Reference Services

Reference Web Links

Reference Databases

Provided by the South Eastern Massachusetts Library System, (SEMLS) and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, (MBLC) to member libraries. A valid library card is needed to access these business, academic, health, literary and general databases.

Credo Reference

An online reference library, providing access to the full-text of hundreds of popular and highly regarded titles. Credo brings the facts alive with images, sound files, animations, videos and much more. Find speedy, simple answers and authoritative, in-depth articles. Credo Reference contains dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases, plus a wide range or subject-specific titles covering everything from accounting to zoology. To access Credo Reference, please click on the link below and type in your Stoughton library card number. http://www.credoreference.com/logincard.do?clientid=4396

Facts on File World News Digest - An up-to-date news resource at your fingertips. If prompted, please use username as stoughtonpl and the password as 21646000.

Stoughton History - This website is dedicated to providing historical and genealogical information on Stoughton, Massachusetts. The site will be of interest to Stoughton residents, students researching Stoughton’s rich heritage, and genealogists researching their Stoughton ancestors. David Allen Lambert, a life-long Stoughton resident and town historian, is the webmaster for this superb Stoughton History website. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Stoughton Historical Society and is the author of the book Images of America: Stoughton (Arcadia Publishing, 2001).
.

If you have any questions regarding any of these Reference services, do not hesitate to call or e-mail Josh Olshin,  Reference/Adult Services Librarian at 781-344-2711 or at Jolshin@ocln.org

The Reference Department of the Stoughton Public Library, headed by Reference and Adult Services Librarian Josh Olshin, provides a full service information resource for all patrons.

For business information, our Business Reference Collection includes mutual fund information via Morningstar, stock information via Value Line, as well as access to business related information found in magazines and newspapers online at our Public Access Catalogs, and through business sites via the Internet.

For parents, we have reference books on home-schooling, child care and family issues. To assist their children with homework, many resources are available including a large collection of books on countries, biographical dictionaries, and science reference, as well as sites on the internet.

For children and teens, there are adult reference materials which can be used in addition to the reference materials in the Juvenile and Young Adult Departments.

Health related information can be found in several medical reference books in the regular Reference Area and in the Reference Locked Case. Online access to health information databases which include scientific journal, magazine and newspaper articles, is available on all library Public Access Catalogs (PACs) as well as through Internet health sites.  Public Access Catalogs (PACs) can also be accesses through your home computer at www.ocln.org and using your library card number as ID.

For all patrons, the Reference Librarian is always ready to give personal help.  Just ask for the Reference Librarian at the main desk.

Stoughton Collection for History and Genealogy

If in your searches for books and information you come across the letters SC in the Call No., you should know that it stands for the Stoughton Public Library's Stoughton Collection. This consists of books, manuscripts, microfiche, articles, and even some "realia" (real items, such as a set of buttons commemorating an historical event) dealing not only with Stoughton, but other cities and towns in Massachusetts and New England. This material is kept for its historical and research value and also includes vital statistics, town histories, photographs, military records, and newspapers.  There are also historical maps in the map drawer underneath the stairs.

Whenever anyone is doing genealogical research: that is, trying to trace back a family's historical roots, our Stoughton Collection is the source to use. We have two printed lists patrons may use and take to check our holdings in the Stoughton Collection: “Genealogical Research at the Stoughton Public Library: an Introduction and Research Guide” and “ Stoughton , Massachusetts : A Bibliography & Research Guide”.

The materials in the Stoughton Collection (SC) do not circulate, but are available for use in the library with a form of identification for staff to hold at the main desk. The Stoughton Collection is filed in our Periodical Room, and patrons request items from it which Library Staff will obtain.