Knowledge Ontario, a provincially funded initiative to provide Ontario residents with an opportunity to access new information resources, consists of six components that are being phased in over a period of time. The components, when complete, will consist of: Resource Ontario, an online electronic resource; Ask Ontario, a real-time, virtual reference service; OurOntario.ca, a digital library collection; Connect Ontario, a space for Ontarians to connect and interact with each other; Video Ontario, educational videos and content particular to health information; as well as Teach Ontario, online modules and learning tools to assist students, teachers, businesses and individuals in the use of all Knowledge Ontario has to offer.
Knowledge Ontario databases are offered to meet the needs of young learners at an elementary level up to and including researchers at a university level. The content includes full-text of newspapers, magazines, reference books, authoritative, current health and wellness information, Canadian newswires and much more. In many cases the content of the databases are updated daily. The information goes far beyond what is commonly available on the internet and the library offers remote access.
To access these databases from home you will need to visit the library to obtain a new library card.
Click on the database of your choice:
TumbleBookLibrary is an online collection of animated, talking picture books which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by adding animation, sound, music and narration to existing picture books in order to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. In general, TumbleBooks are a great addition to a reading program that can be worked on independently by each student or by the whole class. It has been exceptionally well received by ESL and Special Education teachers.
TumbleReadables is an online collection of read-along titles for elementary, middle school, and high school students which features adjustable online text and complete audio narration. Sentences are highlighted as they are being read and the pages turn automatically.
The collection features chapter books, early readers, YA/Teen Novels, high interest/low level books for both middle school and high school students, plus classics of American and English literature.
Read-Alongs are great for emergent, struggling, and reluctant readers, as well as being an excellent tool for ESL. They are also well received by strong and accomplished readers who are excited to follow along to the narration of their favorite books.
AudioBookCloud is for readers of all ages and allows you to listen to or download your favorite audio books with just a click of a button.
Listen online, bookmark your spot, or download the book and access your books offline at your convenience.
You can download the books to any PC/MAC laptop, notebook, desktop, and to Android tablets. Downloads are for a 90-day loan period and you may borrow as many books at the same time as you like!
You will first have to download the free TumblePad 2.0 reading software.
Please note: AudioBookCloud cannot be downloaded to iPods, mp3 players or copied to a CD.
Kids InfoBits Specially designed for use by Kindergarten to grade five students this data base offers full-text curriculum-related magazines and reference articles and contains graphic interface and an easy to use subject-based topic tree search.
A - Z Maps Online - is the world’s largest subscription-based database of continent, country, and state maps. Included in the 4,000+ maps are: political maps, physical maps, outline maps, population maps, precipitation maps, climate maps, and other thematic maps. New maps are added to the collection every month.
Career Cruising - This is a fully bilingual database which has been designed to help students and others plan their future. With exceptional assessment tools, detailed occupation profiles, and comprehensive post-secondary education information, users move seamlessly through the career exploration and planning process. Users are able to access hundreds of detailed occupation profiles - everything from Actuary to Zookeeper. Profiles include: job descriptions, working conditions, education and training, learnings, and links to related occupations and other resources. It provides a national database of post-secondary schools which includes detailed information on colleges, universities and other training opportunities.
Click here for an English tutorial. Click here for a French Tutorial.
Canadian Point of View (EBSCO) This full-text database is designed to provide students with a series of essays that present multiple sides of a current issue. The database provides information on 100 key topics of interest to Canadian researchers, with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), counterpoint (opposing argument), and Critical Thinking Guide. Topics include environment, human rights, race, substance abuse and many more.
Click here for a tutorial.
Grzimek's Animal Life on the web provides students and researchers with a dynamic, interactive resource that fosters more discussion and critical thinking skills. This product uses the content from the encyclopedia to provide unequaled coverage on more than 4,000 species, and includes more than 11,000 images, videos, illustrations, and maps.
Novelist Find your next read for kids -- fiction and nonfiction reading suggestions for children. Introduce both teachers and students to new books, and encourage independent reading and help students think more about why a particular story appeals to them! NoveList® K-8 contains enhanced subject access for over 60,000 fiction titles aimed at the K-8 population. It is a premium readers' advisory site that provides access to reviews, author read-alikes, booktalks, reading lists, award winners, and more.
PebbleGo is an award winning pre-K to grade 3 database for reading and research. It includes built-in reading and research tools for emerging readers. Levelled text, educational games and multimedia help teach concepts to our youngest researchers. PebbleGo offers two separate databases: PebbleGo Animals and PebbleGo Earth & Space. Both databases are simple to navigate and offer key reading supports of read-along audio and word-by-word highlighting.
Gale is a collection of over 60 databases including Kids InfoBits, CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals), Small Business collection, Chilton Library and Gale Virtual Reference Library. It contains multidisciplinary general databases as well as databases for computer science, business, law and other subjects. This database alone is comprised of over 16,000 periodicals and 35 reference e-book titles.
ChiltonLibrary.com represents the most authoritative automotive repair information available to car owners. There are thousands of year, make and model combinations covering the most popular vehicles of the past 30 years, plus additional coverage of specialty models. ChiltonLibrary.com gives you the confidence to service or repair virtually any system on your vehicle.
Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.
NoveList Find your next read - NoveList is an adult readers’ advisory service. It provides access to information on 155,000 fiction titles including author read-alikes, book discussion guides, reading lists and more! Covers thousands of fiction series making it one of the most comprehensive treatments of series available.
Consumer Health Complete (CHC) is the world's most complete source of consumer-oriented health content. Written for the lay person, CHC is designed to allow students to learn about every major disease and condition, and also contains valuable information on anatomy and human biology. The database is built around thousands of full-text, evidence-based, health reports - the same reports trusted as handouts by many hospitals around the world.
Santé en français fournit des rapports faciles à lire avec des renseignements scientifiquement fondés dans le domaine de la santé. Ces rapports couvrant diverses maladies, conditions et traitements sont vérifiés par des médecins et reflètent les données les plus récentes.
Overdrive - Download FREE audiobooks and eBooks for your computer, cell phone, iPod® or eBook reader or other compatible device. 1400 eBook titles and over 3000 talking book titles to choose from!
This collection is brought to you by the Ontario Ministry of Culture, through Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) and Ontario Library Service-North (OLS-North).
Global Road Warrior is a research tool for travelers and students seeking information on customs, cultures, communications, travel and international business. Global Road Warrior has everything from country facts, security briefings to climate.
Ancestry Library Edition (Proquest) For use in library only! Collection of approximately 4,000 genealogical databases including key collections such as the U. S. federal censuses from 1790 to 1930; census indexes for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man from 1841 to 1901; civil registration of births, marriages and deaths for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man from 1837 to 1983; civil registration of births (1869-1907), marriages (1857-1922) and deaths (1869-1932) for Ontario, etc.
Click here for a tutorial.
(This database is not part of Knowledge Ontario. Ancestry Library Edition is funded by the province`s 15 million dollar Investment in Public Libraries.)
