Ancestry.com Library Edition  

Genealogy: Census data, genealogy records and family history resources. In Library Use only. Help Tutorials. The difference between Ancestry.com and Ancestry.com Library Edition. Ancestry.com Library Edition Help Tutorial by Niche Academy

Archives Unbound

History: includes Primary Sources on U.S. foreign policy; U.S. civil rights; global affairs and colonial studies; and modern history. Broad topic clusters include: African American studies; American Indian studies; Asian studies; British history; Holocaust studies; LGBT studies; Latin American and Caribbean studies; Middle East studies; political science; religious studies; and women’s studies. The Archives Unbound program consists of more than 290,000 documents totaling 12 million pages. Tutorials

Auto Repair Source

Automotive Repair: Powered by the automotive experts at MOTOR, Auto Repair Source provides the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls, and more. Auto Repair Source Tutorial by Niche Academy.    Tutorials

Black Freedom Struggle  

Black Freedom Struggle website, featuring expertly selected open primary source documents. Visitors will find historical newspaper articles, pamphlets, diaries, correspondence and more from specific time periods in U.S. history marked by the opposition African Americans have faced on the road to freedom. This resource supports a wide range of students, from middle and high school to college, as well independent researchers and anyone interested in learning more about the ongoing Black Freedom Struggle. These reliable, easily discoverable materials may be used for homework assignments, personal inquiry, and research papers.  

Books 24x7  

Technology Books and Videos: Books 24x7 ITPro provides on-demand access to recent unabridged content of thousands of IT and technology books and documents plus videos. The fully searchable, web-based environment is easily accessible from your desktop or mobile devices. The books are not downloadable but you can read them on your computer or tablet. You will need your library card number with no spaces to log in. Tutorial

The Broadway On Demand Collection - Alexander Street Videos

The Broadway On Demand Collection takes viewers from behind the stage to the bright lights of Broadway through masterful plays, musicals, and dance performances, but it also provides a diverse range of unique behind-the-scenes series, documentaries, instructional videos, and more.

Britannica School 

This is the go-to site for learning more about any subject—for all grades and all reading abilities—offering thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended Web sites, and three separate databases—Elementary, Middle, or High. Also in Espanol. Tutorials    Tutorial through Niche Academy

Classical Music in Video - Alexander Street Videos

Provides an extensive collection of influential performances and documentaries demonstrating the continuous development of classical music, spanning eras from canonical masters to modern composers.

Consumer Reports

Product Ratings: Expert unbiased product ratings and reviews. Tutorials

California Digital Newspapers Collection 

This collection contains 170,829 issues comprising 1,686,371 pages and 16,861,779 articles dating back to August 1846.

CultureGrams

State, Country, and Provence Cultural Information: CultureGrams provides country reports that go beyond mere facts and figures to deliver a one-of-a-kind perspective on daily life and culture, including the background, customs, and lifestyles of the world's people. If using Student ID to log in BEN should be in ALL CAPS. Tutorial through Niche Academy Overview. Tutorials

Dance in Video - Dance Online - Alexander Street Videos  

An extensive collection of performances, instructional materials, documentaries, and interviews, showcasing high-caliber performances from the greatest dance companies and performers worldwide, spanning from traditional ballet to hip hop, street dance, and modern dance, offering a unique opportunity for to study and analyze the fusion between styles.

Discover and Go - Museum Passes  

Discover & Go allows you to reserve and print out free museum passes to many of the local museums in the Bay Area without the need to come to the Library. A full access library card is required to use Discover & Go. eCards will not provide access to passes. Tutorial 

Driving Test Prep  

Practice tests plus access to the California Driver Manuals for vehicle, motorcycle, and commercial driving plus FAQs on the process.  

Educate Station

Ready-to-use, hands-on activities for kids to do at home or at school. The Educate Station team is committed to inspiring joyful learning and supporting kids, teachers, and parents.

A full access library card is required to use Educate Station. eCards will not provide access.

ELibrary  

Articles, Maps, Audio and Video Clips—the user-friendly general reference tool—delivers one of the largest general reference collections of periodical and digital media content designed to support every range of users, including middle and high school students, college-prep and college-level researchers, and professional educators.  

