Links open in a new window.
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA)
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) brings together the
riches of America's libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them
freely available to the world. It strives to contain the full
breadth of human expression, from the written word, to works of art
and culture, to records of America's heritage, to the efforts and
data of science. The DPLA offers a single point of access to millions of
items--photographs, manuscripts, books, sounds, moving images, and
more--from libraries, archives, and museums around the United
States. Search the DPLA now:
Free eBooks and digital magazines
the Pioneer Library System
Use your library card to get eBooks at
Check out digital magazines through Owwl.org's
Around the web
Many sites offer free eBook downloads - here are just a few.
Formats vary; check with the site for compatibility with your reader
General interest eBooks
Technology and special interest
ebooks - free e-books on aeronautics, history, science and
more. Offerings include "Hubble Space Telescope: Discoveries,"
an interactive picture book for all ages, and "Coming Home:
Re-entry and Recovery from Space" about re-entry aerodynamics,
thermal protection, guidance and control, stability, propulsion,
and landing systems.
AskSam - legislative, legal & judicial, government reports
FreeComputerBooks - computers, programming, math, technical
FreeTechBooks - computer science, engineering and
- educational and self-practice
OnlineComputerBooks - Info about free books and sample
chapters in IT, computer science, internet, business, marketing,
math, physics and science
- Wiki Books
- textbooks in computing, engineering, humanities, languages,
math, science, social sciences and misc.
Lists of more eBook sources
The Online Books Page - University of Pennsylvania's listing
of over 30,000 free books on the web
- North American Publishing Company's guide to free ebook
Hongkiat.com blog - 20 best websites to download free ebooks
Free online courses
Coursera - Take the world's best courses, online, for free.
Courses offered from more than 80 universities around the
world including Duke, Ecole Polytechnique, Rice, Rutgers,
Stanford, and the University of Rochester.
Live Lingua - learn a foreign language. Access to
public-domain materials, including books and audios, originally
created by the Foreign Language Institute to train Peace Corps
volunteers. More than 40 languages are offered.
Online databases from your library system
Your library card gives you FREE access to a number of subscription-only
online databases through our membership in the Pioneer Library
System. These range from newspaper archives to encyclopedias to
special collections on science, literature, business and more.
what databases are available online.
Ancestry Library Edition
You can access Ancestry Library Edition from within the library.
here for more information, or
College and career choices
are some sites we recommend to help high school students think
through issues and make decisions toward meaningful career and
Studentaid.ed.gov - from the Department of Education - the best
source of information on financial aid and FAFSA (a lot has
changed in recent years). Also offers general information on
interest and college choices.
College Board - planning tools including: plan for college,
find a college, apply to college, pay for college. You can do
side-by-side comparisons of colleges. Get information on AP,
SAT, PSAT tests from the source. Also a section for parents.
What do you like? - exploring careers and finding a match
for your interests. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
New York Learns - plan your education / plan your career.
Lots of good, sound information with New York searches (not just
the SUNY system).
Study Guides and Strategies (for all students) - a well
maintained site that is kept up to date.
Lakes BOCES continuing education - career training programs,
continuing education, and alternative high school diploma programs (GED
Finger Lakes Technical and Career Center
Medical information on the web
Here are links to reliable sources of medical information on the
web. See also, "Tips
for finding accurate health information on the web."
About the Affordable Healthcare Act
- HealthCare.gov - the
rights, benefits and choices available to you under the new
health care law - including how to apply for health care
insurance and information about new health insurance
Sites offering a broad range of health information
MedlinePlus - consumer-oriented site for health information
from the National Institutes of Health. Search under "Health
Clic-On-Health - trustworthy, up-to-date health information
for the Rochester region provided by local medical, public, and
Familydoctor.org - from the American Academy of Family
Physicians, health info for the whole family.
Tests On-line - from the American Association for Clinical
Chemistry, a public resource on clinical lab testing.
Specific medical problems
American Medical Association
resources for patients - from finding a doctor to exploring
health care careers; from health and medicine resources to
advocating for patients' rights.
- Finding more about physicians -
Department of Health - look under 'Physician Discipline' to
find doctors' malpractice suits, etc.
FOR teachers, scout leaders, parents and other educators
Connecting Youth to Quality Health Information (PDF
download). With this 45-50 minute interactive lesson,
you can help students learn how to determine whether a web site
is providing trustworthy and reliable health information. Several studies have found that while the
majority of youth report using the Internet for health
questions, they often do not have the skills to screen the large
number of search results or locate information appropriate to a
specific query. And although many adolescents question the
trustworthiness of Web sources for health information, they are
not familiar with the criteria used to identify a site as
credible or trustworthy. From the Center for Public Health Nutrition at
the University of Washington.
Child Care and Family Resources
& Family Resources, Inc. provides free, customized child
care referrals along with other services for parents,
caregivers, and child care providers in Ontario, Seneca and
Helpful articles on various areas of child and family care are
free. Paid memberships allow you to search listings and contact
babysitters, tutors, senior care providers, pet care providers and
housekeepers in the local area.
Babysitting guide - an overview of your options, how to
interview a babysitter and search for babysitters in the local
Babysitter pay calculator - calculate the "going rate" for
sitters in your zip code; a helpful a starting point for what to
pay your sitter.
Tutoring guide - types of tutors, how to evaluate a tutor,
and what you can expect to pay.
Additional articles on child care, special needs care,
tutoring, senior care and pet care.