Books & Libraries

Boundless

Boundless offers ebooks and eaudiobooks you can borrow from your library and read or listen to FREE on your smartphone, tablet or desktop. We have best-selling titles for adults, teens and children. You can access these titles 24/7, even when the library is closed. Just download the Boundless app from your device's app store and using your library card, you can start reading or listening!

How to Use Boundless

Gale Books & Authors

Answer the age-old question, “What do I read next?” Search and match reading interests to books, authors, genres, or topics. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

NoveList Plus

NoveList Plus is the premiere database of reading recommendations, available through libraries around the world. It is a comprehensive source of information about books that includes expert recommendations, reviews, articles, lists and more.

NoveList Plus has reading recommendations for both fiction and nonfiction - for all ages.

Overdrive

You can now access Craftsy classes from within the Libby app or on the Libby website! When you check out a class, you will have access to that class plus any other Craftsy classes for 7 days. After 7 days, you can check out again for more time.

Access e-books, e-audiobooks, and over 3000 magazines from the Libby app on your mobile device, as well as in your web browser at https://libbyapp.com/library/hadc.

How to Install and Use the Libby App

Learn More About Using Libby

Aprende Mas Sobre Usando Libby

TeachingBooks.net

Thousands of resources about fiction and nonfiction books used in the K–12 environment, with every resource selected to encourage the integration of multimedia author and book materials into reading and library activities.

Book Connections is the public library interface for TeachingBooks. Signing in allows you to create your own reading lists, among other things.

Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Book Connections

How to Use TeachingBooks

WorldCat

Catalog of library materials owned by libraries around the world.

Business

Gale Business: Entrepreneurship

Learn how to start, finance, or manage your small business. Includes sample business plans, how to guides, articles, and more. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Business: Insights Global

Compare global economies, countries, and industries with in-depth analysis on over 400,000 companies. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Consumer & Auto

Chilton Library

Provides quick online access to repair, maintenance and service information on the most popular cars, trucks, vans and SUVs on the road today. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Chilton Tutorial

Edmund's Automobile Buyers Guide

New and used car prices, as well as other information for car owners.

Kelley Blue Book

Get help shopping for used cars.

NADA Guides

Free price information on new and used cars, trucks, SUVs, vans, boats, and other vehicles

Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook

The Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook is the training manual used for studying to pass the written test required to obtain your Texas commercial learner's permit. The 2019 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Texas Driver Handbook 2017

The Texas Driver Handbook covers a variety of topics, including road rules, road signs and safe driving practices. The 2017 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Do It Yourself

Computer Skills Center

Video courses to learn popular software and computer basics. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Presents: Udemy

Learn and improve skills across business, tech, design, and more. Includes 10,000+ on-demand video courses in multiple languages. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Education

ABCmouse.com

With more than 4,000 interactive books, educational games, puzzles, and other learning activities, ABCmouse.com’s award-winning online curriculum is the most comprehensive online educational resource for young learners (ages 2–7+). From Age of Learning, Inc. Free for use in our library. *At this time, ABCmouse.com is only available inside the library, using our public computers or your personal device, connected to the library's wifi.

ACT and SAT Test Preparation Center

SAT and ACT tutorials and practice tests. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

College Success Skills Center

Tools for navigating campus, your courses, and life. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale OneFile: Educator's Reference Complete

Gain insight on issues in administration, funding, and policy. Best for educators, administrators, and education students. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express

Test preparation materials and interactive practice exams in the areas of academic, civil service, military, and professional licensing and certification exams. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Recursos para Hispanohablantes

How to Use LearningExpress

Learning Express Adult Core Skills

Study materials for reading, math, grammar, writing, and speaking; citizenship materials. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express College Admission Test Preparation

Test preparation materials for the ACT, SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, AP, and TOEFL exams. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express College Center Plus

Study materials for college students, including math, reading, grammar, and science reviews; graduate school admission exams; college placement exams, and CLEP exams. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express Grades 4-8 Educator Resources

Skill-building lessons and practice for guiding young learners. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express High School Equivalency Center

Test preparation materials for high school equivalency exams. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express High School Students

Skill-building resources for classroom and homework success. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express Recursos para hispanohablantes

Materiales de preparación para exámenes de GED, ciudadanía, licencia, certificación profesionales y más.

