Set up a free account and select your child's age, interests, background, and reading level. You’ll receive a weekly email with recommended books from the Oakland Public Library!

Literature Resource Center is the most current, comprehensive, and reliable online literature resource. Its materials support interdisciplinary approaches, information literacy, and the development of critical thinking skills. Researchers will find information on authors and their works in all genres and disciplines.

Search for fiction and non-fiction based on your favorite authors, titles, subjects or genres, as well as reviews, series lists, and book discussion guides.

Includes business case studies, analytical tools, and in-depth statistical data and industry research so you can easily compare global economies, companies, and industries. 

Detailed information on 65 million companies, 85 million people, and 900 industry segments from around the world.

Helps entrepreneurs learn how to start, finance, and manage their small businesses, as well as provide information on marketing, management, human resources, and taxes. Resources include hundreds of real-life sample business plans, dozen of titles from business publisher John Wiley & Sons on small business strategy, and the full text of the Encyclopedia of Management, Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, and Small Business Management - A Framework for Success.

CustomGuide gives you a variety of online training modules in computer basics and software, including Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook. Tutorials are self-paced and let you track your own progress. You can also print out one-page resource sheets for most popular software applications.

Note: You will need to create a free user account with a valid email address.

Includes books on computers, new media and business from the last two years, including titles from O'Reilly.

The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Our Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, a World Oceans map, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.

Over 200 works of classic literature in multiple E-book formats.  Always available for download, with no expiration date and no library card required.  Listed by title or by author.

Viewable and downloadable e-Books published before 2006, featuring a wide range of subjects and publishers. Downloaded books can be checked out for up to 7 days. You'll need to create an account with a user name and password to access the ebook content.

A collection of reference books in electronic format: 

• American Men and Women of Science
• College Blue Book
• Dictionary of American History
• Encyclopedia of Education
• Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
• Encyclopedia of Small Business
• Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine
• Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia
• International Directory of Films and Filmmakers
• West's Encyclopedia of American Law

Downloadable e-books and e-audiobooks. E-books can be downloaded and transferred to e-book readers, such as the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook. The e-audiobooks can be downloaded and transferred to Windows-compatible MP3 players as well as iPods.

Animated, talking picture books that can be played on your computer while online. (No downloading is possible!) The Story Book collection includes a fun variety of stories for different age levels. The pace of the stories can be controlled by the reader - or set to automatic. The Tumble Readables are large print "read on your own" children's books. There's more...including health and language resources!

A collection of directories in electronic format. Users can search for organizations by name, keyword, industry, and geography. Directories included: Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations; Encyclopedia of Associations: Region, State, and Local Organizations; Directory of Non-Profit Organizations.

El mejor recurso de referencia para principiantes de Español con contenido editorial y multimedia. Incluye Mundo de los Animales, diccionario visual, actividades, y características bilingües.

Preparación para obtener la ciudadanía estadounidense.

All the Gale periodical archives and reference book sets can be searched at once using this feature.

Public records and genealogy tools for the family historian. Emphasis on immigrant lists, passenger lists, and other public documents. This database is available at the Main and branch libraries, but not outside library facilities.

Comprehensive information on grantmakers and their grants in a database of foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the US. This database is available at the Main Library only, on all networked computers and via WiFi (Oakland Library Hotspot).

Health information from journals, magazines, pamphlets and medical reference books. Written for non-experts.

Contains full-text articles from various magazines, including articles about proven treatment techniques, experimental research theses, and applications for specific sports.

A freely accessible repository of digitized California newspapers, from 1846 to the present. Includes San Francisco Call (San Francisco, 1890-1913), California Star (San Francisco, 1847-1848), Elevator (San Francisco, 1865-1898), Pacific Appeal (San Francisco, 1862-1880), Pacific Rural Press (San Francisco, 1871-1922), Weekly Alta California (San Francisco, 1849), and Wide West (San Francisco, 1854-1858).

The Online Archive of California (OAC) provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions, including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses. Oakland Public Library’s African American Museum and Library (AAMLO) archive and the collections of the Oakland History Room are included, encompassing correspondence, photographs, photomechanical prints, diaries, manuscripts, education, music, performing arts, official records of many East Bay social and political organizations, news clippings, sheet music, monographs, serials, and  historic maps. 

Books, journals, maps, primary documents and multimedia describing United States History.

Registration requires an e-mail address. If you are registering from outside the library, you will also need to enter your library barcode. Your Email Address is your Username. 

Access various online practice tests, including the SAT, GED, ASVAB, Firefighter, Postal Worker, and many others. Also includes US Citizenship Exam Preparation; and English language and math practice exams for Spanish speakers.

Set up a free account and select your child's age, interests, background, and reading level. You’ll receive a weekly email with recommended books from the Oakland Public Library!

