Books Online
The following are subscription resources MCPL provides through third-party vendors. These resources include books in an online format that can be read from any computer that has web access. Most of these books are not able to be downloaded to a portable eBook reader or device.
Books and Reading | Business and Finance | Career and Education Guidance | Computers and Technology | Dictionaries and Encyclopedias | DIY and Hobbies | Electronic Reference Books | Genealogy | Health | History | Legal | Literature and Language Arts | Science
Art and Entertainment
African American Music Reference
African American Music Reference contains more than three thousand essays and images that offer coverage of blues, jazz, spirituals, civil rights songs, slave songs, minstrelsy, rhythm and blues, gospel, and other forms of black American musical expression.
Classical Music Reference Library
Classical Music Reference Library brings together more than seventeen thousand pages of reference materials, spanning the entire history of Western classical music, in a unified online database. Included are the authoritative reference titles Baker's Dictionary of Music, Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, and Baker's Student Encyclopedia of Music.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online is the first comprehensive online resource devoted to music research of all the world's peoples. More than nine thousand pages of essays, images, and audio examples, combined with entries by more than seven hundred expert contributors from all over the world, make this the most complete body of work focused on world music.
Books and Reading
BookFlix
BookFlix is an online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks with related nonfiction eBooks to build a love of reading and learning. BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.
TrueFlix
TrueFlix offers the award-winning True Books content to help students build literacy skills as they learn about a variety of subjects. All of the 47 True Book titles are accompanied by related content and primary sources featuring videos, audio, images, and text.
TumbleBook Library
TumbleBook Library is a collection of animated talking picture books for children. TumbleBook Library also has children's audiobooks and read-along books, and offers some titles in foreign languages.
Business and Finance
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship includes worldwide publications and multimedia useful to educators, researchers, students, and members of the business community. Content ranges from the scholarly -- including journals, dissertations, working papers, and conference proceedings -- to a full toolkit of practical guides, templates, forms, sample business plans, and tips from successful entrepreneurs.
Mergent WebReports
Mergent WebReports includes all Mergent (formerly Moody's) Manuals published since 1909. The company snapshots provide a quick overview of each company including address, telephone and fax number, ticker symbol and company website. The database is still under formation, with additional data to be added in the future, including an archive of corporate annual, quarterly, and interim reports.
Safari Business Books
Safari Business Books includes hundreds of business books you can read online. You can search the collection by subject, and the search results will direct you to books which include sections on your topic. Finance, human resources, management, and marketing are some of the specific areas covered.
Career and Education Guidance
Testing & Education Reference Center
Taking a college entrance or licensing exam? Looking for a college or graduate school? Need help finding scholarships? Use this database to search thousands of college and graduate school entries. Identify scholarships that meet your financial needs. Take online practice tests and use test prep eBooks to obtain your education goals.
Computers and Technology
Safari Technical Books
Safari Technical Books includes thousands of computer and technical books you can read online. You can search the collection by subject, and the search results will direct you to books which include sections on that subject. Web administration, programming, certification, Windows, Java, and Linux/Unix are some of the specific topics covered.
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia Britannica
Search or browse the encyclopedia alphabetically or by subject to find in-depth articles, related websites, video clips, and more. Check out the world atlas, timelines, year in review, and the spotlight archive with exhibits on dinosaurs, thunderstorms, the Titanic, and more.
Oxford Reference Online
Simultaneously search over one hundred specialized dictionaries and reference books covering a variety of subjects including language, science, medicine, humanities, social science, and business. [source list]
World Book Online
Explore easy to understand encyclopedia articles, as well as links to related websites and magazine articles. An atlas is also included. Entries incorporate sounds, pictures, videos and animations to make the information come alive. Great for students of all ages.
DIY and Hobbies
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center provides information about many of the most popular hobbies, crafts, and recreation activities today such as collecting, games and electronics, model building, needlework, outdoors and nature, scrapbooking, and papercraft. Including full-text articles for more than seven hundred magazines and books, as well as access to more than seven hundred videos and over one hundred hobby reports, this database offers detailed "how-to" instructions and creative ideas to meet the interests of virtually every hobby-enthusiast.
Home Improvement Reference Center
Home Improvement Reference Center contains full-text reference works and magazine articles on the topics of home maintenance, remodeling, electrical work, plumbing, wood projects, outdoor improvements, decorating, and gardening. It features more than ten thousand images that give instruction for home improvement projects.
Electronic Reference Books
Book Collection: Nonfiction - Elementary Edition
This collection contains searchable full text for more than thirteen hundred popular nonfiction books for elementary school students. The database includes high-interest titles on animals, weather, holidays, adventure, sports, Native Americans, United States, Canada, biographies, nature, civics, and more.
Book Collection: Nonfiction - High School Edition
This collection contains searchable full text for more than twenty-four hundred fifty popular nonfiction books for high school students. The database includes high-interest titles on careers, health, life skills, ethnicity, disabilities, adventure, sports, technology, biographies, music, science, history, civics, and more.
Book Collection: Nonfiction - Middle School Edition
This collection contains searchable full text for more than thirty-one hundred popular nonfiction books for middle school students. The database includes high-interest titles on careers, health, life skills, ethnicity, disabilities, adventure, sports, technology, biographies, history, science, women, civics, and more.
Children's Core Collection
Used for collection development, readers' advisory, curriculum support, and selection and purchasing, Children's Core Collection includes fiction and nonfiction works, story collections, picture books, magazines, websites, and online subscription resources recommended for readers from preschool through sixth grade. Entries provide complete bibliographic data, price, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and evaluative quotations from a review when available.
