Links marked with an asterisk (*) indicate websites that require additional registration using a valid email address in order to use most of all of their services. Links marked with a double dagger (‡) indicate websites that deal primarily with local history or local genealogy.
Resource Categories
- Featured
- Books & Reading
- Business
- Car & Automotive
- Coding / Computer Programming
- College Prep
- Computer Basics
- Driver’s Education
- Employment & Job Searching
- Encyclopedias
- Health & Medical
- History & Genealogy
- K-12 Homework Help
- Legal Resources
- Online Learning
- Local Places & News
- Research Tools
- Study Guides & Test Prep
- En Español
Featured
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Business Source Premier
Access to leading national and international company and industry profiles. Includes SWOT analyses, key employee biographies, company overviews, histories, top competitors, and more. Over 10,000 national and international company profiles; over 2,400 industry profiles.
User: lib
Password: hcmpl -
Small Business Reference Center
Up-to-date information on topics related to starting a company, operations management and sales, as well as growing or rescuing a business.
User: lib
Password: hcmpl -
The Messenger & Dawson Springs Newspapers Online, 1914-2019
A digital image collection of newspapers dating back to the early 1900s. Newspapers include The Messenger (1925-2019), The Dawson Springs Progress (1914), and The Dawson Springs Progress (1934 – 2019).
Note: This resource is not available for remote use and can only be accessed inside the library.
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Ancestry.com
Free library version of Ancestry for at home use. Search billions of records in census data, vital, church, court, immigration, directories, photos, and more from countries all over the world, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Europe, and Australia.
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Tumble Book Library
The Tumble Book Library is an online collection of animated talking picture books, which teach kids the joy of reading in a format they love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, adding animation, sound, music, and narration to produce an electronic picture book which children can read, or have read to them. Each story comes with puzzles and games geared to ensure reading comprehension. Older students or more accomplished readers can read the collection of read-along chapter books. Mobile Apps for Apple and Android are also available.
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RBdigital Comics
An online collection of comics from Marvel, IDW, Disney and more! Mobile apps for Apple and Android are available.
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creativebug
Creativebug inspires you to create and then teaches you how! Enjoy unlimited access to over 1,000 online art and craft classes, plus patterns, templates, and recipes. Topics include art & design, sewing, quilting, paper, knitting, crochet, food & home, jewelry, holiday & party, and classes for kids. Watch videos anytime, anywhere. Since classes never expire, you can start and stop projects at your own pace. The Creativebug platform includes chapter divisions, note-taking tools, 20-second rewind and more. You can save favorite classes and receive personalized recommendations. New classes from top artists are added daily. Mobile apps available for Apple and Android.
Funding for 2020-2021 made possible by the Kentucky Humanities via the National Endowment for the Humanities under a CARES Act Emergency Operations Funding grant, as appropriated by Congress in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, 2020.
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America’s News
Explore and stay informed on local and national topics, people and events in areas such as business, health, education, jobs and careers, political and social issues and more. Features a wide variety of credible, vetted news sources spanning, the U.S., including such state & local sources as the Madisonville Messenger, the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, the Paducah Sun, Lexington Herald-Leader, and Evansville Courier & Press (Indiana).
Funding for 2020-2021 made possible by the Kentucky Humanities via the National Endowment for the Humanities under a CARES Act Emergency Operations Funding grant, as appropriated by Congress in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, 2020.
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TeenBookCloud
TeenBookCloud (TBC) is an online database of eBooks and educator resources. TBC offers over 1,000 titles in a variety of formats, including ebooks, graphic novels, classic literature, National Geographic videos, and audiobooks, and supports a wide range of reading interests and levels. The collection is available via the Internet around the clock. There are no check-out times, downloads or wait lists. Read, watch or listen with no delays and unlimited access. Scroll through a graphic novel on an iPad, read a classic novel on a computer, or listen to an audiobook on a smartphone!
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Kentucky Libraries Unbound (OverDrive)
Access e-books, downloadable audio books, and streaming video content from your mobile device or home computer, 24/7, with no over dues or late fees.
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Universal Class
Go to Universal Class >>Over 500 CEU level courses covering 30 subject areas including: computer training, personal finance, DIY, general education, business, and more.
Register at: http://hopkinscoky.universalclass.com/register.htm
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hoopla
Borrow music, movies, TV shows, e-books, audiobooks, and comic books, all from the convenience of your smartphone, tablet, or home computer. Never any wait lists or holds.
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KYVL
Access to over 60 research and other databases for elementary through adult learners.