Articles and pictures from a variety of magazines, newspapers and reference books. Intended for elementary school students.

Find all of our Overdrive children's e-Books and downloadable audiobooks here.  E-books can be downloaded and transferred to e-book readers, such as the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook.   Audiobooks can be downloaded and transferred to Windows-compatible MP3 players as well as iPods.  

Offers a collection of research tools that includes encyclopedia articles, current periodicals, and related websites. It also features World Book Online for Kids, World Book Online for Students, Discover, which offers engaging reference resources for students reading below grade level, and the Spanish language encyclopedia Estudiantil. World Book Online is dynamically complemented with pictures, audio, and video.

Learn a new language, perfect the non-English language you already know, or learn English as a Second Language with Pronunciator. This powerful language-learning tool offers 22 months of content, beginner, intermediate, and advanced, for 80 languages and ESL instruction tailored to native speakers of 50 non-English languages.

Work in your browser at home or at the library, or study on-the-go using the Pronunciator app for Apple, Android, or Kindle Fire.

Pronunciator has lots of fun, effective modules for adults and kids. For many languages you can sign up for 30-minute live, teacher-led conversation classes. Pronunciator’s ProCitizen course prepares students to take the United States Naturalization test.

Note: ProCitizen courses can be found on this page under "Test Preparation."

Directory from Martindale: national directory of attorneys.

A directory of area libraries with web links.

Explore more than five million digitized items from nationwide public and university libraries, archives, and museums in a single free platform and portal.

Articles and indexing from over 1200 college-level periodicals, from 1980 to the present. Full text articles are available from over 700 titles.

Zinio, the world's largest newsstand, offers full color, interactive digital magazines for your enjoyment. Browse from our collection of popular titles with no holds, no checkout periods, and no limit to the number of magazines you can download.

Stream or download full music albums from contemporary artists, eAudiobooks, ebooks, and graphic novels. Stream movies, TV shows, and documentaries. You’ll create a free account, and enter your library card number and check out up to 6 albums a month. You can stream content using the hoopla app (available for iOS or Android devices), or download content temporarily. All titles are available all the time, so you don’t need to wait or place holds.

A freely accessible repository of digitized California newspapers, from 1846 to the present. Includes San Francisco Call (San Francisco, 1890-1913), California Star (San Francisco, 1847-1848), Elevator (San Francisco, 1865-1898), Pacific Appeal (San Francisco, 1862-1880), Pacific Rural Press (San Francisco, 1871-1922), Weekly Alta California (San Francisco, 1849), and Wide West (San Francisco, 1854-1858).

Provides current information about important issues and events. This resource addresses a wide variety of contemporary subjects from around the world related to social studies, science, health, sports, the arts, people and more. The reports are updated constantly, with new reports added as world and national events unfold. A good student research site, with full text access to the Oakland Tribune back to 2001.

The world's largest collection of online newspaper images, including hundreds of English language papers from California and around the world. Most issues of the Oakland Tribune between 1874 and 1977 are included in this collection. Newspaper issues can be searched by word or date, and search help is available from within the NewspaperArchive.com site. This database is available at the Main and branch libraries, but not outside library facilities.

Full-text of articles published since September 14, 2001.

This index, produced by Oakland Public Library staff, tracks Oakland and East Bay articles appearing in the Oakland Tribune and other local newspapers and magazines. 

The Online Archive of California (OAC) provides free public access to detailed descriptions of primary resource collections maintained by more than 200 contributing institutions, including libraries, special collections, archives, historical societies, and museums throughout California and collections maintained by the 10 University of California (UC) campuses. Oakland Public Library’s African American Museum and Library (AAMLO) archive and the collections of the Oakland History Room are included, encompassing correspondence, photographs, photomechanical prints, diaries, manuscripts, education, music, performing arts, official records of many East Bay social and political organizations, news clippings, sheet music, monographs, serials, and  historic maps. 

California history and culture at-a-glance for students in grades 4 through 8.

Registration requires an e-mail address. If you are registering from outside the library, you will also need to enter your library barcode. Your Email Address is your Username. 

Access various online practice tests, including the SAT, GED, ASVAB, Firefighter, Postal Worker, and many others. Also includes US Citizenship Exam Preparation; and English language and math practice exams for Spanish speakers.

Current information on controversial topics for students, writers, and debaters.

Magazine articles, photographs, audio and video clips, biographies, essays, and critical analyses. For middle school and older students.

Registration requires an e-mail address. If you are registering from outside the library, you will also need to enter your library barcode. Your Email Address is your Username. 

Access various online practice tests, including the SAT, GED, ASVAB, Firefighter, Postal Worker, and many others. Also includes US Citizenship Exam Preparation; and English language and math practice exams for Spanish speakers.

Preparación para obtener la ciudadanía estadounidense.