Resource Descriptions

Online Resources, via Internet access

Internet access is available on all library media center computers to students who have an Acceptable Use Plan on file, signed by the parent or guardian. All students, faculty, and staff are asked to sign an AUP.

The Richardson Independent School District provides a wealth of online resources to support student research, and train students in the use of online databases. Current online resources are listed below.

Click on an icon to see description of the resource OR click here to view a printable PDF of all online resources along with descriptions.
Online Catalog

Online Catalog	A searchable database of the district's library collections, consisting of over 940,000 items and 253,000 titles.
EBSCO	EBSCO Host - Middle Search Plus � Provides full text for more than 140 popular, middle school magazines. All full text articles included in the database are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles). Includes biographies, primary source documents, photos, maps and flags. ERIC - ERIC, the Educational Resource Information Center, contains more than 1,194,000 records and links to more than 100,000 full-text documents from ERIC. MAS Ultra � School Edition - Designed specifically for high school libraries, this database contains full text for more than 500 popular, high school magazines. Includes full-text reference books, biographies, primary source documents, and a image collection. Information dates back to 1975. Book Collection: Nonfiction - Includes general interest, high interest, leveled full txt articles on civics, social studies, science, careers, health, sports, adventure, hobbies, technology, biographies and much more. This database contains informative abstracts and full text for more than 4,000 popular nonfiction books. Newspaper source - Provides selected full text for 35 national and international newspapers, 375 regional U.S. newspapers, and full text television & radio news transcripts. Professional Development Collection � Designed for professional educators, this database provides a highly specialized collection of nearly 520 high quality education journals, including more than 350 peer-reviewed titles. This database also contains more than 200 educational reports. History Reference Center � Offers full text from more than 2,300 reference books, encyclopedias and non-fiction books, cover to cover full text for 130 history magazines, 61,100 historical documents, 66,000 biographies of historical figures, more than 110,200 historical photos and maps, and more than 80 hours of historical video. Science Reference Center � Contains full text for nearly 640 science encyclopedias, reference books, periodicals, etc. And More!! Literary Reference Center - A highly graphical interface intended for academic and high school libraries. The primary goal of LRC is to assist high school English and Humanities student with homework and research assignments of a literary nature. Student Research Center - Search the databases of EBSCO through a multisearch interface. Contents included from History Reference Center, Middle Search Plus, MAS Ultra, Newspaper Source, Health Source, TopicSearch, Science Reference Center, Texas Reference Center, and Vocational and Career Collection. Teacher resources are available NoveList - Includes information on fiction books for older students, including adults. The site offers reviews, professional, popularity, and appropriate grade level. Updated monthly, this resource helps students to figure out what to read next. NoveList K-8 - IIncludes information on fiction books for all K-8 grade levels and includes picture books, children �chapter� books and young adult titles. Updated monthly, this resource helps students figure out what to read next. Searchasaurus - Specifically designed to meet the research needs of elementary students. Includes Primary Search, Encyclopedia of Animals, General Encyclopedia, Dictionary, Nonfiction Book Collection, Middle Search Plus, Newspaper Source, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, and Pictures. Kids Search - K-8 database powered by EBSCO. Contents include information from the following sources: Ebsco Animals, TopicSearch, Newspaper Source, Funk & Wagnalls New World encyclopedia, History Reference Center, Primary Search, Book Collection: Nonfiction, Middle Search Plus, and Science Reference Center. Teacher resources are available from a separate button.
GALE	Gale Powersearch - A cross searchable fully integrated database containing thousands of overviews, biographies, essays, primary documents, and critical analysis. Specific Gale databases include Custom Newspapers, Informe, Student Resource Center Junior and Gold, Health Module, Science Resource Center, Kids InfoBits, and Literature Resource Center. Kids InfoBits - Designed for grades K-5, this resource features a developmentally appropriate, visually graphic interface, a subject-based topic tree search and full-text, age-appropriate, curriculum-related magazine, newspaper and reference content for information on current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, sports, and more. (Elementary Only.) Texas Almanac - An electronic version of the Texas Almanac 2006-2007. This database provides valuable information about the history, culture, political climate, and geography of the state of Texas. Opposing Viewpoints - A one-stop source for information on today�s hottest social issues. Drawing on acclaimed series published by Greenhaven Press and other Gale imprints, OVRC feature features viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazine, academic journal, and newspaper articles, primary source documents, statistics, images and podcasts, and links to Websites. In addition, also available are Lexile reading levels for periodicals and an integrated national and state curriculum standards search with content correlated to the standards. (High School Only.) Virtual Reference Library (eBooks) -This database contains electronic versions of books (Alamance, encyclopedias, reference materials) purchased by campus libraries. The eBooks will vary from campus to campus.
Proquest	eLibrary - Includes content from more than 2,500 full-text magazines, newspapers, books, and transcripts, plus thousands of maps, pictures, weblinks, and audio/video files. eLibrary Elementary - Tailors all the media types and search functionality of eLibrary for the young reader. The graphic interface helps students find information from more than 140 magazines, newspapers, books, transcripts, maps, images, weblinks, and audio/visual titles. eLibrary Science - Includes full-text and multimedia content in the form of interactive experiments, background material and activities. Users can browse by topic or use a search term. Lexile and reading level information is available. (Junior high and High school only.) Proquest -Offers full text articles from over 700 publications. Available for high school students only.
ABC-CLIO	Content ranges from prehistoric time through modern world history, American history, and Word Geography. All content can be correlated with standards and textbooks. Searching can be across databases or database specific. Specific databases include, American History, World Geography, World History: The Modern Era, and World History: Ancient/Medieval Eras.
World Book	World Book Kids - An easy-to-use World Book interface for specifically for elementary kids. Users can access information through the search (searching through keyword) or browse (subject searching) features. In addition, activities specific to searches are available: Make It! (hands-on), Think It! (analytical exercises and puzzles), and Be It! (activities that immerses the user). World Book Student - The redesigned and upgraded version of World Book Online Reference Center, includes the articles of the World Book Encyclopedia, a Biography Center, dictionary, atlas, an extensive multimedia collection, thousands of editor-selected Web sites, correlations to curriculum standards, and more. World Book Advanced - Designed for high school and college students, a powerful reference tool that includes encyclopedic, multimedia, e-book, and primary source databases, fully integrated in a single search.
Nettrekker	An online collection of web sites that have been previewed and evaluated by educators. Keyword searching can be completed by web, person, image or standard. The web sites have been tied to the state standards and can be sorted by reading level.
Kuder	This resource includes information regarding careers. It allows students to build online career portfolios tailored to their interests. Research based assessments are available for students to discover their interests, skills, and work values and how those characteristics relate to the world of work.
Tumblebooks	Online books that can be read aloud to students. Includes puzzles and games.
Discovery Education	Features more than 8,700 full-length videos segmented into 87,000 content-specific video segments tied directly to state and national standards. Users may search using keyword, subject, grade or standards.
TeachingBooks.Net	Offers in-studio movies of authors and illustrators, audio excerpts of professional book readings, guides to thousands of titles, and other multimedia resources on children�s and young adult literature.
Britannica Online	Three levels of encyclopedias and related materials for students of all levels: Elementary (PreK and up), Compton�s (6^th � 8^th), and School Edition (high school). Each offer easy-to-read articles and age-appropriate reference and learning materials, including education exercises, activities, study guides, and headlines relevant for the day.