Environmental Studies  

Looking for up-to-date information on the environment? Learn about diverse subjects, such as climate change, food security, and soil ecology. Gale In Context: Environmental Studies provides detailed information on current environmental issues and processes from both a scientific and a social standpoint suitable for high school, undergrad, and graduate students. Access is courtesy of the California State Library. The last day to use is December 31, 2026. Training Videos  

Foreign Language Newspapers  

Chinese, French, German, Italian, German, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish. These news sites are selected especially for language students, but all are invited to peruse these pages at their leisure.

Got Resume Builder

Customizable resume templates, assisted resume writing, manage multiple resumes, organize resume sections, multiple download formats, share resume online, FAQs and tutorials.

Great Courses

The Great Courses offers learning videos designed to help people to learn new skills at their own pace. All are taught from expert professors! Once you press play on any title in a series, you have access to the entire series for a 21-day window. Access Great Courses through Kanopy.

HeritageQuest

Genealogy: Search the U.S. census 1790-1940, family histories, genealogical serials, and local histories. Resources on towns and families from all 50 states as well as Canada and the British Isles. Help Aides.  Access ends June 30, 2024.

Job and Career Accelerator

This database will help you create a resume and cover letter; learn which occupations are great matches for you based on your skills and interests; offset the cost of graduate school tuition with scholarships; help you transition as a veteran into a civilian occupation. Available through funding and administered from the California State Library until September 30, 2024.

Kanopy  

A video streaming service for quality, thoughtful entertainment. Find movies, documentaries, foreign films, classic cinema, independent films, Great Courses, educational videos, and films for kids that inspire, enrich and entertain that can be enjoyed on your TV, mobile phone, tablets and online. Must have a Benicia library card.

The L.A. Theatre Works Collections - Audio Drama - Alexander Street

This database delivers some of the most significant dramatic literature of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries by leading actors from around the world, all from the curated archive of the nation’s premiere radio theatre company and recorded specifically for online listening.

Learning Express

Tests Help, Job Help: Test preparation materials for elementary through adult level. Includes the ACT, ASVAB, Civil Service, Cosmetology, EMS, GED, GMAT, GRE, Law Enforcement, Real Estate, SAT, U.S. Citizenship and more. Learning Express provides practice tests designed to help patrons succeed on academic or licensing tests they must pass. Available through funding and administered from the California State Library until September 30, 2024. Tutorials. LearningExpress en Espanol

Legal Information Reference Center

Legal Help: Legal Information Reference Center provides online full text for many of the top consumer legal reference books and thousands of legal forms. Includes NOLO legal books. Tutorial through Niche Academy Help Tutorial.

Mango Languages

Languages: Access 60 foreign language courses (basic and complete) and 17 English courses taught completely in the user’s native language. Aprendizaje de idiomas, incluye ingles para hispano hablantes. Benicia Library full use library card or Student OneCard required. eCards will not provide access to Mango Languages. Help Page. If you have a Solano County Library Card, use this link.

Masterfile

Magazine and Journal Articles: Search magazines, newspapers, and journal articles covering virtually every subject area of general interest; search and access reference books, primary source documents, photos, maps and flags. Tutorials

Kids National Geographic

Explore animal types and facts with Kids National Geographic! Play games, watch videos, learn and explore!

National Theatre Collections - Alexander Street Videos

This provides contemporary video productions, modern reinterpretations of classic all featuring acclaimed actors and directors of the highest caliber along with exclusive behind-the-scenes archival content.

New York Times

Genealogy: Census data, genealogy records and family history resources. In California State Library is providing the New York Times Online from 1851 to the present, including:

• All regular newspaper content (articles, editorials, etc.)
• All multimedia, including video, photography, VR features and all new multimedia to come
• Spanish and Mandarin Chinese versions of nytimes.com
• Personalized access, including e-mail newsletters such as California Today, mobile apps for phones and tablets, with customizable news feeds, and article recommendations based on topics you most commonly read about.

Use your library card to log in and create an account. You will then receive  a 72-hour pass.

