Databases and Online Resources
Online resources for finding books, articles, useful websites, and helpful information.
Government Links
Links to federal, state, and local government websites.
Morris Community Information
Website Directories
These sites are directories of websites which have been selected and recommended by librarians. They are excellent starting points when you need good information about almost anything.
Consumer Help
Find product and auto reviews, shopping tips, information about recalls, and consumer-protection agencies.
The New York Times Sunday Book Review may be found online by clicking on the following link: NYT Book Review.
Buying Guides & General Advice
- Consumer Reports: A lot of free and useful information is available, but a paid subscription is required for product reviews and ratings.
- ConsumerSearch: "Reviewing the reviews." Compiles and analyzes product reviews from magazines and websites. Great starting point.
- Epinions.com: Products rated by people who bought them.
- The Green Guide by National Geographic: Information about "going green" in all aspects of life from pet care to transportation.
Cars & Trucks
- Car & Driver: Includes the magazine's road tests and reviews, interactive vehicle comparisons, and Kelley Blue Book values.
- Chilton Auto Repair: Online specs of most makes and models.
- Edmunds.com: Reviews, comparisons, price and value information, and tips for buying new or used vehicles.
- Kelley Blue Book: Reviews, comparisons, price and value information
- The Truth About Cars: Detailed reviews, written with a sense of humor.
Consumer Protection & Complaints
Health Information
Reputable sources for information about health and medicine.
(Items marked with ** require your library card number and catalog PIN for access from home.)
- MEDLINE via FirstSearch **: Archive and index of articles from medical journals. Subjects include: clinical medicine, nutrition, dentistry, pathology,education, psychiatry, experimental medicine, toxicology, health services administration, veterinary medicine, and nursing.
- MedlinePlus: A medical super-site from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Includes extensive information and links on hundreds of conditions and health issues, drug descriptions, a medical encyclopedia, surgery videos, and more.
- HealthFinder.gov: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' guide to health information.
- NIH SeniorHealth: Information for older adults, from the National Institutes of Health.
- Illinois Health & Wellness: Official guide to state government programs and resources.
- WebMD
- Aetna Intelihealth
- Mayo Clinic
- Healthcare Blue Book
Library Catalogs & Libraries
If you have a Library Card, we'll borrow items from other libraries for you! Delivery from most Illinois libraries is free.
(Items marked with ** require your library card number and catalog PIN for access from home.)
- PrairieCat: Catalog for approximately 200 libraries in northern Illinois and eastern Iowa.
- WorldCat via FirstSearch **: A catalog of more than a billion items in libraries worldwide.
- WorldCat.org: An alternate way to search most of the WorldCat catalog, with no login required.
- Every Library in ILLINET (ELI): Directory of hundreds of Illinois libraries, with links to many libraries' websites and catalogs.
- Digital Illinois: Catalog of electronic collections of documents, photographs, etc., made available online by Illinois libraries.
- Internet Archive: Thousands of public-domain books and other free books, for online viewing or downloading in plain text or scanned formats. Part of the Internet Archive site.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections: A large number of pamphlets, letters, historic documents, pictures, early films and recordings, and other items are available online.
News and Magazine/Journal Headlines
Online archives and search engines for finding articles from magazines and newspapers.
(Items marked with ** require your library card number and catalog PIN for access from home.)
- ArticleFirst via FirstSearch **: Index and archive of articles from magazines and journals. Many articles are available as Adobe PDF files, which look the same as photocopies from the print publications. For most publications, libraries which own them are listed.
- JSTOR: Index of citations and some full-text articles or images from academic journals and publications. Many citations, articles, and images are free without the need to log in; the library currently does not have a "premium" subscription.
- Resource Library/ FindArticles.com: Index of magazine articles which doesn't require a login. Many articles are available online for free, but "premium" articles carry a pricetag. Subjects covered include: arts, autos, business, health, home and garden, news, sports, and technology.
- Google News: Search for articles from newspaper, TV news, newswires, and other reporting websites.
- Morris Daily Herald (current stories)
- Morris Daily Herald Newsbank: Search and read the Morris Daily Herald from 2006 through today. Issues are available to browse or keyword search 24/7 from outside the library.
- Time Magazine Archive: Searchable archive of past and current issues.
- Topix: Find local news published on websites and blogs.
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago Sun-Times
- Joliet Herald News
- USA Today
- ABC News
- CBS News
- MSNBC
- Fox News
General Reference
Encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, statistics, and other sites for quickly looking up facts.
(Items marked with ** require your library card number and catalog PIN for access from home.)
- WorldAlmanac via FirstSearch **: Includes Funk & Wagnall's New Encylopedia, the World Almanac and Book of Facts, the World Almanac of the U.S.A., the World Almanac of U.S. Politics, and the World Almanac for Kids.
- Infoplease.com: Information Please Almanac, atlases, and more.
- Wikipedia: "The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit."
- OneLook Dictionary Search: Look up words in almost 1000 online dictionaries at the same time.
- IllinoisAtlas.com: A collection of Illinois and U.S. statistical maps.
- World Factbook: The CIA's book of country profiles.