Books and Literature

Scholastic BookFlix is an online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction eBooks from Scholastic to build a love of reading and learning. The engaging way to link fact and fiction, BookFlix reinforces early reading skills and introduces children to a world of knowledge and exploration.

Digital Library of Illinois by Overdrive is a Web-based service that allows library patrons to check out and download eAudiobooks, eBooks, and eVideos any time of the day or night from the comfort of their own home. Digital Library of Illinois allows users to download to a personal computer, as well as enjoy digital content on a wide array of devices including MP3 players, CDs, Smartphones, and PDAs iPod®, iPhone™, and the iPod Touch. After the checkout period, title(s) will be automatically returned to the collection. 

Illinois Catalog includes the location and status of books and other materials in libraries within the state of Illinois.

Online Computer Library Center's (OCLC) FirstSearch is an immense collection of electronic databases on subject matters relating to the arts, social and physical sciences, humanities, business, medicine, and general reference. This Web-based online reference service provides access to over 80 databases and more than six million full-text articles that the Secretary of State and State Librarian, Jesse White and the Illinois State Library provide to Illinois libraries and their patrons free of charge.

The mission of the International Children's Digital Library Foundation (ICDL Foundation) is to support the world's children in becoming effective members of the global community - who exhibit tolerance and respect for diverse cultures, languages and ideas -- by making the best in children's literature available online free of charge. The Foundation pursues its vision by building a digital library of outstanding children's books from around the world and supporting communities of children and adults in exploring and using this literature through innovative technology designed in close partnership with children for children. This link provides free access to high-quality digital books from around the world. Browse by age, genre, book length, character types, or even the color of a book's cover.

Literary Reference Center is a rich full-text literary database covering all genres and timeframes. It includes thousands of synopses, critical essays, book reviews, literary journals and author biographies, plus full-text classic novels, short stories and poems. 

The 10 award-winning Gale series that comprise Literature Criticism Online represent a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Imagine centuries of analysis — the scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals — delivered in an easy format that matches the exact look and feel of the print originals. Gale literary references reach back 20 to 30 years and taken together as print, they could easily fill 230 feet of shelf space! Now, hundreds of volumes are digitized and ready to read 24/7 online. 

Only Literature Criticism Online brings together the most acclaimed literary series from Gale: Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400-1800, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Drama Criticism, and Children's Literature Review.

NoveList K-8 Plus is a database about books specifically for younger readers. It helps kids find books that are just right for their reading level and interests. Parents, teachers, and librarians can also find tools to teach with books and engage young readers.

NoveListPlus is an advisory tool that helps readers find new books based on books they have read or topics in which they are interested. Provides access more than 29,000 full textbook reviews or annotations.

Read It! is designed for middle and high school students and adults who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need adapted reading material for a variety of subjects. It offers resources to help build background knowledge, conduct research and improve study skills.

Offering more than 70 complete units of study with over 20,000 science-related assets in a variety of media, ScienceFlix^® provides students with a better understanding of science concepts and ideas through hands-on projects, videos, multiple text types, interactive features and more.

SWAN an online card catalog for the Prairie Trails Public Library District and 70+ member libraries. The catalog lists more than one million titles of books, periodicals, cassettes, videos, CDs, DVDs and other library materials. SWAN will allow patrons to view their current library record, renew items, and place holds.

TumbleBook Library is an online collection of TumbleBooks – animated, talking picture books which teach children the joy of reading in a format they’ll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you.

Emergent learners will engage in an interactive and playful environment that encourages reading comprehension and mastery of phonetic skills. Early World of Learning is full of stories, videos, songs, and games to provide a firm foundation for 21st-century learning and digital citizenship.

WorldCat Discvory lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. You can search for popular books, music CDs and videos—all of the physical items you're used to getting from libraries. You can also discover many new kinds of digital content, such as downloadable audiobooks. You may also find article citations with links to their full text; authoritative research materials, such as documents and photos of local or historic significance; and digital versions of rare items that aren't available to the public. Because WorldCat libraries serve diverse communities in dozens of countries, resources are available in many languages.

You can also search WorldCat using FirstSearch.