About the databases
Unless indicated as "In Library Use Only," these resources are available from any internet connection. Most databases will require you to enter your Minuteman Library card number for access outside the library.
For a few databases, home access is available only to Bedford residents.
IN LIBRARY USE ONLY

Dozens of genealogical databases from the New England Historic Genealogical Society, including full text of the New England Historical and Genealogical Record, The Search for Missing Friends, and Massachusetts Vital Records 1841-1910.
IN LIBRARY USE ONLY

Thousands of family history databases, including vital records, census records, ship passenger lists, military records and lots more!
Barron's (Electronic Image Edition) 

Full text access to Barron's, a weekly publication for investors. Provides in-depth articles examining companies and industries that are possible investment opportunities.
(formerly Biography Resource Center & Biography Resource Center: African Americans)
Biography in Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on the world's most influential people. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content (including Lives & Perspectives) with periodicals and multimedia organized into a user-friendly portal experience while also allowing users to search for people based on name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth/death dates and places, or gender as well as keyword and full text.
Books & Authors offers new ways to explore the endless possibilities and combinations of books, authors, genres and topics. Combining over 140,000 titles, 50,000 authors, and thousands of read-alike, award winner and librarian's favorites lists, Books & Authors helps bring readers and literature together. Through the use of expertly written and arranged content and a dynamic, cutting edge user interface, Books & Authors makes exploration of genre fiction and essential non-fiction fun!
Business and Company Resource Center 
Business and Company Resource Center is a fully integrated resource bringing together company profiles, brand information, rankings, investment reports, company histories, chronologies and periodicals. Search this database to find detailed company and industry news and information.
IN LIBRARY USE ONLY (see Reference Librarian for password)

Consumer Reports Online is published by Consumers Union, an independent, nonprofit testing and information organization. Since 1936, CU's mission has been to test products, inform the public and protect consumers. It is a comprehensive source for unbiased advice about products and services, personal finance, health and nutrition, and other consumer concerns.
IN LIBRARY USE ONLY

Consumers' Checkbook is an independent, nonprofit consumer organization founded in 1974 with the help of funding from the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs. They do not accept support from businesses, and their publications and website carry no advertising.
Evaluates the quality and prices of local service firms and stores, such as auto repair shops, plumbers, dentists, veterinarians, banks, insurance companies, and many more. Checkbook's special health guides provide you with critical ratings and reports on doctors, hospitals, and health plans. The site also provides various kinds of help to consumers who want to buy or lease a new car.
Contemporary Literary Criticism Select 
Contemporary Literary Criticism - Select (CLC-Select) is an extensive collection of critical essays on contemporary authors. Each CLC-Select entry contains a biographical/critical introduction, listing of principal works, and sources for further study.
Digital Media Catalog (OverDrive) 

The Digital Media Catalog (OverDrive) provides popular audiobooks and eBooks for users to download.
There is also a collection of Public Domain eBooks that includes many popular classics.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online 

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online includes Year In Review articles since 1993, historical timeline searches, a dictionary and thesaurus, a world atlas, links to journal and magazine articles, and video clips. Search alphabetically or by subject.
From arts and the humanities to social sciences, science and technology, this database meets research needs across all academic disciplines. Access scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers - with full text and images!

Freegal is a free and legal downloadable music service. It offers a variety of music, for recordings available from Sony Music Entertainment labels only, including Artista, Columbia, RCA and more. Bedford residents can download and keep up to 3 songs per week. The downloads are all in the MP3 format with no DRM. This service will work with any MP3 player, including iPod, and can be loaded into iTunes. It works on both PCs and Macs.
Gale Virtual Reference Library 
The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. Sources may be searched individually or together. See a list of GVRL titles.
Use this database to research all business and management topics. Includes directory listings for over 150,000 companies as well as investment analysts' reports on major companies and industries. Choose "Advanced search" and then type a ticker symbol into the pop-up box to search Reuters Research on Demand, which contains investment reports produced by financial institutions and Wall Street and International brokerage firms.
General OneFile is a one-stop source for news and periodical articles, including most of the content across all Thomson/Gale databases. OneFile contains over 5,000 full-text periodical titles, and more than 9,200 titles in all, on a wide range of topics.
Use this general interest database to search magazines, reference books, and newspapers for information on current events, popular culture, the arts and sciences, sports, etc.
Global Issues in Context offers international viewpoints on a broad spectrum of global issues, topics, and current events. Featured are hundreds of continuously updated issue and country portals that bring together a variety of specially selected, highly relevant sources for analysis of social, political, military, economic, environmental, health, and cultural issues. Each of these gateway pages includes an overview, unique "perspectives" articles written by local experts, reference, periodical, primary source and statistical information. Rich multimedia - including podcasts, video, and interactive graphs - enhance each portal. Use Browse Issues and Topics, Country Finder, Basic Search or Advanced Search to explore the database.
Health and Wellness Resource Center 
Provides instant access to carefully compiled and trusted medical reference materials. Includes nearly 400 health/medical journals, numerous reference volumes, over 700 health videos from partner Healthology, Inc., hundreds of pamphlets and health-related articles from 2,200 general interest publications in addition to a broad collection of Gale reference titles. Material contained in this Resource Center is intended for informational purposes only.
Health Reference Center Academic 
Use this database to find articles on: Fitness, Pregnancy, Medicine, Nutrition, Diseases, Public Health, Occupational Health & Safety, Alcohol and Drug Abuse, HMOs, Prescription Drugs, etc. The material contained in this database is intended for informational purposes only.

