Listen, Read & Watch
Requires a library card
Paid for with Central Library funds
Downloadable eBooks, Audiobooks and Music
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Total BooX – Total BooX lets WLS patrons read, share and discover books with no restrictions, no waiting lists and no tokens. Notice: If you receive a message about invalid credentials, try placing a space after your library card number.
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OverDrive – A downloadable audiobook and eBook service offered by the Westchester Library System.
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Freading – A downloadable eBook service offered by the Westchester Library System.
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Freegal – A downloadable music service that the Westchester Library System subscribes to. All you need to access the service is your Westchester Library card. Patrons now receive five weekly downloads and three hours of music streaming per day.
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hoopla – a new digital media service provided to you, our patron, through which you may access and enjoy nearly half a million titles, from six different formats: Movies, TV, Music Albums, eAudiobooks, eBooks, and Comics/Graphic novels. Note: When registering for a Hoopla account, enter Westchester Library System as your home library. If you receive a message about an invalid or expired library card when attempting to check a title out, please go into Settings, then Library Settings, re-enter your PIN and save your settings.
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RB Digital Audiobooks – Recorded Books is the largest independent publisher of unabridged audiobooks and a key provider of digital content to the library and school market. Books and Audiobooks titles from major publishing houses are distributed along with exclusive audiobooks titles produced by Recorded Books and narrated by professional, award-winning actors.
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Kanopy Streaming Video – Kanopy offers one of the most unique and compelling collections of film ranging from documentaries, indie and foreign films to must-see classics and blockbuster movies.
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Kanopy Kids – Kanopy Kids highlights films and TV series that help children develop empathy, mindfulness, and self-esteem through entertaining and educational videos. Kanopy has partnered with Common Sense Media™ to provide developmentally appropriate age rating for videos on Kanopy Kids.
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PressReader in Library – delivers an endless stream of top news stories to read, discuss and share. Get full issues of thousands of top newspapers and magazines just as they appear in print.
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PressReader at Home – delivers an endless stream of top news stories to read, discuss and share. Get full issues of thousands of top newspapers and magazines just as they appear in print.
- Comics Plus: Library Edition – the new digital revolution bringing thousands of digital graphic novels and comics are only a click away!
- TumbleBooks – An online collection of animated, talking picture books, reading comprehension quizzes, educational games and teacher resources for libraries.
- Biblioteca TumbleBooks – son libros animados, con ilustraciones que hablan, para enseñar a losniños los placeres de la lectura en un formato que les encantará.
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NoveList Plus – Reader-focused features such as reading recommendations, series information, book reviews, book jackets, and more.
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NoveList K-8 Plus – Specifically targeting grades K-8, NoveList K-8 Plus provides reader-focused features such as reading recommendations, series information, book reviews, book jackets, and more.
- Project Gutenberg – A collection of free eBooks.
- Google Books – Search and preview millions of books from libraries and publishers worldwide using Google Book Search. Discover a new favorite or unearth an old classic.
- Free Music Archive – The Free Music Archive provides free, high-quality, music in a wide range of genres. The content on Free Music Archive is used under various creative commons licenses. The New York State Music Fund provided initial funding for FMA. FMA seeks to maintain a high-quality resource through the use of selected curators who approve or deny all submissions to the collection.
Learn Online
Interested in sponsoring a WLS Learning Tool? Please contact Pat Brigham at pbrigham@wlsmail.org for information.
Requires a library card
Paid for with Central Library funds
Lynda.com – A leading online learning company that helps anyone learn software, technology, creative and business skills to achieve personal and professional goals through a video library of engaging, top-quality courses taught by recognized industry experts. Note: If you need to reset your password, please call Lynda at 1-888-335-9632. Select option 1 and specify that you are calling regarding Lynda Library.
Tutor.com – A fully online tutoring service. You can get a tutor in more than 40 subjects including Math, Science, Social Studies, English, AP support, Foreign Languages and Business. Tutoring sessions take place in our easy-to-use online classroom which runs in your browser.
University of Fashion – Brings together the best fashion industry professionals to create lessons that inspire and educate students, teachers, home sewers and the fashion curious.
ABCmouse.com in the Library – Helps children build a strong foundation for future academic success by providing a comprehensive and engaging online curriculum to greatly assist early learners to succeed in pre-K, kindergarten, and early elementary school programs.
ABCmouse.com at Home – WLS is pleased to bring you a pilot of a new product from ABCmouse.com allowing patrons to access the service at home. ABCmouse.com helps children build a strong foundation for future academic success by providing a comprehensive and engaging online curriculum to greatly assist early learners to succeed in pre-K, kindergarten, and early elementary school programs.
Driving-Tests.org – In partnership with Driving-Tests.org, the Westchester Library System is proud to offer free New York State Driver Permit practice tests and driver handbooks. Automobile, motorcycle and commercial handbooks and practice tests are available.
LearningExpress Library 3.0 – 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, and more.
First Find – Has basic information on easy to read websites.
- Learn English – Practice and learn English using several websites that include: Grammar, Vocabulary, Listening, Reading, Pronunciation and Writing. Test your progress with games and quizzes.
- Get Your GED – Connect to websites that can help build your knowledge and skills you will need to pass the GED. You will also find general information about the GED and how to take the GED test in New York State.
- Basic Computer Tips – How computers work and tutorials on how to use software.
Research Tools
Requires a library card
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PressReader in Library – delivers an endless stream of top news stories to read, discuss and share. Get full issues of thousands of top newspapers and magazines just as they appear in print.
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PressReader at Home – delivers an endless stream of top news stories to read, discuss and share. Get full issues of thousands of top newspapers and magazines just as they appear in print.
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Academic OneFile – The premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles from the world’s leading journals and reference sources. Extensive coverage of the sciences, technology, medicine, the arts, theology, literature and other subjects.
- American Physical Society Journals – The American Physical Society is the world’s second largest organization of physicists and publishes more than a dozen scientific journals including the prestigious Physical Review and Physical Review Letters.
- Directory of Open Access Journals – A service that covers free, full-text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.
- General OneFile – A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily.
- Google News Archive – Search and explore information from historical archives dating back over 200 years. For a quick how-to on using Google News Archive see this post on the Free Technology for Teachers blog.
- Infotrac Newsstand (Gale) – Full-text newspaper database has several NY newspapers, including the NY Times from 1985-Present, as well as over fifty national and international newspapers. Click here for a title list. (Full-text)
- NYS Newspapers – Collection of ten major newspapers published in New York State, searchable by section, keyword or relevance. (Full-text)
- Educator’s Reference Complete – A collection of more than 1,100 peridiocals and 200 reports is a great resource for any educator–from the school teacher and administrator to those studying in the field at the collegiate an graduate level. Educator’s Reference Complete seeks to provide full text for titles in the Eric database and covers multiple levels of education from preschool to college, and every educational specialty–such as technology, bilingual education, health education, and testing. It also provides insight on issues in administration, funding, and policy.
- Informe Académico – Meets the research needs of Spanish-speaking users with a wide range of full-text Spanish- and Portuguese-language scholarly journals and magazines both from and about Latin America. Informe Académico provides quality reference material–not simply translations of English-language materials–on a powerful, easy-to-use interface configured for Spanish-speaking users, allowing researchers to analyze topics and conduct research in Spanish.
- Secrets of the Sequences: Video series on the Life Sciences – With initial funding from the Pfizer Foundation and the National Academy of Sciences, VCU has assembled 50 of the best videos from the public television series, “Secrets of the Sequence” to assist teachers in the application of genetic research across the biology curriculum. Funding from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute has allowed for the creation of additional videos, which are also included on this site.