Online Library

Library Catalog

Search for books, DVDs, CDs, magazines, and other materials available from the SSF Library and other libraries within the Peninsula Library System

These sites provide free access to information and services you can't get with an internet search. All you need is your library card number!

Business & Legal

Business Source Complete: Scholarly business database with full-text journals, including marketing, management, finance and economics.

Data Axle Reference Solutions: Search for jobs, research U.S. businesses, create marketing and small business plans, locate specific people and more

Legal Information Reference Center: Legal reference books and thousands of legal forms.

Career & Education

Data Axle Reference Solutions: Search for jobs, research U.S. businesses, create marketing and small business plans, locate specific people and more.

Job Train - SSF Career Center: Receive job search and resume development assistance. Job Train Career Center is located at Magnolia Center, 601 Grand Ave.

O'Reilly for Public Libraries: Over 30,000 hours of learning content to develop professional IT and business skills that you can take entirely online for free.

E-books & Magazines

hoopla Digital

Download ebooks and audiobooks or stream TV shows, movies or music.

Libby

The one tap reading app provided by Overdrive where you can download eBooks, audiobooks and magazines for free.

Digital Magazines
Over 3,000 titles available for unlimited checkouts with the Libby app.

Enki Library
Includes a diverse collection of recovered classics, encyclopedias, short stories and self-published materials. This is a legacy collection and no additional materials will be added. 

National Geographic Library
Access the complete archive of National Geographic magazine — every page of every issue — along with a cross-searchable collection of books, maps, images, and videos.

Nature.com Digital Magazine
Nature.com is home of Nature-branded research and review journals, Nature Partner Journals, academic journals, and Nature news and comments. Nature is the No. 1 weekly international science journal focusing on the needs of scientists and inspires and informs researchers, clinicians, academics and industry experts worldwide.

O'Reilly for Public Libraries
The premier electronic reference library for IT and business professionals. Over 50,000 titles and 30,000 hours of videos available.

Open Library
Offers 10,000 e-books in a variety of subjects that are no longer in publication.

Palace Project
An all-in-one eBook app allowing you to access library and public domain eBooks in one place.

Scientific American Digital Magazine

Scientificamerican.com is home to Scientific American articles from the latest as well as past issues, dating back to 1845, including over 150 Nobel Prize scientists. Request Access

History

Archives Unbound: A digital collection of historical documents that support the research and study needs of scholars and students at the college and university level.

Biography Reference Bank: Includes in-depth profiles from Current Biography and World Authors, the periodical coverage of Biography Index and the specialist content of Junior Authors & Illustrators.

Internet Archive: Browse the SSF History Collection including photographs, oral histories, the The Enterprise Journal, and more, digitized through the California Revealed Project.

Find more information about our collection via the Online Archive of California.

General Research

Academic Search Complete: Search thousands of academic journals at once on a broad range of disciplines.

America History & Life: This research database of full-text articles covers the history and culture of the United States and Canada from prehistory to the present and includes hundreds of full-text history journals and books.

Education Resource Information Center: An authoritative database of indexed and full-text education literature and resources.

Explora for Public Libraries: Search multiple databases at once covering general interest topics, business resources, literary reference, news articles, Consumer Reports, and more.

World History: This research database of full-text articles covers the history and culture of the world from prehistory to the present and includes hundreds of full-text history journals and books.

Homework Help

Elementary Grades K-5

Explora - Students can search multiple databases at once for elementary school research (grades K-5). All full-text articles included are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).

Britannica School - Discover encyclopedia articles, multimedia, primary sources, games, and other learning resources that support student research and reinforce curriculum standards.

Book Connections - Provides multimedia content to complement children's and young adult books. Resources include audiobook readings, author videos, book discussion guides and lesson plans for over 40,000 books in English and Spanish.

National Geographic Kids - Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space.

ProQuest eLibrary - A massive collection of multidisciplinary periodical and digital media content designed for beginning and intermediate researchers. Editorially created pages provide valuable contest for both common and unusual research topics.

