San Francisco Public Library card
You will need an SFPL card and PIN to access many of these resources.
If you don't have one, San Francisco residents can get a temporary digital access card. If you are not a San Francisco resident, email Sarah to help you get a digital access card.
Did you know?
- Anyone who lives in the state of California is eligible to get an SFPL library card!
- The Park Branch is a 6 minute walk from Urban (closer than Whole Foods!)
- They also have more research resources than our great library, which may be helpful in your research projects.
General academic resources
Articles and DatabasesYou can search across all the SFPL databases here, or search in specific ones with the links on the rest of this page, for academic, magazine, and newspaper articles.
Academic Search CompleteThis is a database that Urban does not subscribe to, so you may find articles here that you can't get in our databases.
KanopyStream independent, world, feature, and classic movies as well as documentaries on a wide range of topics with the Kanopy app on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Includes access to the Great Courses, K-12 lessons, and education professional development.
Oxford English DictionaryThe authoritative guide to English language meaning, history, usage, and pronunciation.
Science
Science OnlineA broad range of scientific disciplines with extensive definitions, essays, diagrams, biographies, and experiments.Science in Context
Millions of full-text articles that include national and global publications, science experiments, and interactive simulations, covering biology, chemistry, earth and environmental science, and physics.
GreenFileCovering the connections between the environment and the disciplines of agriculture, education, law, health, and technology.
Social Sciences
Archives of Gender and SexualityA collection of primary sources for the historical study of sex, sexuality, and gender with material from the sixteenth century to the modern day and from around the world.
Ethnic News WatchFull-text newspapers, magazines, and journals of the ethnic and minority press with some archival material.
Gender WatchUnique and diverse publications that focus on how gender impacts a broad spectrum of subject areas. With archival material, dating back to 1970 in some cases, this is a repository of important historical perspectives on the evolution of the women's movement, men's studies, the transgender community and the changes in gender roles over the years. Publications include scholarly journals, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, regional publications, books and NGO, government and special reports.
Psychology CollectionGives a basic understanding of the study of the mind, emotions and how the human mind develops and diminishes over time.
San Francisco and California History
San Francisco ChronicleDigital access to current and historical copies of the San Francisco Chronicle from 1865 to the present.
San Francisco Historical Photograph CollectionMore than 43,000 photographs of San Francisco and California scenes.Historical San Francisco
Historical SF books and government documents, including City Directories and Municipal Reports.
California Historical NewspapersA collection of full-text California historical newspapers from 1847-2017.
Newspaper Archive - CaliforniaAccess to historical California newspapers such as the Berkeley Daily Gazette, Oakland Tribune, San Mateo Times, and many others.
Newspapers and magazines
NewsBankProvides a comprehensive collection of reliable American news sources covering a wide array of topics and issues, both current and historical
Flipster magazinesPopular digital magazine titles from The Atlantic to Us Weekly. Stream online from a computer or download them to a smartphone or tablet using the mobile app for offline reading.
Global NewstreamSearch the most collections of news from the US, Canada, Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. Has archives going back to the 1980's.
PressReaderA collection of 4000 newspapers and magazines from 100 countries in 60 languages, many providing same day publication with a 60-day back file.
RB digital magazinesStream popular magazines on demand or download them to a mobile device for offline reading. Titles are also available in Spanish, Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, and French.
Arts
Art Full Text (Wilson)Articles, interviews, film reviews, book reviews, bibliographies, exhibition listings, conference reports, anthologies, and editorials covering a wide range of art subjects
Design & Applied ArtsCovers all aspects of design and crafts, from textiles and ceramics to vehicle design, advertising and sustainability. Covers journal articles, exhibition reviews and news items from 1973 to the present.
Music
Smithsonian Global SoundA virtual encyclopedia of the world's musical and aural traditions.
Rock's BackpagesMusic journalism from the 1960s to the present, including audio interviews.
Alexander StreetSearch all the Alexander Street music and performing arts streaming databases in one place: American Song, Classical Music Library, Contemporary World Music, Jazz Music Library and Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries.
Or you can search Alexander Street's audio, video, and reference collections by different musical and performance categories:
African American Music Reference
Classical Music (also Classical Music in Video and Classical Music Reference)