Research & Databases

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Find a list of useful databases and websites below. Many of the resources can be accessed from home, but some will require you to enter your Portsmouth Public Library card number. For a list of subjects, look on the right side of the page. For video tutorials on many of our databases, click the button on the left side of the page. You will need to sign up for a free Niche Academy account to keep track of your courses.

 

Business and Finance

AtoZdatabases

The AtoZ Business Database includes 30 million U.S. businesses, and the AtoZ Residential Database includes 215 million U.S. residents. Researchers can easily share data by email among co-workers, family or friends, and export up to 1000 records.

Value Line

Value Line provides accurate and insightful investment research on companies, industries, markets and economies. This resources provides the latest data, sophisticated tools, and expert analysis and guidance, plus video tutorials to help you navigate their site. This online tool includes PDF access to the printed indexes you might be used to.  Outside the library a library card and pin is needed to access this database.

EBSCO's BusinessSource Premier

BusinessSource Premier offers information from business publications as well as tens of thousands of company profiles.

EBSCO's Regional Business News

Regional Business News provides full-text regional business publications for the United States and Canadian provinces. Users can search newspapers, magazines and other resources from trusted news sources.

Consumer Price Index

Consumer Price Index cost of living information, nationally and regionally and by category

NH Small Business Development Center

NH SBDC's team of certified business advisors provides highly individualized, confidential advising at no charge to NH enterprises and is the leading resource for business advising and education for small to medium businesses in the Granite State.

NH Center for Nonprofits

The NH Center for Nonprofits is a statewide association dedicated to providing programs and resources that support nonprofit organizational capacity building and to partnering with sector leaders, businesses, and the broader community to elevate the visibility and status of the nonprofit sector.
 

Business Information from nh.gov

An overview of business related services and information found in the State's networks of websites.

Seacoast SCORE

Seacoast SCORE offers FREE business mentoring, no-cost small business workshops, and numerous templates and tools to help you start or grow a business.

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Newspapers and Magazines

Newspaper Resource Guide

Newspapers are an invaluable research tool for genealogists. This guide will help you navigate all of the newspaper resources available to you through the PPL, including microfilm and digital papers.

Portsmouth Herald

A collection of searchable digitized copies of the Portsmouth Herald created for the library by AdvantageArchives.com.  Currently covering 2016-2019, the library will be adding to this collection periodically.

Newspapers.com

Newspapers.com Northeast Collection is the online home of 100+ million pages pages of historical newspapers. Search or browse the collection to find news, notices of births, marriages and deaths, sports, comics and much more.

EBSCOhost: Masterfile Premier & Academic Search Premier

Masterfile Premier provides full-text magazines, reference books and primary source documents. It also includes an extensive image collection containing photos, maps and flags. Academic Search Premier is a leading multidisciplinary research database that provides full-text access to peer-reviewed journals, magazines and other valuable resources.

Portsmouth Herald

Homepage of the local newspaper. Includes news from Portsmouth, NH covering the Seacoast of New Hampshire and Southern Maine including Kennbunkport and York County, ME.

Foster's Daily Democrat 

NH guide for Southeast New Hampshire and Southern Maine

Boston Globe

Includes breaking local news, national news, politics and world news as well as special reports, sports, weather for Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding towns.

Union Leader

Website for New Hampshire's statewide newspaper 

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Health

Coronavirus information

EBSCO's Health Source - Consumer Edition

This database provides access to full-text consumer health magazines and reference books. It also includes searchable full text for current health pamphlets

EBSCO's Consumer Health Complete

This resource provides content covering all key areas of health and wellness, from mainstream medicine to the many perspectives of complementary and holistic medicine.

