Do you ever feel mind-boggled by your children’s homework? Or maybe you just don’t know where to start your research? Well, you’re in for a treat because we are discussing the library’s homework resources in a series of Dog-Eared Blog posts.

First, we are going to start with the basics. The encyclopedia. You may have used a large hardcover bound set of encyclopedias as a kid. However, we aren’t talking about a mountain of already dated materials to add to your bookshelf. We’re talking about online resources available from home including the most up-to-date research. The library offers the following encyclopedia reference tools online for FREE!

Britannica Library

Britannica offers three sites in one – based on the user’s reading level. Making it simple for any age user to find information. These three sites are Britannica Library Children, Britannica Library Young Adults and Britannica Online Reference Center for high school and adult users. In each search, the user can use the content type menu on the left-hand side of the screen to only view articles, videos, images, magazines and more media types. Users can also browse topics and maps. The database also contains how-to documents for book reviews, presentations, research papers and science reports.

Britannica Escolar

This Britannica Library is a Spanish digital learning portal for primaria (elementary) and secundaria (middle) school students. The ability to toggle between grade levels within one site makes searching simple for any level user. Much like the English version, users can filter by just images, videos, articles and more media types. Users can also browse topics on the home page or in alphabetical order. This database is a great resource for research papers, science reports, presentations and even just for fun.

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia is a great general research tool to get you started. While it is not separated by reading levels like Britannica, it may offer some additional information for your research. This database can be easily searched using the search bar at the top to search your topic and then using the content bar on the left-hand side of the entry you select to sort through the information.

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia

This resource provides detailed information on just about any animal you can imagine. Users can browse the encyclopedia or search for a specific animal using the search bar. Each animal’s class, order, family, and species are listed as well as other in-depth information such as physical characteristics, habitat, behavior and more!