Serious researchers take note: Thanks to the Illinois State Library, you temporarily have free access to hundreds of subscription databases above and beyond the ones available to Cook Memorial card holders. The initiative is called TryIt! Illinois, and it extends only until the the end of November, 2017. Genealogists will love digging into the newspaper and map databases, plus additional databases related to genealogy.

Databases on a wide range of subjects, provided by major vendors including ProQuest, Ebsco and Gale-Cengage, are available to anyone who has the secret login and password. They’re not really secret, but we aren’t allowed to publish them online. To find out what they are, just stop by one of our locations or call (847-362-2330) and ask for the Adult Reference Desk.

If your exploration leads you to a database you would like us to subscribe to in the future, let us know and we’ll be sure to consider it.