC LIVE

Faber Poetry Library

Category: Books and poetry
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

A collection of some of the most influential poets of the twentieth century.

Provided by NC LIVE

FAFSA

Category: Education and college resources
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: No card required

Apply for federal student financial aid online.

FamilySearch

Category: Genealogy
Audience: Adults
Access: Library building only

Access available at all library locations but staff assistance available only at the North Carolina Collection at Main Library. Personal FamilySearch account required.
Genealogy resource with over six billion searchable names and two billion images of historical genealogical records including birth, marriage, death, census, land and court records from more than 130 countries.

Federal Student Aid

Category: Education and college resources
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: No card required

Info from the U.S. Department of Education about grants, loans, and work-study programs available through the federal Student Financial Assistance Programs. The Student Guide explains the programs and how to apply for them.

Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center

Category: Job help
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

Explore industries and careers, plan your education, and research best practices for resumes, cover letters, interviewing, networking, and salaries/benefits. Includes articles, career advice blogs, and streaming video.

Help and more info for Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center

Provided by NC LIVE

Films on Demand

Category: History
Audience: Adults
Access: Library card + PIN

Thousands of videos on a wide variety of topics. Includes Oscar, Emmy, and Peabody award winning documentaries, interviews, instructional and vocational training videos, historical speeches, newsreels, and more.

Provided by NC LIVE

Foundation Directory Essentials

Category: Nonprofits and foundations
Audience: Adults

Candid is no longer offering access to Foundation Directory Essential through Foundation Information Network partners. Main Library continues to provide free, unlimited access to Candid’s Foundation Directory Online (Professional) and Grants to Individuals databases within the building. For information on extended access to Foundation Directory Essential, Candid invites nonprofits whose annual revenue or expenses are less than $1,000,000 to participate in its “Go for the Gold” program. For details, go to https://help.guidestar.org/en/articles/5541393-go-for-the-gold

Foundation Directory Professional

Category: Nonprofits and foundations
Audience: Adults
Access: Library building only

Access at Main Library only
One of the primary resources for grant seekers. It includes detailed searchable information about grant funders, grantees, and individual grants. It is geared to grant seekers who are affiliated with non-profit entities. There is a Pathways feature that helps you look for funding leads. For help, check these Foundation Directory how-to videos.

Foundation Grants to Individuals Online

Category: Nonprofits and foundations
Audience: Adults
Access: Library building only

Access at Main Library only
Search for fellowships, scholarships and grants to individuals. There is a also a list of current RFP’s (Requests for Proposals) from grantmakers.

Gale Courses

Category: Language learning, Online classes
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

Six-week online courses to let you learn a new skill or enhance your existing ones. Covers fields like business, computer applications, health care, and many more. You'll be able to interact with your expert instructor and with fellow students in online discussions. Lessons take roughly two to four hours each week.

Help and more info for Gale Courses

Gale Ebooks

Category: Science
Audience: Adults
Access: Library card + PIN

Full-text reference books for the arts, education, environment, medicine, religion, science, social sciences, and more. Includes a translation tool that lets you translate any article from English into Spanish, French, Japanese, simplified Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, or Korean.

Help and more info for Gale Ebooks

Gale in Context: Biography

Category: Biography
Audience: Adults, Teens
Access: Library card + PIN

Biographical info on more than 528,000 individuals, spanning history and geography. A great resource for research projects.

Provided by NC LIVE

Gale in Context: Elementary

Category: Homework help
Audience: Kids
Access: Library card + PIN

Just for elementary students: search for info on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports, and more. Includes easy-to-understand articles from over 100 kids' magazines, newspapers, and reference books.

Help and more info for Gale in Context: Elementary