Portsmouth Regional Hospital

Portsmouth Regional Hospital access to healthcare websites using the links in the library section

MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus consumer health information from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health

The NIH is the United States' federal medical research agency, and this page provides consumer information on many different medical topics

National Insititure of Mental Health

NIMH is the division of the NIH that focuses on mental health and wellness, and is the lead federal agency for mental health research

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

This division of the NIH focuses on scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine

Labtests Online from the AACC

This site provides information on various medical tests, and indicates what tests might be used to diagnose different conditions

 

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Genealogy

HeritageQuest Online

HeritageQuest Online is a genealogy resource, including full text of historic texts and genealogies, Census, revolutionary War records, Persi, etc.

Ancestry Library Edition

Ancestry Library Edition is a genealogical database, including access to Census records, Social Security death index, Immigration records, Military, etc. Covers the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Click here to learn about the differences between Ancestry.com and Ancestry Library Edition, as well as tips on researching with Ancestry.

Fold3

Fold3 provides convenient access to US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. Original records at Fold3 help you discover and share stories about these everyday heroes, forgotten soldiers, and the families that supported them.

Newspaper Resource Guide

Newspapers are an invaluable research tool for genealogists. This guide will help you navigate all of the newspaper resources available to you through the PPL, including microfilm and digital papers.

Portsmouth Herald

A collection of searchable digitized copies of the Portsmouth Herald created for the library by AdvantageArchives.com.  Currently covering 2016-2018, the library will be adding to this collection periodically.

Newspapers.com – Northeast Collection 

Newspapers.com – Northeast Collection is the online home of 100+ million pages pages of historical newspapers. At Newspapers.com it's easy and convenient to search or browse the collection to find news, notices of births, marriages and deaths, sports, comics and much more. Its high quality digital images and powerful viewer provides the best look at these historical papers and makes it easy to print, save and share what you find.

American Ancestors

American Ancestors is the database of New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), which is a Boston research library for genealogists and family historians and home to 12 million+ original documents. Much of the collection is digitized and searchable by subscription only. Includes full access to the 162+ volume NEHGS Register!

FamilySearch.org

FamilySearch.org is a free genalogy website providing access to a large collection of genealogy resources from over 100 countries. Search over a billion names and images online. Portsmouth Public Library is now an Affiliate Site, which means that many restricted items are now available on-site in our library using our public computers or wifi connection.

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Education

Lynda.com

The lynda.com online video training library is an excellent resource offering almost 3,000 self-paced training classes on a wide range of computer skills for beginning, intermediate, and advanced users. Topics offered include: the entire suite of Microsoft and Adobe products, website development, business skills, design skills, audio and video tools, creative inspirations, and much more. All of the courses are taught by expert instructors and have fully searchable transcripts.

 

Learning Express

LearningExpress Library™
LearningExpress Library features online tutorials, practice tests, and e-books to help patrons of all ages. It offers job search and workplace skills improvement, skill building in reading, writing, math, and basic science, career certification and licensure exam prep, college and grad school entrance test prep, GED® test prep, and more.

Mango Languages

Mango Languages is an online language-learning system teaching actual conversation skills for a wide variety of languages. Its online learning system is so easy to use, you'll see incredible results after just one lesson!

Languages taught include Arabic, Chinese, Dari, Farsi, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese.There are also English as a Second Language (ESL) courses for French, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), Italian, Arabic, Japanese, Vietnamese, Polish, Korean, Greek, German, Spanish and Portuguese speakers.

Salem Press/Grey House

This is an online reference collection of books on literature and history. It includes Pandemics: the Invisible Enemy, which covers pandemics from the Black Plague to COVID-19, as well as HW Wilson's Reference Shelf series, and Grey House's Working Americans.

CreativeBug

Creativebug includes classes for all skill levels, with new classes released every day. The Creativebug platform is simple and intuitive, with features like chapter divisions, note-taking tools, 20-second rewind and more. Users can save favorite classes and receive personalized recommendations. Some classes even include downloadable patterns, templates, and recipes!