Please contact the Circulation Desk (270-825-2680) for log-in information.
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EBSCOhost
EBSCOhost is a powerful online reference system that offers a variety of proprietary full-text databases and popular databases from leading information providers. EBSCOhost databases cover a wide range of subject areas, including social sciences, health, business, psychology, religion, education, and more. Over 20,000 journal titles are indexed with the majority available in full text.
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Auto Repair Source
From Ebsco and powered by the automotive experts at MOTOR, Auto Repair Source provides the most accurate, authoritative and up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles. All content comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) and includes step-by-step repair information, diagrams, maintenance schedules, parts and labor estimates, service bulletins and recalls.
Books & Reading
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GoodReads
Find book lists, recommendations, and reviews. A great resource for finding new books you’re sure to love.
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Project Gutenberg
One of the best places to go if you’re looking for books in the public domain. All ebooks offered on Project Gutenberg are free of charge and most are available in several e-book formats.
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Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
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LibriVox
LibriVox lets you download digital audiobook versions of books in the public domain. All audiobooks offered on LibriVox are free of charge and can be listened to online or downloaded.
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Storyline Online
Storyline Online streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. Storyline Online is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide.
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Google Books
Google Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text, and stored in its digital database.
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Library of Congress Digital Collections
Provides access to full-text, digitized print materials like newspapers and books, as well as photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, maps and more.
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Rare Book Collections (Library of Congress)
These digitized rare books represent a few of the most interesting and important items in the Library of Congress’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division collection, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Thomas Jefferson’s copy of The Federalist, medieval manuscripts, books relating to cookery, children’s literature, and many more.
Business
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Better Business Bureau
Go to Better Business Bureau >>
Car & Automotive
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Cars.com Service & Repair Advice
Tips and tricks for taking care of your vehicle. You can also view safety recall notices for your vehicle.
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Kelley Blue Book
Kelley Blue Book is one of the most well-known names for looking up the value of a new or used car. Handy when shopping for a new vehicle or looking to sell one that you own.
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Fuel Economy Guide
The official U.S. Government source for fuel economy information. Features updated fuel economy data for new and used passenger vehicles dating back to 1984, allows side-by-side vehicle comparisons, and offers fuel-saving tips.
Coding / Computer Programming
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* Code Academy
A fun way to learn to code, whether you’re a coding pro looking for a new programming language to learn or a beginner with no coding experience at all.
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* Scratch
Scratch is a programming language and online community where you can create your own interactive stories, games, and animations.
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Blockly Games
A series of fun educational games that teach programming basics. Designed for children who have no previous computer programming experience.
College Prep
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* Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Go to * Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) >> -
ACT
Official site for the SAT, a standardized test used by many colleges as a skills assessment test for incoming undergraduates.
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GRE
Go to GRE >>Official site for the Graduate Record Exam, a standardized test used by many universities as a skills assessment test for admissions into masters and doctoral degree programs.
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* Job & Career Accelerator
Go to * Job & Career Accelerator >>The Job & Career Accelerator provides tools and resources for resume and cover letter writing, as well as easy job search and application steps.
Computer Basics
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New User Tutorial
Go to New User Tutorial >>A tutorial for people who have never used computers before. Walks users through basic computer skills like using the mouse.
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Mousing Around tutorial
Go to Mousing Around tutorial >>FOR BEGINNERS. A beginner’s guide for how to use a mouse. Ideal for people who have never used a computer before.
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Mousercize
Go to Mousercize >>FOR BEGINNERS. Practice using your computer mouse and build up some hand-eye coordination. Recommend using the Mousing Around tutorial first.
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* Computer Skills Center
Go to * Computer Skills Center >>Video courses to teach popular software and computer basics.
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GCF LearnFree Technology Basics
Go to GCF LearnFree Technology Basics >>GCF LearnFree’s selection of technology-based classes, including classes on computer basics, typing, email basics, using the Internet, online safety, Windows 10, and more. An account is not required to view tutorials.
Driver’s Education
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KY Driver’s Manual (Car)
Go to KY Driver’s Manual (Car) >> -
KY Driver’s Manual (CDL)
Go to KY Driver’s Manual (CDL) >> -
KY Driver’s Manual (Motorcycle)
Go to KY Driver’s Manual (Motorcycle) >> -
KY Graduated License Eligibility
Go to KY Graduated License Eligibility >> -
KY Driver’s Permit Practice Tests
Go to KY Driver’s Permit Practice Tests >>This site contains free practice tests for the written KY driver’s permit test. There are also practice tests for the CDL and motorcycle tests.