Miss Humblebee's Academy

Designed for children ages 3 to 6, Miss Humblebee’s Academy is an easy-to-use, interactive online solution for kindergarten readiness. It offers hundreds of lessons spanning all major academic subjects including social and emotional learning, gives weekly progress reports, and is the only product that provides assessments to measure proficiency and learning. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook

The Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook is the training manual used for studying to pass the written test required to obtain your Texas commercial learner's permit. The 2019 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Texas Driver Handbook 2017

The Texas Driver Handbook covers a variety of topics, including road rules, road signs and safe driving practices. The 2017 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Genealogy

Ancestry.com Texas

The Texas State Library and Archives Commission houses a vast collection of documents related to Texas government and history and provides a variety of reference services and materials for free public use at the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin and the Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center in Liberty.

Free online access to our records that have been digitized by Ancestry is available to Texas residents. This access requires you to create a free Ancestry.com Texas account. Some Ancestry.com searches may lead you to records outside the free Texas material, at which point you may be prompted to set up a paid account. If you choose not to do so, you may return to the results of your previous search.

Fold3 Library Edition

Fold3 Library Edition by Ancestry provides convenient access to a growing collection of US military records, including the stories, photos, and personal documents of the men and women who served. It contains millions of records from world-class archives, many of which are exclusively available on Fold3. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

HeritageQuest

HeritageQuest Online provides U. S. Federal census records and a collection of research materials for tracing family lineages. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

How to Use HeritageQuest

ProQuest African American Heritage

A groundbreaking new digital resource exclusively devoted to African American family history research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

General

All ProQuest Databases

Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Academic OneFile

Quickly access articles from a database of scholarly journals and other trusted periodicals. Best for academic research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale eBooks: General Reference Collection

Explore this database of encyclopedias and reference sources within the Gale eBooks platform. For multidisciplinary research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale General OneFile

Access general interest magazines and key serials in a single resource. Best for general research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: College

Access a wide array of multidisciplinary content by searching scholarly journals, newspapers, periodicals, images, and videos. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale OneFile: High School Edition

Search magazines, journals, newspapers, and reference on a range of topics. Best for middle- and high-school students. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context

Opposing Viewpoints In Context is a rich resource for debaters and includes pro/con viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps, infographics, and more. A category on the National Debate Topic provides quick and easy access to content on frequently studied and discussed issues. Periodical content covers current events, news and commentary, economics, environmental issues, political science, and more from sources such as The New York Times, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, American Scientist, and Education Week. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Government

Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook

The Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook is the training manual used for studying to pass the written test required to obtain your Texas commercial learner's permit. The 2019 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Texas Driver Handbook 2017

The Texas Driver Handbook covers a variety of topics, including road rules, road signs and safe driving practices. The 2017 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Health & Wellness

Gale Health and Wellness

Search a full range of health-related issues, from current disease and disorder information to alternative medical practices. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale OneFile: Nursing & Allied Health

Research full-text titles cited in CINAHL and other resources to support specialized care, treatment, and patient management. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale OneFile: Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine

Access academic journals and magazines covering the fields of physical therapy, physical fitness, and sports medicine. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Health and Medicine

A multi-source database for health and wellness research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends, with a mission to present high-quality, relevant health and wellness information that is trusted, easy to understand, and free of advertising, in both English and Spanish. Anywhere, anytime, on any device—for free.

MedlinePlus is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

PubMed

PubMed® comprises more than 34 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Texas Cancer Information

Texas Cancer Information can connect patients, caregivers, the general public, health care policy planners, physicians and other health professionals with reliable online cancer information. We gather, organize and deliver the latest information to empower Texans with the knowledge needed to reduce the impact of cancer.

History, Social Studies, & Geography

Gale in Context: Biography

Discover the world's most influential people by searching narrative biographies, news, magazine, and multimedia content.

Military Database

The Military Database covers topics across all government and military branches, including international relations, political science, criminology, defense, aeronautics and space flight, communications, civil engineering, and more. An important benefit of the Military Database is its content diversity. Included are scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications, and more. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Homework

ACT and SAT Test Preparation Center

SAT and ACT tutorials and practice tests. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

College Success Skills Center

Tools for navigating campus, your courses, and life. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale: Interactive Science

Manipulate 3D interactive models to visualize and understand concepts in biology, chemistry, earth, and space science. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: Biography

Discover the world's most influential people by searching narrative biographies, news, magazine, and multimedia content.

