Articles & Databases by Subject

Participate in the library's reading programs using Beanstack.

Books & Authors brings ease, authority and fun to the question of "what do I read next?" This resource can also be used to enhance the experience of the book you are reading; dig deeper into its themes and origins; or learn how the author's life and times contributed to the work.

This series focuses on an author's entire body of work, providing literary criticism and biographical information. Authors included are: William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Barbara Kingsolver, Cormac McCarthy, Alice Walker, and Tennessee Williams.

Essays covering themes and concepts of graphic novels, including genres, time periods, foreign language traditions, social relevance, and craftsmanship such as penciling and inking.

In-depth insight for over 215 of the most popular and studied graphic novels. Researchers will be familiar with the characters and stories included in this collection, yet will gain a deeper understanding, as the literary nature of the stories is presented in critical format by leading writers in the field.

In-depth insight for over 55 of the most popular manga graphic novels, ranging from metaseries to stand-alone books; focusing on translated works that have been particularly influential in the development of the manga tradition.

The Gale OneFile: Culinary Arts offers a smorgasbord of information—more than five million articles from more than 250 major cooking and nutrition magazines.

In Gale eBooks find more than 60 reference e-books on history, business, medicine, religion, social science, literature, education, art, the world, and more. A few titles include: Business Plans Handbook; Novels for Students; Newsmakers; Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans; Environmental Encyclopedia; American Decades; and Countries of the World. Search for reference information, and read a short snippet or the full-book. These e-books can be read online, listened to from the database, or downloaded to your personal computer.

The Florida Electronic Library, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services, is a gateway to reputable resources that offers access to comprehensive, accurate, and reliable information from a collection of Gale Cengage databases. Available resources include electronic magazines, newspapers, almanacs, encyclopedias, and books that give information about current events, education, business, technology, health issues, and Florida history. The Florida Electronic Library offers homework help for K through 12 students and resources for teachers. Find material for your research needs with more than 50 databases at your fingertips.

From real estate contracts to wills, pre-marital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant agreements, etc. - Gale LegalForms provides a wide-selection for your business and personal needs.

Perfect for students and literary researchers, Gale Literary Sources allows you to discover literary connections with a traditional search as well as a visual search, bringing new insights to literature study.

Find Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech or poetry by Issa Kobayashi of Japan. Spanning history and geography, LitFinder delivers an extensive, ever-growing selection of full-text online poems, short stories, essays, speeches and plays. These works represent more than 80,000 authors, 660 nationalities and virtually every time period. Extra features include a glossary of poetry terms, dictionary search, hundreds of explanations on the most-studied contemporary poems and stories, and author biographies and illustrations. This research tool is suitable for students, book clubs and general readers.

Lynda.com is an educational resource that has many easy-to-use video tutorials featuring experts on Photoshop, Illustrator, web design, digital video and audio, and much more! You can choose your course by subject, software or author. Create an individual account where you can save your work, track your progress, and get completion certificates! The service can be costly but not if you have an Orange County Library card in good standing. With your card, you can use Lynda.com for free.

 Looking for a book? Want to know what title is next in a series? Like an author and want to read something similar? Need a recommendation for your book club? NoveList has information on over 200,000 fiction and non-fiction titles, including popular author Read-a-likes, book discussion guides, award lists and much more. With over 45,000 subjects to explore, your next book is only waiting to be discovered.

Introduce yourself to new authors and books each week by reading daily short excerpts sent to your email. Choose from a variety of genres. Sign-up is easy and free.