Employment & Job Searching
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* Focus Career
Go to * Focus Career >>Search job postings in your area, through the Kentucky Career Center.
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* Kentucky Career Center
Go to * Kentucky Career Center >> -
* Indeed.com
Go to * Indeed.com >>Search for jobs, or post your resume and let employers search for you.
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* LinkedIn
Go to * LinkedIn >>A job-based social networking site. Build up your professional network by connecting to other people in your field.
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Jobs for Teens HQ
Go to Jobs for Teens HQ >>A website dedicated to helping teens find jobs and navigate the workforce.
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* Learn to Earn Toolkit
Go to * Learn to Earn Toolkit >>A free online collection of articles that focus on work skills that employers say are important for new employees to have.
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Hire Teen
Go to Hire Teen >>Since 2009, HireTeen.com has provided information on companies that hire teenagers, helping teens find work at school time as well as during school holidays.
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* Career Preparation
Go to * Career Preparation >>Prepare for a career exam, explore occupations, and improve workplace skills here. Includes practice exams for many major occupational and military exams.
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* Job & Career Accelerator
Go to * Job & Career Accelerator >>The Job & Career Accelerator provides tools and resources for resume and cover letter writing, as well as easy job search and application steps.
Encyclopedias
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Wonderopolis
Go to Wonderopolis >>A wonderfully fun educational website. Each day, Wonderopolis poses an intriguing question—the Wonder of the Day®—and explores it in a variety of ways.
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Medline Plus
Go to Medline Plus >>Medline Plus offers reliable, up-to-date and easy-to-read consumer health information, featuring news articles, drug information, a medical
dictionary and encyclopedia, interactive tutorials, surgery videos, and detailed information on hundreds of health and wellness topics. -
CIA World Factbook
Go to CIA World Factbook >>The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. The site’s Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as flags of the world, a physical map of the world, a political map of the world, a world oceans map, and a standard time zones of the world map.
Health & Medical
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HealthReach
Go to HealthReach >>HealthReach provides quality multilingual, multicultural public health information for those working with or providing care to individuals for whom English is not a first language.
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Medline Plus
Go to Medline Plus >>Medline Plus offers reliable, up-to-date and easy-to-read consumer health information, featuring news articles, drug information, a medical
dictionary and encyclopedia, interactive tutorials, surgery videos, and detailed information on hundreds of health and wellness topics. -
NIH Health Information
Go to NIH Health Information >>Quality health information from the National Institutes of Health. Search for a topic or browse the NIH’s many health-related resources.
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PubMed
Go to PubMed >>PubMed comprises more than 27 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
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Household Products Database
Go to Household Products Database >>The Household Products Database is a consumer’s guide that provides easy-to-understand information on the potential health effects of more than 2,000 ingredients contained in more than 14,000 common household products used inside and around the home. Information is also available for some commercial/institutional grade products available to the public.
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Dietary Supplement Label Database
Go to Dietary Supplement Label Database >>The Dietary Supplement Label Database is an educational and research tool that includes full label derived information from dietary supplement products marketed in the U.S.
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Drug Information Portal
Go to Drug Information Portal >>The Drug Information Portal gives users a gateway to selected drug information from the U.S. National Library of Medicine and other key U.S. Government agencies. Information on more than 49,000 drugs is available through this site.
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Pillbox
Go to Pillbox >>Pillbox enables rapid identification of unknown solid-dosage medications (tablets/capsules) based on physical characteristics and high-resolution images, and provides links to drug information and drug labels.
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National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine
Go to National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine >>The Federal Government’s lead agency for scientific research on the diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine.
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Consumer Health Complete
Go to Consumer Health Complete >>Designed for the everyday consumer of health care information, Consumer Health Complete provides convenient access to easily understandable health and medical information. Consumers can search and browse within medical encyclopedias, popular reference books, and magazine articles.
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Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.
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Official Kentucky COVID-19 Information Site
Go to Official Kentucky COVID-19 Information Site >> -
Hopkins County Health Department
Go to Hopkins County Health Department >>The official source for Hopkins County health information including COVID-19.
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U.S. National Library of Medicine
Go to U.S. National Library of Medicine >>The NLM is the world’s largest medical library. Find information on various health topics.
History & Genealogy
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‡ Hopkins County Genealogical Society
Go to ‡ Hopkins County Genealogical Society >>The Hopkins County Genealogical Society’s website recently went down. The link here is to an archived version of their website.
