Guides: HBPL Digital Resources Library: Home

ANNOUNCEMENT: Libby is Now Available at HBPL

Libby by OverDrive
Access thousands of e-books and audiobooks via your computer or mobile devices!  HBPL has moved from cloudLibrary to Libby by OverDrive as our main eBook provider, offering both eBooks and eAudiobooks for checkout.  The Libby App is free and available for Apple, Android and Windows devices, as well as Kindle, Fire, and many other eReaders.  Libby users can have 5 concurrent checkouts at any time.  For a peek at some of Libby’s features, watch the Meet Libby video.

HOW TO USE LIBBY:

Download the iOS & Android apps in the App store (iOS) or in Google Play (Android).  View Libby mobile apps. 
Bookmark the library's Libby homepage (Launches December 4th) on your desktop/laptop computer or Amazon Fire tablet. To do this, visit HBPL's Libby website in your web browser.  
Visit HBPL's FAQ page for information regarding the transition from cloudLibrary to Libby.

Pro tip: If you have library cards from other library systems that also use Libby, you can set up all of these library memberships within the app! Learn how. 

Welcome to the Digital Resources Library!

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:

Articles, Journals, & Newspapers: Curious about the world around you? These resources allow our patrons to access current and historic newspaper articles, transcripts of various news sources, and even scholarly, research articles.
Business and Career: Looking to learn new or improve on some skills for work? These resources grant our patrons access to paid, professional learning platforms such as LinkedIn Learning. Many of these resources have been generously provided by the California State Library as part of the American Rescue Plan Act.
Downloadable Books, Movies, & Music: Do you use your phone or tablet for reading, watching movies, or listening to music? Download these free apps and use your library card to borrow free books, movies, and music.
Genealogy & History: Researching your family or community's history? These resources grant patrons access to primary and secondary texts such as history texts, encyclopedia articles, newspapers, census data, and much more.
Reading: Unable to visit the library? These resources allow you to access and check out eBooks, audiobooks, and even comics. Not sure where to start? Use Novelist Plus or HBPL's Shelf Help service for personalized reading recommendations.
Study and Test Preparation: Are you planning on returning to school or the workplace? The resources in this category provide patrons with access to tutors, study materials, and even "Digital Navigators" who will help you with personal, technology issues.
Recursos Digitales Para la Comunidad Hispanohablante: Coming soon...
Mobile Printing From Home: Need to print something? Send it to the library via PrinterOn, the library's mobile printing service, and have your documents waiting on one of our print release stations by the time you get to the library.

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.

Quick Links to Popular Resources

Logging in from Home

Logging in from Home?

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.

Home users login here first.

Research Database FAQs

Research Databases Q&A

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.