Research

Explora Public Libraries

  • EBSCO’s Explora is a user-friendly search tool that supports both research and instruction. Explora searches across the following resources.
    • MasterFILE Complete – A comprehensive collection of full-text general interest articles from periodicals, newspapers, and books. This authoritative general information database is the best place to start your research project.
    • Read It! – Research while practicing reading skills. Read It! helps students who have a basic foundation in English grammar and reading but need level-appropriate reading material. Read It! is also a great tool for English Language Learners.

Explora Secondary Schools

Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction with age-appropriate content for middle and high school learners with an easy-to-use interface and great accessibility tools, including translation and text to sound.

Gale in Context: Elementary

Gale In Context: Elementary meets the research needs of students in Kindergarten through grade 5, with age-appropriate content from magazines, newspapers, and reference materials, covering current events, the arts, science, health, people, government, history, and more. In order to access this service, please type your library card number into the password box.

Guide to Virginia Legal Information Resources

Access a list of legal information resources covering topics as varied as incorporating a business, contesting a traffic ticket, researching health law, obtaining social security, renting a dwelling, buying a house, and writing a will. The list identifies resources for individuals seeking legal information. This list of resources does not constitute legal advice or answers to questions of law.

Legal Forms

Find downloadable, fillable forms for basic legal transactions, current to Virginia code covering basic legal needs--wills, power of attorney, landlord/tenant, and lots more. Includes a comprehensive section of templates for small businesses including: invoices, leases, sales agreements, contracts, and more. In order to access this service, please type your library card number into the password box.

For more information: 2025 Virginia Legal Information Resources

Virginia Open Data Portal

The Virginia Open Data Portal is managed by the Virginia Office of Data Governance and Analytics (ODGA) and serves to provide access to Commonwealth of Virginia datasets to constituents of Virginia. Capabilities of the portal include viewing and exporting data, viewing APIs, and exploring visualizations. Overall, the portal promotes government transparency by working to provide access to data in one centralized location. The portal now hosts over 14,000 state, federal, and locality datasets and the ODGA team works to add new datasets from state agencies frequently.

Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center

The Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center of the Eastern Shore Public Library collects, preserves, and makes available to the public documents, images and rare published materials that record the rich and complex history of Accomack and Northampton Counties.

Ancestry.com Library Edition

Access Ancestry.com Library Edition on any of the public computers at one of our four ESPL library locations: Chincoteague, Parksley, Nassawadox, or Cape Charles. This resource can only be used in the library.

FamilySearch

Bring your laptop or sign in to FamilySearch from one of the public computers at any of our four ESPL library locations: Chincoteague, Parksley, Nassawadox, or Cape Charles.  Signing in to FamilySearch at ESPL allows access to additional records that are only available at Affiliate libraries.