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‡ Hopkins County Historical Society
Go to ‡ Hopkins County Historical Society >> -
‡ KY.gov Office of Vital Statistics
Go to ‡ KY.gov Office of Vital Statistics >>Includes information and forms for obtaining vital records such as birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage/divorce certificates.
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Civil War Maps (Library of Congress)
Go to Civil War Maps (Library of Congress) >>Contains over 2,000 maps, charts, atlases, and sketchbooks from the Civil War.
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Civil War Collection (Library of Congress)
Go to Civil War Collection (Library of Congress) >>Explore the faces, places and events of the U.S. Civil War through photographs, prints and drawings.
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Civil Rights History Project (Library of Congress)
Go to Civil Rights History Project (Library of Congress) >>This collection contains interviews with people who participated in the Civil Rights movement. This site also guides researchers to collections in several Library divisions that specifically focus on the Civil Rights movement as well as the broader topic of African American history and culture.
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Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives (Library of Congress)
Go to Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives (Library of Congress) >>This collection contains more than 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. These narratives were collected in the 1930s as part of the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) of the Works Progress Administration, later renamed Work Projects Administration (WPA).
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Find a Grave
Go to Find a Grave >>Find a Grave lets you search for specific gravestones in cemeteries across the USA.
K-12 Homework Help
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Khan Academy
Go to Khan Academy >>Offers lessons in a variety of subjects, all the way from kindergarten math to college test prep. An account is not needed to view or practice lessons.
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Wonderopolis
Go to Wonderopolis >>A wonderfully fun educational website. Each day, Wonderopolis poses an intriguing question—the Wonder of the Day®—and explores it in a variety of ways.
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Explora for Middle and High School
Go to Explora for Middle and High School >>Middle and high school students can find historical essays, biographies, maps, images and more to help with school projects and research.
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Explora for Primary Schools
Go to Explora for Primary Schools >>Designed with primary and elementary school students in mind, Explora for Primary Schools is a student interface designed for use in Kindergarten through grade 5 with a focus on the arts, literature, biography, current events, geography and culture, health, history, math, science and more.
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* School Center
Go to * School Center >>The School Center resources can help students in elementary, middle and high school prepare for important tests, get extra help with assignments, and boost their skills in important subjects. Materials begin with 4th grade.
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The Weather Guys
Go to The Weather Guys >>Interesting facts about weather-related phenomena from two professors in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UW-Madison.
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Seeing Theory: A Visual Introduction to Probability and Statistics
Go to Seeing Theory: A Visual Introduction to Probability and Statistics >>An online, interactive textbook that makes statistics easier to understand by using colorful, interactive visualizations and animations to explain complicated mathematical concepts.
Legal Resources
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Kentucky Court of Justice
Go to Kentucky Court of Justice >>Find information on court cases as well as legal forms that can be printed out or filled out online.
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Kentucky Court of Justice Legal Forms
Go to Kentucky Court of Justice Legal Forms >>Legal forms provided by the Kentucky Court of Justice.
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‡ KY.gov Office of Vital Statistics
Go to ‡ KY.gov Office of Vital Statistics >>Includes information and forms for obtaining vital records such as birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage/divorce certificates.
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Kentucky Legal Aid
Go to Kentucky Legal Aid >>Kentucky Legal Aid provides free civil legal services for low-income residents of western and south-central Kentucky. Kentucky Legal Aid has offices in Madisonville, Owensboro, Hopkinsville, Bowling Green, and Paducah.
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The Law Dictionary
Go to The Law Dictionary >>The Law Dictionary features Black’s Law Dictionary, the trusted legal dictionary of law definitions and terms for over 100 years. The 2nd edition has over 15K legal terms for your business and research use.
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LawChek
Go to LawChek >>Access state laws, law forms, and help guides pertaining to law. For everyday people who need law related information.
Online Learning
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GCF LearnFree.org
Go to GCF LearnFree.org >>Learn valuable skills through free online tutorials in a variety of subjects. An account is not required to view tutorials.
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* Code Academy
A fun way to learn to code, whether you’re a coding pro looking for a new programming language to learn or a beginner with no coding experience at all.
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* Learn to Earn Toolkit
Go to * Learn to Earn Toolkit >>A free online collection of articles that focus on work skills that employers say are important for new employees to have.
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Khan Academy
Go to Khan Academy >>Offers lessons in a variety of subjects, all the way from kindergarten math to college test prep. An account is not needed to view or practice lessons.
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* DuoLingo
Go to * DuoLingo >>An immersive language-learning site that makes learning another language fun and engaging. Many languages currently available, including English as a second language for non-native speakers.
