owatonna public library
BOOKS + MATERIALS

Research Database Subscriptions

Find online magazine & newspaper articles or abstracts. Specialized databases available for automotive, genealogy, law, and more. Accessible from within the Library or with your Borrower ID.

Web Resources

Internet websites selected by librarians on a wide array of topics to accelerate your research. Accessible from any device connected to the Internet.

Magazine & Newspaper Subscriptions

Print magazines, newspapers, and journals are located in the Library's reading room.

Other Library Catalogs

Take a peek at other library collections from around the region or the globe.

Online Book Clubs

Join our OnLine Book Clubs and start reading books in your email. Each day we'll send you a 5-minute portion of a book. By the end of the week, you'll have read 2-3 chapters. If you'd like to finish a book, stop by the library and pick up a copy. Every week we feature new books. Sign up today and start reading tomorrow.

Online Book Stores

Recommended Web Resources

Black History
Books and Reading
Education
Election 2008
English Language Learners
Environment
Finance
Government (Federal)
Health
Jobs
Kids
Languages
Law
Maps
Minnesota
Movies
Moving
Reference
Retirement
Statistics
Subject Index
Women

Black History

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Books and Reading

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Education

  • CLEP Information on CLEP exams and includes searchable database of institutions accepting CLEP exams.
  • College.gov U.S. Department of Education. This site is intended to be the go-to source for information and resources about planning, preparing and paying for postsecondary education.
  • Distance Learning Channel Searchable index of distance learning degree programs and other opportunities.
  • Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) U.S. Department of Education Fill out the FAFSA form online.
  • Hope Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Credit U.S. Department of Education Information about educational benefits contained in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
  • Peterson's Online
    Comprehensive research site for colleges, universities, financial aid, test preparation.
  • The Student Guide
    U.S. Department of Education grants, loans, and work-study are the three major forms of student financial aid available through the federal Student Financial Assistance Programs. Updated each award year, The Student Guide tells you about the programs and how to apply for them.
  • U.S. News Online: Get Into College
    College Rankings. Searchable index of 4-year and community colleges. Enter your preferences for major and location.
  • U.S. News: America's Best Graduate Schools
    Get the latest rankings, interactive tools, and up-to-date articles for each area of study, just enter your preferences.
  • VA Education Benefits Outlines benefits available to Veterans and surviving dependents of Veterans.

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Election 2008

  • Click here for links to Results, the Minnesota Senate Recount, and much more.

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English Language Learners

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Environment

  • EPA National Environmental Publications Internet Site: over 7,000 documents on-line
  • Hazardous Substances fact sheets from New Jersey Dept. of Health and Senior Services
  • Plants National Database U.S. Department of Agriculture
  • Forests.org Forest Protection Portal
  • Rainforest Resources
    • Amazon Interactive Produced by Educational Web Adventures. An interactive web site for children with online games and activities.
    • The Future of Tropical Rainforest Peoples. Produced by APFT, a multi-disciplinary project sponsored by the European Community which aims to investigate and document the future of the peoples of the rainforest, focusing on three principal areas: the Caribbean, Central Africa and the Southwestern Pacific.
    • Rainforest Action Network
    • Rainforest Alliance An international nonprofit organization dedicated to tropical forest conservation. The site has an interactive jungle adventure and special resources for teachers and young people.
    • Wealth of the Rainforest Extensive plant database, including photos

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Finance

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Government (Federal)

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Health

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Jobs

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Languages

  • BBC Languages, including French, German, Italian, Spanish, Chinese, and many more resources.

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Maps

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Minnesota

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Movies

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Moving

  • County and City Data Books University of Virginia-searches information from the Census Bureau Search for selected demographic data about selected counties and cities.
  • Homebuyer's Fair A commercial site supported by sponsoring real estate agencies Tools, calculators, community information.
  • Maps
  • Newspapers A comprehensive gateway to U.S. daily and weekly newspapers on the Web. Many contain full text of classified sections with up-to-date job listings.
  • Official City Sites - or Near Official Sites designated as sanctioned by city government or chamber. Searchable database indexed by state. Also contains some foreign cities.
  • U.S. Gazetteer Search for a place in the United States by name or zip code and select demographic characteristics from the census that you wish to view.

