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Research Tools
Magazine and Newspaper Indexes: 

Online Magazine and Newspaper indexes (Click to go to) 

  • You will be leaving the Wilmington Library web site to access these indexes.
  • You will need your valid Wilmington library card (The barcode on the back is your Borrower ID.)
  • See below for a description of the databases you can access.
 
List of Online Databases you can Access: 

Accessible Archives: searches old Pennsylvania newspapers from 1728 - 1870, African American newspapers from the 19th century, Godey's Ladys Book from 1830-1880 and Civil War newspapers.  Great source for genealogy and historical research. 

EbscoHost is a useful database to use when trying to find magazine articles.  This index contains articles from over 1,880 general interest magazines.  Many of the articles will be on-line in full text.  

Gale Student Resource Center Gold: Students have three main databases to choose from; "Discovering Collection," Students Resource Center "Gold" and "Health Module."  The "Discovering Collection" covers literature, history, biographies, science, and social science.  The "Gold" is a larger database including primary documents, critical analyses, and essays in addition to newspaper and magazine articles.  The "Health Module" has essays, articles, biographies and timelines for health related research.  Aimed at both middle and high school students.   For current and historical topics.  

NewsBank:  The News Journal  is now indexed on NewsBank.  It covers from 1999 to the present.  NewsBank also covers other newspapers throughout the United States including, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and many more.  

Use ProQuest Direct when trying to locate newspaper articles.  ProQuest indexes over 2,000 periodicals including many of the main newspapers such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.  Many of the articles will be on-line in full text. 

SIRS Discoverer: A good place for young learners to start.  Students will be able to find over 1,000 biographies, facts on over 200 countries, and over 300 maps.  Searching for articles is made easy with a subject search tree.  "Current Events" searches newspaper articles.  Other tools provided include the "World Almanac for Kids" and the "Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia." 

SIRS Knowledge Source: One can search in a variety of databases including "SIRS Researcher" for general magazine and newspaper articles, "SIRS Government Reporter" for information about and by the US government, and "SIRS Renaissance" for articles in the Arts and Humanities.  "Additional Databases" includes "Maps of the World," "World Almanac Excepts," "US Supreme Court Decisions," "Historic Documents," and "Lifetime Readings."

Magazine Indexes (Paper Format) 
 
    If you are looking for magazine articles which are over 10 years old, the library offers several paper indexes including: Biography Index, Business Index, Education Index, the New York Times Index, Wall Street Journal Index and the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.

News Journal, Delaware Today & Historic Delaware Newspapers Indexes.  
 
Librarians at the Wilmington Public Library have been indexing major, local events from the local papers for almost a hundred years. 

HISTORIC (1922-1977) 
The Old Delaware Index still exists in its original card index form.  Anyone from the public is welcome to come into the library to research a topic.  The card index roughly covers from 1922 to 1977.  The library owns microfilm copies of the local papers going back to the 1880s.  During various times the local papers were called Delaware Republican, Morning News (M.N.), Evening Journal (E.J.), Journal Every Evening (J.E.E.), Every Evening (E.E.) or Sunday Morning Star (S.S). The current Delaware state newspaper is the News Journal. 

DELAWARE INDEX (1989 - Present) 
Delaware Index - is created and maintained by the Wilmington Library staff.  It only covers the large, local stories from the News Journal and Delaware Today from 1989 to the present.   One can access this database through the Library's Online Catalog.  Just click on "Library Catalog."  Once the Library's Catalog is up, click on the "Community Resources" tab.  You can than use the pull down menu to search by author, general keyword, subject, or title. 

NEWSBANK (1999 - Present) 
The News Journal  is now indexed on NewsBank.  It covers from 1999 to the present.  NewsBank also covers other newspapers throughout the United States including, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Daily News, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post and many more.  

Call a Reference Librarian at (302)-571-7416 for more information.

Databases:  
 
HeritageQuest:  This genealogy tool will help you trace your ancestors.  This database includes a Census Search, Revolutionary War documents, and over 25,000 family and local histories. 

Testing & Education Reference Center: This resource allows one to prepare for the tests for several different Civil Service jobs, GED tests, College Entrance Exams and more. 

LitFinder:  LitFinder is composed of three main search options; poetry, short stories, and essays.  Poetry Finder allows one to search by author, title, first line, or text.  Some poems are full-text while others just provide a citation.   Poetry Finder also provides a "Kids Corner" and the "Best Poetry of the Year" from 1998-2001.  
     Story Finder searches 1,000 of classic and contemporary full-text short stories.  Some entries also have explanations, biographies or pictures. 
     Essay Finder searches essays on a variety of subjects from humanities to science.  

Novelist: Search this database by author or title to find other similar books.  Novelist covers books for all ages, from picture books to adult books. 

Sanborn Maps: This database will allow you to view maps of Cities of Delaware from 1867 - 1970.  These maps were created by fire insurance companies.
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Directories: 

Reference USA: This National Directory searches for companies anywhere in the USA by name, geographic region, SIC codes, and more.  The results may include contact people, fax numbers, toll free numbers, company size, estimated sales and more.  
** You will be leaving the Wilmington Library web site to access this directory offered by Digital Library of the First State Logo 
** You will need a valid Wilmington library card and pin number. 

AnyWho: AnyWho is a web site created and maintained by AT&T.  One can search the yellow or white pages by name, business category, city or state.  This directory also does reverse look-ups. 
AnyWho Toll Free: AT&T's Toll Free directory. 

Switchboard: Business and residential directory offered by InfoUSA. 

Canada White & Yellow Pages:  Bell Canada & Canada411 offer this business and residential directory.  One can also search for toll free numbers and postal codes. 

Zip+4 Code Look-UP:  The United States Postal Service offers this directory which allows one to search for zip codes by address 

Postal Code Look-up: A Canadian postal directory offered by Canada Post Corporation. 

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Encyclopedias: 

World Book Encyclopedia: Children's Encyclopedia 

Britannica Online:  Interactive on-line encyclopedia containing the current 
Encyclopedia Britannica. 

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Searching the Internet

     Searching the Internet can be frustrating.  One often finds too much or too little information.  The Wilmington Library offers the "Subject Guide" service to assist library patrons in finding information online.  This service is aimed at the general adult population of Wilmington. 
     For children, the library has found several reliable websites. These children's sites can be accessed from the home page by selecting "Just for Kids" and clicking on "Internet Space Adventures."  The Library always recommends parents monitor their children's Internet use. 
     The Librarians have also selected a few useful search engines. 

     Click here to go to the "Subject Guides" 

     Click here to learn about the selection criteria for the web sites. 

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Ask a Reference Librarian: 
Wilmington Public Library offers three different 
ways you can ask a reference question.
Call during  
Open Hours:		 (302) 571-7416
Write a reference letter: Wilmington Public Library 
c/o Reference Department 
10th and Market Sts. 
Wilmington, DE 
19801
E-mail the reference desk your question.

Please include the following information with your question: 

  • Your name.
  • A telephone number, fax, address, or e-mail address to respond to your question. 
  • Be specific! Give as many details to your questions as you can.  It often helps if we know what you need the information for.  If this is for a school project please include what the class is and your grade level.
Please read our guidelines: 
  • Please allow several working days for a response to your question.  The more complex your question, the longer it will take for us to respond. 
  • The library does reserve the right to charge for copies if the amount exceeds $1. 
If you have any questions, please call the reference desk (302)-571-7416. 
Click here to e-mail a Reference Librarian: 
askref@wilmnet.lib.de.us
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