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* Adult Learning Center
Go to * Adult Learning Center >>The Adult Learning Center offers busy adults the resources to improve their basic skills in reading, writing and math, prepare for the GED test, or become a U.S. citizen.
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* Computer Skills Center
Go to * Computer Skills Center >>Video courses to teach popular software and computer basics.
Local Places & News
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City of Madisonville
Go to City of Madisonville >> -
Madisonville KY Tourism
Go to Madisonville KY Tourism >> -
Hopkins County Government
Go to Hopkins County Government >> -
Hopkins County School District
Go to Hopkins County School District >> -
Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce
Go to Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce >> -
Glema Mahr Center for the Arts
Go to Glema Mahr Center for the Arts >> -
‡ Hopkins County Genealogical Society
Go to ‡ Hopkins County Genealogical Society >>The Hopkins County Genealogical Society’s website recently went down. The link here is to an archived version of their website.
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‡ Hopkins County Historical Society
Go to ‡ Hopkins County Historical Society >> -
Kentucky Court of Justice
Go to Kentucky Court of Justice >>Find information on court cases as well as legal forms that can be printed out or filled out online.
Research Tools
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Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
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Wayback Machine
Go to Wayback Machine >>The Wayback Machine archives older versions of websites. Just type in an address, pick a date, and browse through the past.
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PubMed
Go to PubMed >>PubMed comprises more than 27 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books.
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CIA World Factbook
Go to CIA World Factbook >>The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. The site’s Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as flags of the world, a physical map of the world, a political map of the world, a world oceans map, and a standard time zones of the world map.
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Google Scholar
Go to Google Scholar >>Google Scholar is a web search engine that specifically searches scholarly literature and academic resources.
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Google Books
Google Books is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text, and stored in its digital database.
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‡ Kentucky Digital Library
The Kentucky Digital Library is your gateway to rare and unique digitized collections housed in Kentucky archives. This site contains historic newspapers, images, maps, books & oral histories for Kentucky.
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Explora
Go to Explora >>Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with rich, reliable content and easy-to-use functionality. You can search multiple EBSCO databases for information about arts and literature, business and careers, consumer health, current events, geography and culture, and more.
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Library of Congress Digital Collections
Provides access to full-text, digitized print materials like newspapers and books, as well as photographs, motion pictures, sound recordings, maps and more.
-
Rare Book Collections (Library of Congress)
These digitized rare books represent a few of the most interesting and important items in the Library of Congress’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division collection, including a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, Thomas Jefferson’s copy of The Federalist, medieval manuscripts, books relating to cookery, children’s literature, and many more.
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Selections from the National Film Registry (Library of Congress)
Go to Selections from the National Film Registry (Library of Congress) >>The National Film Registry is a list of movies deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” that are earmarked for preservation by the Library of Congress. The majority of movies in this collection are freely available as both 5 mb MP4 and ProRes 422 MOV downloads.
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Govinfo
Go to Govinfo >>Govinfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO), which is a Federal agency in the legislative branch.
Govinfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
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U.S. National Library of Medicine
Go to U.S. National Library of Medicine >>The NLM is the world’s largest medical library. Find information on various health topics.
Study Guides & Test Prep
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* GED Test Prep Center
Go to * GED Test Prep Center >>Earning a high school equivalency credential can open the door to better income, a more fulfilling job, and a college education. If you are preparing for the GED test, these practice tests, interactive tutorials, and ebooks can help you reach your goal.
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* Adult Learning Center
Go to * Adult Learning Center >>The Adult Learning Center offers busy adults the resources to improve their basic skills in reading, writing and math, prepare for the GED test, or become a U.S. citizen.
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* Career Preparation
Go to * Career Preparation >>Prepare for a career exam, explore occupations, and improve workplace skills here. Includes practice exams for many major occupational and military exams.
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* College Student Preparation
Go to * College Student Preparation >>Strengthen academic skills and prepare for placement tests and graduate school entrance exams here.
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* College Admissions Test Preparation
Go to * College Admissions Test Preparation >>Practice tests, interactive tutorials, and eBooks to help prepare for AP, SAT, ACT and TOEFL exams, as well as college essay writing practice.
En Español
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EBSCOhost Español
Go to EBSCOhost Español >> -
* Recursos Para Hispanohablantes
Go to * Recursos Para Hispanohablantes >>Este centro ofrece a los adultos que estn muy ocupados los recursos para mejorar sus habilidades bsicas, ganar sus credenciales de GED o ser ciudadano estadounidense.