SIRS Discoverer - A general reference database providing safe, reliable, curriculum-aligned content and features for use by students and educators.

Middle Grades 6-8

Explora - Students can search multiple databases at once for full-text articles for middle school research (grades 6-8). All full-text articles included are assigned a reading level indicator (Lexiles).

Britannica School - Discover encyclopedia articles, multimedia, primary sources, games, and other learning resources that support student research and reinforce curriculum standards.

CultureGrams - Concise social, cultural, and political information on countries, U.S. states, and provinces around the world.

Science Reference Center - An excellent source of reliable information on life sciences, physical sciences, mathematics, technology and more.

SIRS Discoverer - A general reference database providing safe, reliable, curriculum-aligned content and features for use by students and educators.

SIRS Issues Researcher - Pros and cons on over 360 complex social issues with relevant, credible information that tells the whole story on the major questions of the day.

Older Grades 9-12

Explora - Students can search multiple databases at once for full-text articles, images, videos, and more for high school research (grades 9-12).

Britannica School - Discover encyclopedia articles, multimedia, primary sources, games, and other learning resources that support student research and reinforce curriculum standards.

Points of View Reference Center - Contains resources that present diverse perspectives on important issues and events.

For additional services visit our Educational Resources page.

How To...

Auto Repair Source: Provides accurate and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles.

CA Drivers Education Practice Tests: CA DMV sample driver tests to practice for the real exam.

Newspapers

Newsbank

Bay Area Newspaper Collection: Enjoy free access to Bay Area newspapers through our NewsBank subscription. Publications include San Jose Mercury News, San Mateo Times, Pacifica Tribune and more.

San Francisco Chronicle Collection - Text only (1985 - Present): Enjoy free access to San Francisco Chronicle text articles through our NewsBank subscription.

San Francisco Chronicle Collection - Full image (2017 - Present): Enjoy free access to the FULL image version of the San Francisco Chronicle through our NewsBank subscription.

San Mateo Daily Journal (2000 - Present): Enjoy free access to San Mateo Daily Journal through our NewsBank subscription.

World News Research Collection: Enjoy free access to newspapers from around the world.

*News content is added throughout the day. If you don't see what you are looking for, please check back later in the day.

New York Times

New York Times: Enjoy complimentary unlimited access to NYTimes.com. Including these popular sections(PDF, 110KB).

Register or access articles from within the library while using a library computer or while connected to the SSF Library Wi-Fi.

Register or log into your account from home/outside the library. Please note: you need to reactive this code every 72 hours.

We value your feedback! Take this survey to let us know what you think of this service. If you have any questions please email NYT@library.ca.gov.

The Wall Street Journal

Looking for in-depth, up-to-date business and finance news? You're in luck! The digital edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is now available, in English, Chinese and Japanese, with your library card. Access to The Wall Street Journal is available to South San Francisco Library cardholders.

Get Started with Wall Street Journal

The Library's subscription to the WSJ expires 12/31/2024.

 Ebsco Newspaper Source Plus

Ebsco Newspaper Source Plus is a collection of over 1200 publications providing full-text articles. See a list of all publications(PDF, 3MB).

Streaming Video, TV Shows & Music

hoopla Digital: Stream movies, TV shows, music and download ebooks and audiobooks.

Kanopy: Offers more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles.

Kanopy Kids: Highlights films and TV series that inspire and inform, helping children develop empathy, mindfulness, and self-esteem

Streaming Video FAQs here

Recursos en Español

Newsbank: Accedia noticias en español.

Referencia Latina: Una base completa de datos que ofrece contenido de una variedad de origenes, incluyendo 49,000 entradas de enciclopedia, más de 100,000 imágenes, 2,500 informes de salud, un diccionario español-inglés y texto completo para más de 100 libros de referencia y docenas de revistas de interés general.

Medline Plus in Español: Un recurso en línea de información de salud para pacientes y sus familias y amigos, publicado por la Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina o National Library of Medicine (NLM), la biblioteca médica más grande del mundo, que forma parte de los Institutos Nacionales de Salud o National Institute of Health (NIH).