This page is your gateway to thousands of magazine articles and hundreds of reference books available over the internet for use in your home. If, however, you want to actually hold a magazine in your hands, here is the list of periodicals we have at the Library. If you have a Larchmont card and want to look at an entire magazine online, use RBdigital Magazines to access our 40+ subscriptions. Another good place to browse magazines and newspapers, both foreign and domestic, is PressReader (available to all Westchester library patrons).
A note about access: If you are within the warm, gentle embrace of New York State, many of these databases don’t require anything special to search them. Others may need just a card number from any Westchester County public library. Others require a Larchmont Public Library card number and are marked with an 
. If you are travelling outside the Empire State, try using the number from your New York Driver’s License or Non-driver Photo ID.
Online resources grouped by type
Newspapers
- Infotrac Newsstand– full text of thousands of national and international newspapers including the New York Times and the Financial Times.
- New York State Newspapers – Some of the newspapers published in New York State.
- National Newspaper Index – Indexes New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times & The Washington Post. Note: This does not contain the full text of the articles.
Magazines and Serials
General OneFile – Provides access to thousands of articles from hundreds of magazines and journals. More for the regular person.
Academic OneFile – Similar to General OneFile, but for the specialist or the student.
Health Reference Center – Academic gives access to hundreds of medical publications, both popular and scholarly.
As of January 2014, the Westchester Library System no longer subscribes to Lexis-Nexis.
Reference Books
Books you’d find in any Reference Room anywhere.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) – the broadest selection of titles and subjects.
- Britannica School
- Britannica Academic
- Britannica Escolar
- Opposing Viewpoints in Context – Issues range from Abortion to Zero Tolerance Policies.
- Gale Directory Library– Find associations, publications, broadcast media and nonprofit organizations nationally.
- Salem History – Notorious Lives and American History primary sources
Job Search and Learning Aids
- Driving-Tests.org – In partnership with Driving-Tests.org, the Westchester Library System offers free New York State Driver Permit practice tests and driver handbooks. Automobile, motorcycle and commercial handbooks and practice tests are available.
- Learning Express Library – Touch up your Microsoft Office skills. Learn Dreamweaver. Prepare for exams ranging from the TASC (which replaced the GED in New York), to Civil Service, to the MCAT and more. Also includes the Job and Career Accelerator, a comprehensive online job search system.
- Lynda.com – Tutorials on all things technological: ranging from Office to Openoffice to Garageband to Quickbooks to AutoCAD. Note: If you need to reset your password, please call Lynda at 1-888-335-9632. Select option 1 and specify that you are calling regarding Lynda Library.
- Mángo Languages – interactive online language learning. Learn up to 78 different languages including Yiddish, Irish and Kazakh. Also has English lessons geared towards native speakers of 21 different languages. Works best if you have a microphone.
- University of Fashion – Brings together the best fashion industry professionals to create lessons that inspire and educate students, teachers, home sewers and the fashion curious.
Resources for Children
- Grolier – Encyclopedias and more for all ages
- Tumblebooks – An online collection of animated, talking picture books, chapter books, games, and more.
- Elibrary Elementary – Look for books, magazines and more, all tailored for the younger audience. Covers a wide variety of topics.
- Kids InfoBits. Grades K-5. Complete with an engaging, developmentally appropriate graphic interface, reference content and magazines for elementary students, Kids InfoBits addresses the way kids learn and conduct research.
Don’t forget to check out the online resources on the Children’s pages.
Online resources grouped by subject
Arts & Literature
NoveList Plus – Reader-focused features such as reading recommendations, series information, book reviews, book jackets, and more. For children check out NoveList K-8 Plus.
Gale Virtual Reference Library – Hundreds of reference books, including Novels for Students, Encyclopedia of World Biography, etc.
General OneFile and Academic OneFile are a good place to look for articles.
Biography
- Encyclopedia of World Biography
– Available through the GVRL, this is a multicultural biographical source that covers notable individuals from every part of the world and from all time periods who have made significant contributions to human culture. - Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography – Available through the GVRL, this 27 volume set provides information on the history of science through articles on the professional lives of scientists. All periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times are represented.
Business & Law
- Business Insights: Essentials – Research and compare companies and industries using industry rankings, company profiles, market share data, investment reports, charts, graphs, and more.
- Mergent eResources – Three resources. Sign into one, you’re signed into all.
- Mergent Intellect – (home access) – Industry and consumer data
- Mergent Online – (home access) – Company data
- Mergent Archives – (home access) – Company documents
- Nuwav Legal Documents– New York legal forms for many different situations, ranging from Wills to Divorce to Landlord/Tennant to Equipment Rentals. It may not solve your legal woes, but at least you’ll have the right form.
- Major Acts of Congress – Available through the GVRL, in 262 entries, this 3-vol. set examines landmark learn more
Genealogy
Family Search – As we are an Affiliated Library with Family Search, they have given us onsite access to their databases. Patrons must make their own account with them, however. Family Search no longer lends microfilms, but is making their microfilms available online as they become digitized. Family Search estimates this job will be done by 2020.
Health & Science
- Health Reference Center – Academic gives access to hundreds of medical publications, both popular and scholarly.
- Health Reference Books – Searchable encyclopedias and other reference books available through the GVRL
- Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography – Available through the GVRL, this 27 volume set provides information on the history of science through articles on the professional lives of scientists. All periods of science from classical antiquity to modern times are represented.
- X-Plain Patient Education Health Tutorials – More than 1400 educational videos with basic health information about illnesses or conditions, medical tests and procedures. Versiones en español de este contenido también están disponibles aquí.
- General OneFile and Academic OneFile are great places to look for health information.
History
- There are 13 different history reference books containing 73 volumes in the GVRL. Titles include: Ancient Egypt; Renaissance: an Encyclopedia for Students (4 vol.); Encyclopedia of Modern Asia (6 vol.); UXL American Decades (11 vol.) and more. You can use the “widget” below to search the History subcollection of the GVRL directly from this page.
GVRL (History)
- Salem History – Use this if you are looking for primary sources or for criminals. There are three titles: Milestone Documents in American History; Milestone Documents of American Leaders; and Great Lives from History: Notorious Lives.
General OneFile and Academic OneFile are good sources of scholarly and popular historical writing.
Social Science
There are many different useful Social Science books in the Gale Virtual Reference Library. Titles include:
- Countries and their Cultures (4 vol.)
- Encyclopedia of European Social History (6 vol.)
- Encyclopedia of Religion (15 vol.)
- New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (6 vol.)
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (5 vol.)
General OneFile and Academic OneFile are good sources of scholarly writing on the Social Sciences.