Arts and Humanities

 START with these databases:

• Credo Reference
A great place to begin research on any subject. Includes more than 500 trusted titles from over 70 publishers, plus relevant links to other quality sources.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the full text of hundreds of reference books on a wide variety of subjects, including history, business, medicine, science and humanities. Includes tables of content, indexes and illustrations. (Guided Tour)
• Grove Dictionary of Art Online
Premier art encyclopedia on the Internet covering all aspect of visual arts from prehistory to the present day. Includes biographies of artists and select images of art.
• Oxford Reference Online
Search Oxford's award winning encyclopedias and scholarly reference titles on an easy-to-use site.

Additional databases to search:

•  American Book Prices Current
(Only available from within the Library)
ABPC is an essential tool for buying, selling and evaluating books, serials, autographs, manuscripts, broadsides, maps and documents, based on actual auction prices in the US and abroad.
• American National Biography Online
Info on over 17,000 American men and women--from all eras and walks of life--whose lives have shaped the nation. Only deceased persons are profiled.
• Ancient & Medieval History Online
Explores six ancient centers of civilization: Africa, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Mesoamerica, and Mesopotamia.
• ArticleFirst
Articles from scholarly journals covering a wide variety of topics including business, humanities, science, and technology.
• Biography in Context
More than 300,000 biographies from respected sources, for individuals from around the world, throughout history to the present. (Guided Tour)
• CQ Researcher
Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, including overviews, statistics and pro/con reporting.
• Daily Life Online
Explore how others lived and live their lives, and how their lives shaped ours. Content is enhanced with new books, articles, images, maps, primary documents, and more.
• Electronic Collections Online
Abstracts and selected full text of scholarly journals from 1995 to present, covering subjects such as business, education, geography and law.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Complete encyclopedia with related Internet links, best websites rated by EB editors, Britannica's Lives and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
• Enciclopedia Moderna
(Encyclopaedia Britannica Online)
The most comprehensive encyclopedia in the Spanish language, with articles, photos and images, maps and tables.
La enciclopedia más comprensiva de la lengua española, con los artículos, fotos e imágenes, mapas y tablas.
• History Study Center
Primary and secondary sources on global history from ancient times to the present day, perfect for student reports.
•  Hobbies & Crafts
Has patterns, articles, and information on everything from amateur radio to knitting to woodworking.
• Illinois Digital Archive
St. Charles, Kane County and Illinois local history documents, maps and photos.
• Lands and People
A unique cultural database of all the countries on the globe. World Atlas included.
• Naxos Music Library
Streaming music that includes over 85,000 tracks, including Classical music, Jazz, World, Folk and Chinese music.
• Naxos Sheet Music Library
Find 45,000 classical sheet music titles. Some titles may be transposed online.
• Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford’s innovative modern English dictionary and language reference  service.
• Oxford English Dictionary
Search the authority on the English language. An unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 500,000 words, both present and past.
• Points of View Reference Center
Two hundred topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
• Salem History
Includes Milestone Documents, the Great Lives biography series, Great Events from History, The Decades, and more.
• Something About the Author
This series covers individuals ranging from established award winners in children’s literature to authors and illustrators who are just beginning their careers in children’s literature.
• Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
Comprehensive dictionary that includes definitions, pronunciations and histories of the words.
• Wilson OmniFile Full Text, Select Edition
A 100% full-text database. Retrieve complete articles from thousands of publications in science, the humanities, art, business, and law.
• World Book Online
Start here for background research on any topic. Articles are updated with current events information, useful links on the Internet, a monthly calendar of important dates and a Today in History feature.