Please note: This database has a simultaneous user limit. If you are unable to access it, please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Credo Reference
Credo Reference is an online reference service made up of full-text books from the world's best publishers. Whether you're working on a research paper, trying to win a game, or just curious, Credo Reference has something for you.
Gale Directory Library
Gale Directory Library is the electronic verson of traditional print titles. This includes Ward's Business Directory, Encyclopedia of Associations, and Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media. Users can perform state-of-the-art searches, sort and export data to analyze or generate mailing lists, print/email/download individual entries, and perform further research through hot-linked websites and email addresses.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Search over one thousand electronic reference books individually or as a group. Titles include subject-specific encyclopedias, subject dictionaries, handbooks, and almanacs.
Gale Virtual Reference Library is available on Android and iOS.
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective
Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective cites articles from English-language periodicals from 1907-1984. Humanities topics include Archaeology, Art, Communications, Dance, Film, Folklore, Gender Studies, History, Journalism, Literary & Social Criticism Literature, Music, Philosophy, Religion, and Theology. Social Sciences topics include Addiction Studies, Anthropology, Community Health & Medical Care, Criminal Justice, Economics, Environmental Studies, Ethics, Family Studies, Geography, Gerontology, Minority Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Public Welfare, Social Work, Sociology, and Urban Studies.
Please note: This database has a simultaneous user limit. If you are unable to access it, please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Middle and Junior High Core Collection
Middle and Junior High Core Collection is a selective annotated list of fiction and nonfiction books for young people in grades five through nine, along with review sources and other professional aids for children's librarians and school media specialists. Nonfiction works are classified by subject according to the Dewey Decimal Classification. Works of fiction and story collections are designated Fic and S C.
Please note: This database has a simultaneous user limit. If you are unable to access it, please try again later. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Genealogy
Genealogy Connect
Genealogy Connect is designed specifically to empower researchers by instructing users in proper research methods, helping them organize, and defining goals to build the best possible family tree. Genealogy Connect features a wide range of full-text, comprehensive references which are fully-searchable. All titles can be listened to online, downloaded as MP3s, or downloaded as PDFs to a compatible eReader. Genealogy Connect makes it easy for users to access genealogical content and discover the information most meaningful to their research.
Genealogy Connect is also available on Android and iOS.
HeritageQuest Online
Search thousands of family and local history books and the complete US Federal Census from 1790 to 1930. Census records can be searched by name, place of birth, age, ethnicity, and more. HeritageQuest Onlinealso includes Revolutionary War records, Freedman's Bank, and the PERSI periodical index.
Health
Consumer Health Complete
Consumer Health Complete contains health and wellness information from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary, holistic, and integrated medicine. It includes electronic searchable versions of many popular print titles such as the AMA Complete Medical Encyclopedia and the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book.
History
Gerritsen Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs
The Gerritsen Collection is a women's history collection of periodicals, books, pamphlets, and more. Much of this collection is primary source material otherwise available only in a few rare book rooms around the world.
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007
This resource is designed as a portal for slavery and abolition studies, bringing together documents and collections covering an extensive time period of 1490-2007, from libraries and archives across the Atlantic world. Close attention is being given to the varieties of slavery, the legacy of slavery, the social justice perspective, and the continued existence of slavery today.
U.S. History in Context
Discover American history from pre-colonial times to the present by reading historical documents and articles about the famous individuals in American history and about historical events. This resource includes maps, images, and timelines. [source list]
Virginia Company Archives
This database includes the Ferrar Papers, 1590-1790, from Magdalene College, Cambridge. It documents the founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London, 1606-1624; the continuing interest of the Ferrar family in the settlement of North America from Jamestown to the Bermudas; trade between Britain and America; the ethnic and gender composition of early Virginia; tensions amongst the colonists; and of early relations with Native Americans.
World Folklore and Folklife
World Folklore and Folklife provides information on the topics of literature, social and religious practices, history, art, music, and languages from different cultures around the world.
World History in Context
Discover twentieth-century world history by reading historical documents and articles about European, Asian, African, and Latin American history including the two World Wars, the Cold War, mass genocide, the rise and fall of Communism, and more. It includes maps, images, and timelines. [source list]
Legal
Legal Information Reference Center
Providing online full text for many of the top consumer legal reference books, Legal Information Reference Center contains more than three hundred full-text publications and thousands of legal forms. This database offers the everyday user the necessary tools and detailed “how-to” instructions to independently address a wide range of legal issues including business law, financial planning, family law, property and real estate, and rights and disputes.
Literature and Language Arts
Contemporary Authors
Read biographies of contemporary novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists, and scriptwriters. This resource includes more than one hundred twenty thousand US and international authors including commonly studied literary greats.
Contemporary Literary Criticism Select
This electronic version of the print set, which began in 1973, provides extensive biographical and critical information on over six hundred significant authors, including more than two hundred fifty major retrospective authors.
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online includes biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres.
Something About the Author Online
Something About the Author Online covers the lives and works of authors and illustrators of books for children and young adults. In addition to the information found in the print version of this reference source, the online edition also includes hundreds of specially commissioned autobiographical essays that are illustrated with personal photos and present an entertaining and informative first-person perspective on the lives and careers of these authors and illustrators.
Science
Encyclopedia of Astronomy and Astrophysics
This is an in-depth astronomy encyclopedia written by experts. Read the latest news in astronomy and astrophysics, look up terms in the dictionary, read the featured article of the week, and check out related astronomy websites. This source also includes biographies of famous astronomers.
McGraw-Hill's AccessScience
McGraw Hill's AccessScience features biographies of scientists, late-breaking science news, links to related websites, study guides, additional reading, research ideas, and a listing of Nobel Prize winners. This science encyclopeida is searchable by keyword or topic
