Magazine & Newspaper Articles

Getting Started Video

Comprehensive coverage of the African American experience from the early 18th century to the present day. Sourced from more than 19,000 American and global news sources, including over 400 current and historical Black publications. 

This primary source collection offers an expansive window into centuries of African American history, culture, and daily life—as well as the ways the dominant culture has portrayed and perceived people of African descent.

Provides full-text searching as well as access to content by Topic, Event, and Eras in African American History. Updated daily.

Digital scans of Contra Costa County Library's microfilm collection of a selection of historical local newspapers from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.

Antioch Ledger, Byron Times, Concord Transcript, Contra Costa Courier, Contra Costa Courier and Danville Journal, Contra Costa Gazette (Martinez), Contra Costan, Daily Gazette, Daily Press, Danville Journal, Journal (El Cerrito), Martinez Daily Standard, Pittsburg Post, Pittsburg Post Dispatch, and Richmond Daily Independent. 

Getting Started Video

With in-depth reviews and buying advice from Consumer Reports, you can compare products and brands before you make a purchase. Categories include: appliances, cars, electronics, health, fitness, and food, home and garden, babies and kids, and money. 

• Results from Consumer Reports’ in-house testing laboratory
• General buying guides, product ratings, reviews, and recommendations
• Comparisons of products and services
• Money-saving advice and tips

Issues of Consumer Reports magazine are also available on Flipster. 

Getting Started Video

Full-text for popular middle school magazines. Includes biographies and historical essays. