Looking for resources for your homework? Princeton Public Library provides access to many subscription databases, and a great deal of information that can’t be found on the web. They are great tools for students and do not take up any room in a backpack!
Please keep in mind that many of the resources will require that you log in with your library card number. Library cardholders, you can start out on the home page of the PPL website and click “Log In” on the top left corner. Then enter your library card number and your pin, then click “submit.” If you don’t know your pin, you can have it emailed to you by clicking “forgot your pin?” Once you have successfully logged in, you will have access to all of the library’s online resources available, and here’s a short-cut to some user-friendly resources to help with homework and research for both academic and personal purposes:
Help with your homework and more:
Brainfuse – Homework help and more! Live, online homework help from teachers in specific subjects, along skills-building, writing assistance, test preparation, and more. It is available 2 p.m. – 11 p.m. daily. You can access flashcards online (and on your smart phone!) and ask questions anytime—and usually get a response within 24 hours! Please keep in mind that you can access Brainfuse without logging in if you are in the library, but will need to enter your library card # if you are connecting elsewhere. Also, if you create a user-name and password within Brainfuse you will be able to save sessions for future review.
Databases & research:
We have a comprehensive A-Z list of our databases, along with few of the many databases made available to you by PPL. You may also may look for what you want to find with a subject search of our databases too. If you ever need assistance with research, do not hesitate to come into the library or contact us via phone, email, or chat reference:
Student Research Center is a database is powered by EBSCO and allows you choose your reading level based on your grade. You can also look under topics and popular searches on the left-hand side. If the subject you are looking for contains more than one word, for example, Anne Frank, you can put quotes around the words “Anne Frank” to help limit your search results. Again, you can always call or use chat reference to ask the librarians for help with database searching.
Points of View is another EBSCO database. It covers a range of controversial subjects and provides articles on varying opinions. You can conduct your own search or browse by category. This resource can be especially helpful when researching arguments for papers and debates.
Looking for information about authors and/or their specific works? The Literary Reference Center database is excellent if you are learning about authors and/or specific works. You can browse authors and works or search for them. Once you arrive at the page of an author (try the browse option), you will find various information including a biography, critiques, and summaries. Some other highlights of this database are the research guide, literary glossary, and literary-historical timeline.
Biography in Context is a great source for a basic biography on someone you’re researching. Here, you can find that—and so much more. This database has integrated articles from periodicals and online media to give us well-rounded, up-to-date biographical information of over 525,000 individuals.
Today’s Science is more than just a science database—it has special features and tools for students and articles about science in contemporary contexts. In addition, you can also check out the encyclopedia and glossary. There are also quite a few unique images.
Internet references & citations:
The Purdue Owl website is an excellent resource for answering questions regarding the APA and MLA styles. The website is searchable and the style guides are broken down into subheadings on the left-hand side.
To find alternative homework help search through IPL2 for librarian-reviewed resources — they also have an email reference service.
For outside reading & fun:
You can use these databases – NoveList Plus & Novelist K-8 Plus – to find read-a-likes for the fiction you’ve enjoyed as well as descriptions and reviews of novels. Simply search the author or name of the text (or name of the series) to find out more about the book. There are also advanced search features if you don’t have a particular text in mind.
An while you are logged into your account on the library’s website you can also download three free songs a week using Freegal! You can create a list of what you’d like to download in the future. There is no extra software needed for your computer and you can use Freegal on most smartphones. And please use Bibliocommons, our PPL catalog, for finding and creating booklists, please ask one of our librarians for help in setting up and using your account.
You can reach the library online or call the Youth Services Department to talk to a librarian at 609-924-9529 ext. 240.
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