HeritageQuest Online is a digital resource that combines searchable images of U.S. federal genealogical census records with digitized books containing family and local histories from around the country. It includes 25,000 family and local history books, U.S. census records, and PERSI, an index of over 1.6 million genealogy and local history articles.
Historical Boston Globe 1872-1979 
ProQuest Historical Boston Globe, considered the mainstay of Boston and New England, is a unique full-image archive offering complete coverage from 1872-1927. Every issue of this title includes the complete paper - cover to cover - with full-page and article images in downloadable PDF. And the database just keeps growing, with an additional year of content added annually. The Historical Boston Globe gives researchers quick, accurate Web access to rich newspaper coverage of the Northeast. Complete coverage from 1872-1979.

The Historical New York Times provides the full image of articles published in the New York Times from its first issue in 1851 (to three years prior to the current year). It is searchable by keyword, subject, author, and article title. It includes illustrations and advertisements. The title changed from the New York Daily Times to the New York Times in 1857.
Literature Resources from Gale 
Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.

Mango is designed to equip you with conversational abilities from the very start. Whether you're learning how to order a pizza or ask when the game starts, Mango immerses you in real, everyday conversations in a wide variety of foreign languages. It also features ESL instruction in English, tailored for speakers of more than a dozen languages.

Use this collection for full-text articles from 50 magazines and local newspapers for coverage of Massachusetts people, places and historical events.

Provides full text access to several Massachusetts newspapers dating back to the 1980's, including The Boston Globe.
Includes:
Boston Globe (1980-Current)
Berkshire Eagle (2005-Current)
BusinessWest (Chicopee) (1992-Current)
North Adams Transcript (2005-Current)
Plymouth County Business Review (1991-Current)
Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg) (2005-Current)
The Sun (Lowell) (2004-Current)
Telegram & Gazette (Worcester) (1989-Current)
Gazette (Haverhill (12/31/92 - 8/9/97)
Standard Times (New Bedford (1/4/92 - 8/19/97
Morningstar Investment Research Center 

Comprehensive and up-to-date financial information on stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds. Use the "Help & Education" tab to access the User's Guide and investor education resources.

NoveList is an electronic readers' advisory resource which assists fiction readers in finding new authors and titles. Through its attractive and easy-to-use interface, NoveList allows readers to use a favorite author or title as a template to locate other authors and titles of interest. Readers can also enter words that describe the contents of a book they would like to read, and NoveList retrieves titles that contain these words in the book's subject headings field. In addition, users can browse over 1,200 theme-oriented book lists, 150 award lists and 1,000 fiction related web-sites. NoveList contains materials for all ages including picture books, children's "chapter" books, young adult titles and books for adult readers. The product's database provides enhanced subject access to over 92,000 fiction titles. Updated quarterly, the NoveList database integrates information from a variety of sources.
Opposing Viewpoints In Context 
Opposing Viewpoints in Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information and opinions on hundreds of today's hottest social issues. Drawing on the acclaimed Greenhaven Press series, the new solution features continuously updated viewpoint articles, topic overviews, full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, statistics, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.

Search the Oxford English Dictionary online for the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past.
Search multiple Thompson Gale databases at the same time
Gale PowerSearch is a platform unlike any other, providing libraries with a sophisticated, yet simple, solution for managing a wealth of periodical, reference and primary source information. Moreover, PowerSearch provides your patrons with access to all the Gale content in your library's collection through one, single search query.
Gale PowerSearch helps users select the databases most appropriate to include in a cross-search by providing an alphabetical listing along with a description of each one. Users search with the method that's easiest for them - by entering keywords, using pre-defined subject terms or constructing complex search queries using Boolean logic. Below the search term field, users will find a list of Gale databases so they can simply select as many databases as they want to include in their search. The database from which each document is found appears as part of the search results.
Finding the relevant business answers has never been easier. Business Reference Suite, an exciting Web-based subscription service gives you balanced and highly focused full-text coverage of company and industry news, management practices, and market research information. RDS Business Suite features more than 1,400 leading worldwide business sources, plus tens of thousands of tables with strategic data. Suite coverage is over 60% full text, and over 45% international.

A directory of nearly 14 million U.S. businesses, searchable by name, yellow page heading, SIC code, zip code, estimate sales volume, and more.
(formerly Science Resource Center)
Science in Context provides topic overviews, experiments, biographies, pictures and illustrations, as well as articles from over 200 magazines and academic journals and links to quality web sites. The database covers curriculum-related science topics, and offers teachers an easy-to-use tool to identify content directly correlated to state and national standards.
This database is designed for high school students, with access to a variety of indexed and full-text magazines, newspapers and reference books for information on current events, the arts, science, popular culture, health, people, government, history, sports and more.
Student Resources In Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on a broad range of topics, people, places, and events. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience combined with new features such as "Search Assist" and quick fact boxes.
U.S. History in Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in U.S. History. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.

World Book Online is your online route to reliable, authoritative, easy-to-understand information and an array of supplementary search tools and information sources. World Book Online can fulfill many research needs. You may need the answer to a particular question. Or you may want general information to help with a school assignment. And, of course, many people simply like to explore World Book, letting one topic lead them to another.
World History in Context is an engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on hundreds of the most significant people, events and topics in World History. The new solution merges Gale's authoritative reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, primary source documents, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience.
WorldCat is a global catalog of library collections. You can search for books, music, video, articles and much more at a library near you.