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Research Information & Databases

High School and Beyond Resources

Many of the resources require a username and passcode for use outside of our school network. Check with your school's Teacher-Librarian if you need assistance.

High School and Beyond Database Resources

Opposing Viewpoints

Premier online resource covering today’s hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to violent video games.

High School

Access reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links.

EBSCOhost

MAS Ultra Contains content from popular high school magazines covering a wide range of subject areas including history, science, careers and more.

Explora

Designed specifically for high school libraries, Explora Secondary is a full-text database of popular magazines, reference books, and primary sources covering many subjects, including history, science, and health. It also includes over a million photos, maps, and flags.

Novelist

Novelist Plus Find fiction reading recommendations for all ages. Search by book title, author, genre, or key plot points. Find information about a book series and discussion guides for book groups.

EBSCO LearningExpress

LearningExpress Library: A comprehensive collection of test preparation tools, skill-building materials, and career resources. Use to prepare for college and career, education tutoring, software tutorials, and workforce development.

Chilton Library

Step-by-step instructions for your auto repair needs. Includes videos and animations, close-up images, wiring diagrams, diagnostic information, and maintenance and specification tables.

EBSCOhost TOPIC Search

TOPICsearch Content explores current events, social, political, economic, scientific, and other popular topics frequently discussed in the classroom.

EBSCOhost Vocational and Career Collection

Provides coverage for trade and industry-related periodicals for high schools, community colleges, trade institutions and the general public.

Next Steps

Connect to What's Possible: Next Steps Idaho is designed to help you understand and pursue the many education and career opportunities available to you.

Upper Grades (MS & HS) Database Resources

Gale Middle School

Gale's In Context Middle School combines the best of Gale's reference content with age-appropriate videos, newspapers, magazines, primary sources, and much more. Students will find outstanding support to complete assignments in core subjects including literature, science, social studies, and history.

Gale EBooks

A collection of electronic specialized encyclopedias and reference books on a wide variety of subject areas that can be searched individually or as a whole.

World Book Advanced

The World Book web site offers an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, homework help, study aids, and curriculum guides.

Academic Search Premier

Scholarly, multidiscipline, full text database for academic research. Covers the academic disciplines being offered in colleges and universities. (Works best in Chrome or Microsoft Edge. Does not work with Internet Explorer.)

World Book Discover

Designed for high-interest, low reading level content, this tool is useful for new readers of English.

EXPLORA

Designed specifically for middle school, Explora Middle School is a full-text database of popular magazines, reference books, and primary sources covering many subjects, including history, science, and health. It also includes over a million photos, maps, and flags.

Literary Reference Center

Provides information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes.

Newspaper Source

Full text coverage of major newspapers, videos, and podcasts covering critical news topics.

History Reference Center

Full text content of historical documents, biographies of historical figures, photos, maps, video, and other history reference materials.

EBSCO Learning Express Center

Popular Online Resources (All Grades)

Link to Destiny Discover

(How-to Video) Placing a Hold in Destiny

Link to Sora Books

Find eBooks and audio books.

Link to SORA Account

Add a Library to Your SORA Account

Link to SORA Help Site

SORA Help Site: Learn how to navigate Sora, borrow digital titles, and start reading.

Link to Discovery Education

A variety of resources including video, audio, and encyclopedia related information. Use your school computer user name with @westada.org to login.

Link to Lill for Schools

LiLIschools.org offers Idaho students in grades K-12 free access to a curated set of online tools focused on their educational needs.

Link to World Book Students

Articles from the print versions of the World Book Encyclopedia, plus thousands of additional articles, learning resources, and research tools.

Link to Explore Researcher

Explore Researcher in Microsoft Word: Researcher helps you find and incorporate reliable sources and content for your paper in just a few steps. Explore and research the material related to your content and add it with citations.

Link to Novelist

For readers in Grades K-8, find fiction reading recommendations by book titles, author, genre, series, or key plot points. Ready-to-go read-alike lists for popular titles.

Link to Teaching Books

Lists of award winning and distinctive books.

Link to Country Reports

CountryReports provides over 35,000 pages of online content on the cultures and countries of the world.

Link to Pronunciator

Pronunciator is a fun and free way to learn any of 87 languages with self-directed lessons, live teachers, movies, music, and more.

Link to GCF

More than 1,000 lessons in technology, reading, math, and more.

Gale Virtual Library eBooks

Gale EBooks

Visit our entire collection of Gale reference eBooks.

Always Broke?

This book examines earning money through part-time jobs or making and selling products. Other helpful topics covered include saving and making budgets, banks and different types of accounts, and credit cards and debt. It shows how to be a thoughtful consumer and make the most of one’s money.

Cutting Edge Military Technology

This book covers the development of a new generation of cutting edge robots, unmanned vehicles, weapons, tactical gear, and other defense-related technologies.

Ignition Science

This book is a collection of seventy science projects, each intended to be performed by a group of two to four students. Projects have real-world applications, and each includes step-by-step instructions, budget and timetable estimates, expected outputs, and measures for evaluating success. The goal of the projects is not only to teach important science lessons but also to provide opportunities for students to engage in collaborative, project learning.

Career Information Center

Career Information Center 10th ed. contains 16 vols. of the most current information available on careers in the United States and Canada to people of all ages. Each volume covers a career cluster and its common career pathways. Job profiles cover the following: job facts, nature of work, work environment, education, licenses, certification, and training, job outlook.

Graphic Novelists

Graphic novels -- novels merging pictures and rich language to create a unique experience of literature and art -- are enjoying a renewed popularity, especially with students and young adults. U·X·L's Graphic Novelists introduces researchers to the authors and illustrators behind these works, taking care to define and explore the distinction between comic books and graphic novels.

Supreme Court Drama

Profiles major U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have made a significant impact on American society. Each volume is organized by broad legal principles such as individual liberties, criminal justice and family law, equal protection and civil rights, and business and government law. Within this framework, case entries are arranged under the more specific legal issue to which they relate, such as affirmative action, capital punishment, freedom of speech, and monopolies.

Mythology

Entry topics include gods and goddesses; heroes and other key characters; motifs and global themes; major myths; and national or cultural mythologies. Coverage spans a diversity of cultures, including standard Greek/Roman entries as well as Native North and South American traditions, Norse mythology, Asian Pacific mythology, Judeo-Christian tradition, and Islamic and Hindu mythologies.

Grzimek's

Features articles that familiarize readers with animals found everywhere on the globe, detailing their life cycles, predators, food systems, overall ecology and much more.

Getting a Job

This book provides real-world examples, relevant facts, and fully documented quotes from teens and experts for youth’s who are looking for a job.

Riots

This book explores a range of issues that have inspired protest around the world, and the types of protests that serious activists and ordinary people alike have used to effect change.