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Reference

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Retirement

  • Access America for Seniors Social Security Administration From the introduction to the website: "We designed this site to provide senior citizens, and anyone who works on their behalf, with one site where they can access government services and information.  The emphasis here is on SERVICE: we want to provide people with the option of conducting their business with the government online, without having to visit an office or call an 800 number."
  • Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement PEBES is a valuable document that estimates your future Social Security benefits and tells you how to qualify for those benefits. Request can be submitted online, or printed and mailed. Report is mailed to you.
  • Veterans Benefits and Services The pdf file "Summary of VA benefits" is located on the benefits page.
  • VA 1-Stop Service Department of Veterans' Affairs
    1-Stop FAQ answers many commonly asked questions with links to informative sources.
  • Veterans' Benefits Administration Find information on programs administered by the he Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), the part of the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) responsible for administration of non-medical benefits programs such as Compensation, Pension, Education, Loan Guaranty, Vocational Rehabilitation and Counseling, and Insurance. Other programs of note within these broad categories include death compensation or pension payments, educational assistance for dependents of veterans who died from service connected disabilities, guardianship services for incompetent veterans and dependents, burial flags, and specially adapted housing and automobiles for certain classes of service disabled veterans.

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Statistics

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Subject Index

  • Access to Internet and Subject Resources Extensive collection of subject pages from the University of Delaware Library
  • The Argus Clearinghouse Rated guides to high-quality subject collections on the Internet
  • Britannica Classified, rated and reviewed Internet sites from the Encyclopedia Britannica
  • BUBL Link UK funded project of selective resources from the University of Strathclyde Library in Glasgow, Scotland.
  • FirstGov Your first click to the U.S. Government
  • InfoSurf Academic subject resources from the University of California at Santa Barbara
  • INFOMINE Large collection of scholarly Internet resources collectively maintained by libraries of the University of California
  • The Internet Public Library Large, selective collection from the University of Michigan
  • Librarians' Index to the Internet Carefully chosen, organized, and annotated directory coordinated by Carole Leita
  • Library Resource List
  • Mayo Clinic: Internet Health and Medical Resources Prepared by Mayo Clinic librarians.
  • PINAKES, A Subject Launchpad Links to major meta-sites in topical areas; sites include AHDS (arts and humanities), Biz/ed, SciCentral, SOSIG (social sciences) and many more
  • Scout Select Bookmarks Collection of meta-sites in several subject areas
  • The WWW Virtual Library - highly respected guides to many disciplines sponsored by the W3 Consortium
  • About.com Large collection of topical collections gathered by company-certified subject specialist
  • Internet Library for Librarians from InfoWorks
  • JumpCity Collection that offers a signed review of each item and a link to any Usenet newsgroup related to the topic
  • LibrarySpot
  • LookSmart Large collection of links to reviewed sites in 70,000+ categories; incorporates results from Direct Hit
  • Lycos Eclectic directory of award-winning Web sites
  • Netscape Portal site concentrating on the business community, with a directory, search service and (free) members-only services including discussion groups, instant messenger, a member directory and free e-mail
  • Open Directory Project Significant resource collection compiled by thousands of volunteer editors owned by Netscape and promising extensive expansion
  • Reference Desk A virtual reference desk
  • The Search Beat Large, selective directory organized into numerous subtopics with a friendly approach
  • Starting Point Selective collection features a main index of 12 categories; offers searches on Web search engines and the option to personalize the site
  • Web Search Well-organized, annotated collection of Web sites organized by topic and maintained by Chris Sherman of The Mining Co.
  • Web-Today Destinations Directory Small, very selective directory of the best of the daily announcement service Web-Today
  • Yahoo! Offers search, news, stock quotes, maps, free e-mail and many other services

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Women

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