Class topics include: Art and Design, Knitting and Crochet, Sewing and Quilting, Papercrafts, Jewelry Making,Food and Home Decor, Holiday and Party Ideas, and Crafts for Kids

GCF LearnFree

For more than a decade, the GCFLearnFree.org program has helped millions around the world learn the essential skills they need to live and work in the 21st century. From Microsoft Office and email to reading, math, and more, GCFLearnFree.org offers more than 180 topics, including more than 2,000 lessons, 800+ videos, and 55+ interactives and games, completely free.

NH Driving Tests

This resource includes online editions of the driver's manual, practice tests for car, motorcyle, and CDL licenses, and an FAQ about applying for a license. Take the online tests to see how you would do before scheduling an appointment at the DMV!

TechBoomers

TechBoomers.com is a free educational website, featuring tutorials that teach older adults and other inexperienced technology users how to use the most popular and trusted websites and Internet apps. They currently offer over 60 free courses packed with video and article tutorials written in easily-understood, non-technical language, providing context through real-world parallels.

Portsmouth Schools

Homepage of the School Department of Portsmouth

University of New Hampshire

UNH's homepage

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Employment Resources

Learning Express

LearningExpress Library includes the Career Preparation Center, which has resources to help you change careers, conduct a successful job search, create great resumes and cover letters, interview with confidence, accept a job and negotiate your salary, learn social networking skills, and strengthen your business writing skills. It also has information on many different careers and the qualifications they require, and practice exams to help you prepare.

 

AtoZdatabases

The AtoZ Business Database includes a job search section, as well as information on writing a resume, preparing for interviews, and assessing your skills.

Lynda.com

The lynda.com online video training library is an excellent resource offering almost 3,000 self-paced training classes on a wide range of skills, including job searching, writing resumes, and many business and computer skills. All of the courses are taught by expert instructors and have fully searchable transcripts.

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Law and Government

City of Portsmouth

The official municipal website

NH Legal Guides

Guides on 65 topics from the New Hampshire Law Library

NH Legal Links

Links from the New Hampshire Law Library

NH.gov

Access to New Hampshire government, laws, regulations, and agencies

NH Statutes

Revised Statutes Annotated, the laws of New Hampshire

Maine.gov

Access to government services from the State of Maine

Maine Statutes

The laws of the State of Maine

FirstGov

Access to federal laws, regulations, departments, agencies

United States Code

The laws of the United States

Code of Federal Regulations

Administrative law of the United States

Federal Register

Daily publication of rules, proposed rules and notices of US departments and agencies

Internal Revenue Service

Tax forms and publications

Congress.gov

Information about current legislation

Martindale-Hubbell

Directory of lawyers nationwide

Voter Information

Voter information compiled  by librarians

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Libraries

UNH Library

Access to the UNH library catalog

N. H. State Library

Access to the catalog, databases, and web selections at the State Library

NHAIS Interlibrary Loan System

The union catalog for N.H., listing books in libraries throughout the state

Library of Congress

Access to the online collections and catalog of LC

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Home and Auto

Cars.com

Car prices and reviews, repair and care advice

Edmunds

New and used car prices, car reviews, safety information

Mitchell Online [in library only]

Repair manuals, including wiring diagrams, for automobiles from 1974 to now

Consumer.gov

Consumer.gov consumer information from many federal agencies, including the Do Not Call Registry

Consumer Product Safety

Consumer Product Safety information about unsafe and recalled products

NH Driving Tests

Online editions of the driver's manual, practice tests for car, motorcyle, and CDL licenses, and an FAQ about applying for a license. 

Moneygeek.com


Moneygeek provides personal finance advice, including this resource on auto loans and financing. They also have a page on car insurance.

 

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Advice for Readers

EBSCO's NoveList Plus

NoveList Plus has reading recommendations for both fiction and nonfiction, for all ages. Find read-alikes and new favorites by author, genre, setting, story, and more.

EBSCO's Book Index With Reviews

Whether you need a bibliographic database for collection development or a tool to help patrons identify titles, Book Index with Reviews is the right choice. BIR includes full-text reviews and is perfect for developing booklists and subject guides.

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