Gale in Context: College

Access a wide array of multidisciplinary content by searching scholarly journals, newspapers, periodicals, images, and videos. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: Elementary

Introduce elementary students to database searching with resources featuring age-appropriate, curriculum-related content. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: High School

Explore thousands of topics across subjects including literature, science, history, and social issues using different sources. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: Middle School

Explore the most-studied topics including cultures, government, people, history, literature, and more. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Literature: Scribner Writer Series

Browse original scholarly essays on authors from around the world. Places authors and their works in personal and historical context. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Literature: Twayne's Author Series

Find in-depth critical introductions to the lives and works of major writers. Includes influences of literary movements. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Literature Resource Center

Find up-to-date biographies, overviews, full-text criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews on writers from all eras. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale OneFile: High School Edition

Search magazines, journals, newspapers, and reference on a range of topics. Best for middle- and high-school students. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express Recursos para hispanohablantes

Materiales de preparación para exámenes de GED, ciudadanía, licencia, certificación profesionales y más.

Houston & Texas

Handbook of Texas

Encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook

The Texas Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers Handbook is the training manual used for studying to pass the written test required to obtain your Texas commercial learner's permit. The 2019 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Texas Digital Sanborn Maps

Sanborn maps are large scale plans of a city or town drawn at a scale of 50 feet to an inch. They were created to assist fire insurance companies as they assessed the risk associated with insuring a particular property. The maps list street block and building numbers including numbers in use at the time the map was made and previous numbers. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Remote Access:

Texas Driver Handbook 2017

The Texas Driver Handbook covers a variety of topics, including road rules, road signs and safe driving practices. The 2017 handbook is the current version as of January 2022.

Jobs & Careers

AtoZdatabases

The premier job search, reference, and mailing list database. The database includes 2.4 million job listings, 30 million business profiles, 1.1 million healthcare professionals, and much more. Ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, employment opportunities, finding friends and relatives, and much more!

Spanish-language version

AtoZdatabases Tutorial

Job and Career Accelerator

A powerful career and job search tool is now available to help job seekers face the daunting task of searching for a new job or advancing a career. Job & Career Accelerator™—the first fully integrated online career and job search platform—is designed to guide any job seeker through the most effective career selection and job search possible. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express Career Center Plus

General information about specific careers, test preparation materials, and assistance with job search, interviews, and workplace skills. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Language Learning

Transparent Language Online

Unlimited access to over 100 online language courses, packed with pronunciation, speech, grammar, writing and vocabulary-building lessons. Learners are able to write or speak the answers, practice pronunciation by slowing down on-screen examples, and converse with native speakers though interactive videos. Delivers all materials online with no additional media, such as CDs, flash drives, or DVDs. Learn on your own time and at your own pace in the library, at home, or on the go with Byki Mobile for iPhone and Android.For library or remote access to , users must first create an account.  Click "sign up now" to register and create a username and password.

How to Use Transparent Language

Law

Gale LegalForms

Provides a wide selection of state-specific (and multi-state) legal forms across the most popular legal areas. Includes real estate contracts, wills, pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant and many others. Also included is a comprehensive attorney state directory and a dictionary of legal definitions explained in laymen's language. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

How to Use Gale LegalForms

Literature

Gale Literature: Scribner Writer Series

Browse original scholarly essays on authors from around the world. Places authors and their works in personal and historical context. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Literature: Twayne's Author Series

Find in-depth critical introductions to the lives and works of major writers. Includes influences of literary movements. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Literature Resource Center

Find up-to-date biographies, overviews, full-text criticisms, audio interviews, and reviews on writers from all eras. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Twentieth-Century American Poetry

50,000 poems drawn from 750 volumes by over 300 poets, including Adrienne Rich, Andrei Codrescu, Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, Denise Levertov, Wallace Stevens, Langston Hughes, Lucille Clifton, and Cathy Song. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Twentieth-Century English Poetry

A collection of 598 volumes of poetry by 283 poets from 1900 to 2000, including W.B. Yeats, Rudyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, Wilfred Owen, Fleur Adcock, Paul Muldoon, Tony Harrison, Benjamin Zephaniah and Carol Ann Duffy. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

News & Current Events

Gale OneFile: News

Access major U.S. and international newspapers online to search articles instantly by title, headline, date, or other fields. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Newspapers and Magazines

New York Times

Digital access to the daily New York Times newspaper. The New York Times, established in 1851, is respected around the world for its unparalled coverage of national, international, business and New York regional news. Also includes access to New York Times articles published between 1851 through 1922, and between 1981 through current day. Subscription required for some content.

Pasadena Citizen

The Pasadena Citizen, Pasadena's local print news source, is now included as a Community News insert in the Houston Chronicle. Access to the Pasadena Citizen is free, but other parts of the Houston Chronicle require a subscription.

