HOW TO ACCESS THIS RESOURCE
The Huntington Beach Public Library is pleased to provide a growing collection of resources that can be accessed online via your computer, tablet, and phone. All of the resources listed on this site are 100% free to Huntington Beach Public library cardholders.
Our resources are grouped in the following categories:
Use the tabs at the top of the page or the navigation pane on the left to explore all of the resources that the library has to offer. While most resources require only your library card number and PIN, some require you to log in via our ezProxy. To learn more about the exProxy, read the note in the section on the right. See our FAQ section below to learn more about research databases and how they differ from a Google search.
Some databases are marked with a symbol.
If you are connecting to these databases from home, you can click on that symbol or the "Access from Home" link below. For more assistance, see our Help Accessing Databases page.
What are research databases?
Research databases are electronic resources that contain an organized body of related information from a wide range of well-known, authoritative sources. Although they are distributed via the Web, traditional search engines such as Google or Yahoo cannot easily retrieve the content (magazine and newspaper articles, reference books, television and radio broadcast transcripts, maps, photographs, pamphlets, etc.) in these resources. The scope of coverage varies—some databases such as EbscoHost are very broad, others such as Heritage Quest are more specialized.
What is the difference between using a database and doing a search on Google?
The information in databases has been reviewed and edited and comes from reliable, authoritative sources. Google returns results from public websites. Although there is an enormous volume of information on the Web, no oversight exists to guarantee the information retrieved is accurate, objective, and current.
Is there any charge for using them?
No. The Library has purchased subscriptions to these databases, so they can be provided free of charge to our patrons. Anyone can use them for free in the library and Library cardholders can also access the majority of the databases from home.