LAUSD DIGITAL LIBRARY
What is the LAUSD Digital Library?
The LAUSD Digital Library is a collection of subscription databases and online encyclopedias curated to provide students and teachers with credible, high quality sources for academic research. There are translation tools, citation tools, and other tools that allow you to save your resource. You can also look for non-academic facts and information through the database as well!
Encyclopedias
World Book and Britannica
- Both are great places to start your research
- Provide an overview of your topic, background knowledge, connections
- Current; updated regularly
- Information is provided at 3 different reading levels
- Both World Book and Britannica offer a Spanish version
- Both offer a translation tool, a text to speech tool, citation help and will allow you to email, download as a PDF, or save to your Google Drive. In addition to the main article there is tab linking to images, video and audio, and one linking to related information including other related encyclopedia articles, primary source documents, books and eBooks, special reports, and web pages.
ABC-CLIO
- History Databases! Search one or search them all.
- American Government
- American History
- Daily Life Through History
- World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras
- World History: Modern Eras
- Explore by theme
- Mostly encyclopedic articles categorized in "Library" (more specific) or "Topic Center" (more overview)
- Be sure to check out the Tools for Students for "research tutors" and "research wizards" that can help with every aspect of your research.
American National Biography
- Contains bios of nearly 19,000 Americans
- Search by name or topic
- Provides research ideas through small, curated lists of articles on a variety of topics that connect this massive collection of biographies to the Oxford Companion of United States History
Cavendish Square Digital
- Very visual
- Reference collections on a variety of topics
- Select a collection, then either browse through a list of topics or use the search bar
- Translation and listening available
- Research tools vary by collection
- Once you are in an article there is an abundance of helpful features-listening, translation, citation, saving to Google Drive, sharing, etc.
Colombia Gazetteer of the World Online
- Encyclopedia of geographic places and features
- "Most articles have details on where the place is located, its dimensions and borders, and information on economic activities, demographics, history, and former or alternate names and different spellings and pronunciations." (From the site)
- Includes citation information for articles
Columbia Granger's World of Poetry
- While there are many well-known poems to be found in this database, it is really everything about poetry and poets, and poems.
- Includes poetic terms glossary
- There is a "listening room" to hear poems
- Includes bios of poets, commentaries, history, criticism, and sources where you can find the poem you are looking for (if not on site)
- Has good search tips
Culture Grams
- Detailed and extensive information on every aspect of culture(s) of over 200 countries, our 50 states, and 13 Canadian provinces
- Very visual with pictures, infographics, videos
- Full range of tools for listening, translation, citation, downloading to Google Drive, and more.
EBSCO
- This one is more advanced and takes some practice!
- Provides full-text databases, subject indexes, point-of-care medical reference, historical digital archives and e-books from more than 375 research databases and more than 380,000 e-books plus subscription management services for 355,000 e-journals and e-journal packages.
Infobase
- "Contains more than 75 years’ worth of content that covers a wide range of core curriculum areas—from history, science, literature, and careers to geography, health, current issues and more - at the middle, high school, and academic levels."
Maps 101
- Geography, maps, anything about locations you can possibly think of!
Oxford Art, Music and University Press
- Everything Art and Music, along with scholarly general interest books, journals, and online products.
Salem Press Health/History
- Reference content includes health, history, science, and college/career.
Gale Databases