Reference & Research

Gale Academic OneFile

Quickly access articles from a database of scholarly journals and other trusted periodicals. Best for academic research. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: Biography

Discover the world's most influential people by searching narrative biographies, news, magazine, and multimedia content.

Gale OneFile: Informe Academico

Search across full-text Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines from and about Latin America. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Science & Technology

Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database

The Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database includes the renowned Aerospace Database and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. For those researchers who need to conduct comprehensive literature reviews, this database includes specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources for discovery of relevant scholarly research and technical literature critical to the discipline. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Agriculture & Environmental Science Database

Agricultural & Environmental Science Collection offers full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. It also includes specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources as well as the renowned AGRICOLA and TOXLINE databases and content previously available in ESPM (Environmental Sciences and Pollution Management) and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Biological Science Database

This database includes the renowned Biological Sciences, MEDLINE, and TOXLINE databases and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. The database includes specialized, editorially-curated A&I resources providing access to the extensive variety of biology’s cutting edge research, with applications to medicine, technology and the environment. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Directory of Open Access Journals

This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.

Gale: Interactive Science

Manipulate 3D interactive models to visualize and understand concepts in biology, chemistry, earth, and space science. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale in Context: Environmental Studies

Understand environmental issues that affect people globally through topic overviews, journals, news, and multimedia content. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Gale Presents: National Geographic Kids

Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space. Best for children aged 6–14. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus is an online health information resource for patients and their families and friends, with a mission to present high-quality, relevant health and wellness information that is trusted, easy to understand, and free of advertising, in both English and Spanish. Anywhere, anytime, on any device—for free.

MedlinePlus is a service of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest medical library, which is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Natural Science Collection

The Natural Science Collection includes the Agri & Env, Bio Science, and Earth, Atmospheric & Aqua Databases and provides full-text titles from around the world including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications and more. For researchers who need to conduct comprehensive literature reviews, this database includes specialized, editorial-controlled A&I resources for discovery of relevant scholarly research and technical literature critical to the discipline. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

PubMed

PubMed® comprises more than 34 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

Science in Context

The solution merges Gale's authoritative and continuously updated reference content with full-text magazines, academic journals, news articles, experiments, images, videos, audio files and links to vetted websites organized into a user-friendly portal experience. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

SciTech Premium

The SciTech Premium Collection includes the Natural Science Collection and the Technology Collection and provides full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, government publications, and more. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Technology Collection

The Technology Collection includes the Advanced Technology & Aerospace and Materials Science & Engineering Databases. It combines broad indexing coverage of the scholarly literature in advanced technology, computer science, engineering, materials science and related areas with full-text titles full-text titles from around the world, including scholarly journals, trade and industry journals, magazines, technical reports, conference proceedings, and government publications. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Social Sciences

Gale OneFile: Psychology

Find authoritative periodical content supporting research in all fields of psychology. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Spanish-Language

AtoZdatabases (En Español)

AtoZdatabases en Español es una base de datos de referencia y mercadeo que incluye 30 millones de perfiles empresariales y 220 millones perfiles de habitantes. Es idea para promotores de ventas, listas de correo, estudios de mercado, oportunidades de empleo así como para encontrar amigos y familiares.

English-language version

Gale OneFile: Informe Academico

Search across full-text Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines from and about Latin America. Provided by the Texas State Library's TEXSHARE program.

Learning Express Recursos para hispanohablantes

Materiales de preparación para exámenes de GED, ciudadanía, licencia, certificación profesionales y más.

Video

Kanopy

Instantly stream movies 24/7 from Kanopy’s collection of over 31,000 popular videos, TV series, independent films, documentaries and more! Featuring titles from Warner Bros., MGM, BBC, Paramount Pictures, A24, The History Channel, A&E, The Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, The Great Courses, among others, this vast and diverse collection has something for everyone. Al you need is a library card to create an account and enjoy Kanopy! Conveniently access using the Kanopy app on your Smart TV or watch on your desktop.

Kanopy

ParentTV

ParentTV works with leading psychologists, pediatricians, mental health specialists, nutritionists, occupational therapists and parenting educators across the globe to offer thousands of on-demand parenting videos and courses with content designed to support those who care for children, from pregnancy through to teenage years. Search and find videos on general parenting, play, behavior, child development, mental health, sleep, nutrition, technology and more. Most videos are under 10 minutes in length and can be accessed on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.

Featured databases