Community Corner

Needham Library is 'Off the Shelf'

Consumer Reports is the most popular database that is used by Needham residents.

Did you know that, in addition to the online databases available through the State of Massachusetts and the Minuteman Library Network, the Needham Free Public Library provides Needham residents free home access to several other online databases?  

Consumer Reports is the most popular database that is used by Needham residents. The database provides both indexes and full-text articles about products. It mirrors the actual magazine and gives readers the product ratings and comments that they have found reliable for decades.

The library’s most recent electronic acquisition is an exciting digital magazine database named Zinio. The library’s subscription consists of more than sixty popular titles on a variety of subjects (e.g. news, economics, parenting, crafts, fitness, sports, entertainment).  An entire magazine may be downloaded to any internet-enabled device.  Once downloaded, the borrower may keep it forever—no date due, no overdue fines, no lost items.  Popular titles in the database include National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, The Economist.  The database vendor believes that Zinio may “revolutionize [how people] read magazines.”

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Travelers wishing to brush up on languages should consult the recently acquired database, Pronunciator.  Learn how to ask for directions or book a hotel room in more than eighty languages.  This resource may be accessed from mobile devices, as well as home computers, and includes audio lessons, for assistance with pronunciation and accent. Additionally, ESL (English as a Second Language) students may use this database to learn English from more than fifty languages.

To access these and other library databases, go to the library page of the Town of Needham website.  Click on "Access to Databases and Online Resources" and then click on the blue “Click here.”  Enter your library card number (no spaces), click the “login” button, and then scroll down to a database.  Questions? Contact the Reference Desk at 781-455-7559, ext. 2.

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“Off the Shelf” is a monthly feature which highlights aspects of the library which may not be well known to patrons such as specific databases, special collections, technological innovations, or an in-depth interview with a staff person. By April Asquith, reference supervisor 


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