NoveList Plus 

Book Selection Help: has reading recommendations for both fiction and narrative nonfiction, for all ages. Find read-alike titles, authors, and series. Find the next book in a series. Limit audio book searches by length of time. Offers appeal factors so you can find a book that fits “your style.” Find book reviews. Find reading lists and award winners. Plus reading levels for kids. Tutorials

Opera in Video - Alexander Street Videos

Offers a curated selection of the world's most significant opera performances, featuring top artists, conductors, and venues, providing a valuable resource for studying opera's rich canon.

Overdrive eBooks and Audio Books

Download eBooks and Audio Books using your Libby App.  Use your Benicia Card to have access to Marin County Library and Peninsula Library System eBooks.

Overdrive Magazines - Library to Go   

OverDrive popular downloadable magazines. Over 3000 titles you can read from any device! Read online or download to your Libby App.

The Quest TV Collection - Music Online - Alexander Street Videos  

This database is co-created by Quincy Jones & Reza Ackbaraly, offers valuable materials for music history and cultural studies through the preservation of diverse live performances, spanning the evolution of jazz and beyond — representing funk, soul, hip-hop, folk, indie, electronic, blues, and other eclectic world genres.

PebbleGo

Articles on topics in Science and Math written specifically for K-2 students. Articles are all read aloud to the student or this feature can be turned off. Articles and eBooks available in English and Spanish. Available through the California State Library through July 31, 2024.

Reference Solutions

Formerly known as Reference USA, Data Axle Reference Solutions is the go-to resource for comprehensive data on both businesses and individuals, tailored to the needs of small business owners, marketing professionals, entrepreneurs, researchers, and job seekers. It empowers users to create marketing plans, conduct competitive analysis, secure funding, and locate individuals. This platform offers detailed profiles of over 50 million U.S. businesses, 150 million U.S. residents, 2 million job postings, internships, historical business data, and healthcare listings, making it an invaluable tool for job seekers, businesses, and researchers.  Benicia Library Card required.

The Royal Shakespeare Company Collection - Alexander Street Videos

With high-definition recordings of The Bard's dramatic canon, featuring the world's finest Shakespearean actors and directors, along with supplementary teaching materials, the Royal Shakespeare Company Collection helps bring Shakespeare to life in the modern age.

Schools and Educators Complete

eBooks for Research: All ages. Find scholarly ebooks in multiple subjects from world-renowned publishers. Create highlights, notes, and bookmarks for later, and share research with others. Log in with your Benicia Library Card or Student ID. Training Videos FAQs

Science - Gale Interactive 

Science provides engaging, interactive models that bring science to life. While supporting high school curricula and university coursework, Gale Interactive: Science helps students better visualize and understand concepts in biology, chemistry, earth and space science. Students and instructors can manipulate and explore 3D models that are paired with reference and periodical content for further understanding. Training Videos

Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries - Music Online - Alexander Street 

This database provides an extensive virtual encyclopedia of unique American folk, blues, soul, jazz, and protest songs, as well as a broad range of world music through partnership with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings.

TeachingBooks for Libraries

Discover materials that deepen connections to the children's and young adult books read throughout your community. For teachers, librarians, and homeschooling parents.

TeachingBooks is an online book database, assisting teachers, parents, and librarians with finding multimedia resources, lesson plans, and links to extend curriculum in the classroom around books. Introduction Video

To access Teaching Books, you will need a Benicia Library Card.

TechLifeUnity  

This has over 100 free courses with thousands of step-by-step tutorials and informational articles that can help you learn anything and everything about the Internet's most popular websites and apps. Check out our full range of courses, or jump down to any category that interests you: Social Media, Online Shopping, Online Entertainment, Userful Websites and Apps, and Technology Basics. Video Tutorial

Theatre in Video - Alexander Street Videos

This databases offers access to hundreds of the world's most important plays, documentaries, and instructional materials, as well as interviews with prominent directors, designers, writers, and actors, providing an authentic behind-the-scenes look at various productions.

World Politics Review

World Politics Review is a database providing uncompromising analysis of critical global trends to give academics, policymakers and business people the context they need to have the confidence they want. Written by leading experts and on-the-ground influencers, World Politics Review's substantive content offers comprehensive and detailed perspectives. Available through June 30, 2024.