Business and Legal

AtoZdatabases is the premier reference and marketing database marketed to Library, Academic, and Government institutions throughout the U.S. This simple, user-friendly, web-based solution provides details on businesses and households within the U.S.

The industry's most widely used business research database, Business Source Premier (BSI) features full text and searchable cited references for top journals covering a variety of business disciplines. BSI provides an easy way to both browse and search for country economic data, company profiles, industry information and market research.

Explore Chicago area suburban history through local news, events and people with the Daily Southtown Collection. Search current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles and content only published online. Available remotely 24/7 on any device.

Access census data dating back to 1970. Find population, age, housing, economic, and geographic data. FREE

LearningExpress Library features nearly 1,000 online tutorials, practice tests, and eBooks 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.

Adult Learning Center  - This center offers busy adults the resources to improve their basic skills in reading, writing, and math, prepare for the GED® test, or become a U.S. citizen.

Career Center - Are you preparing for a professional exam? Are you curious about a particular occupation or looking to improve your workplace skills? Choose the Career Center and begin your path to a bright future.

College Prep Center -Getting into college is an important step to building a strong future. First, you must do well on your college admission tests and write a personal essay that highlights your special talents. Use this center to get the resources you need to achieve your college preparation goals.

Computer Skills -Video courses are the fastest and easiest way to learn how to use a computer. Use the materials in this center to learn the basics of computers, from searching the Internet to using popular programs for word processing, creating spreadsheets and databases, implementing design, and more.

High School Equivalency Center  - Earning a high school equivalency credential can open the door to better income, a more fulfilling job, and a college education. If you are preparing for the GED® test, HiSET® or TASC™ exams, our practice tests, interactive tutorials, and eBooks will help you reach your goal

Job & Career Accelerator™ -Whether you're looking to find a new job in your current field or pursue a career in an exciting new industry, Job & Career Accelerator™ has the powerful tools and expert guidance to help you through every step of the process.

School Center- The resources here can help students in elementary, middle, and high school prepare for important tests, get extra help with assignments, and boost their skills in important subjects.

Legal Information Reference Center is an online database designed to assist the general public in legal matters of all kinds. It includes exclusive full text for many top consumer legal reference books, as well as thousands of legal forms. 

Morning Star Home Use

Morningstar, Inc. is a leading provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. We offer an extensive line of products and services for individual investors, financial advisors, asset managers, and retirement plan providers and sponsors.

Morningstar provides data on approximately 473,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 12 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. Morningstar also offers investment management services through its investment advisory subsidiaries and had approximately $169 billion in assets under advisement or management as of June 30, 2014. We have operations in 27 countries.

Record Information Services, Inc. has provided a wide variety of marketing-oriented data for the Chicagoland area for over 17 years. www.public-record.com is designed for individual professionals and businesses to access public record data for use in direct mail and telemarketing campaigns. Their targeted marketing leads allow businesses to focus their advertising dollars on customers who are most likely to buy their specific products and services.

To access: Click the "Record Information Services" link above. Once you're redirected to the website, click "log in" in the upper right hand corner. Then click "Library Patron Access", and you're in!

For access off-site from the library, click here.

Small Business Reference Center offers exclusive full text for many top consumer small business reference books, as well as tools to address many small business topics. It includes business videos, a help and advice section and details on how to create business plans.

ThomasNet is the most comprehensive online resource for finding companies and products manufactured in North America. 

Data.census.gov is the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau is the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. 

Universal Class offers online courses in exercise and fitness, entrepreneurship, arts and music, home and garden care, cooking, computers and technology, health and medicine, homeschooling, job assistance, law and legal, parenting and family, pet and animal care, plus 100's more. These are non-credit courses and are provided for your personal enrichment. These courses are not intended to be a substitute for any state, government, licensing, or educational requirements.

These e-resources are for Prairie Trails Public Library District cardholders only. All e-resources are available for use within the library.

Weiss Financial Ratings Series Online includes important financial literacy tools from Weiss Ratings and Grey House Publishing.

With Weiss Financial Ratings, you can:

• Check the values and ratings of stocks, mutual funds and exchange traded funds
• Check ratings of banks, credit unions and insurance companies
• Compare Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans
• Download financial literacy & planning eBooks (PDF files to keep forever)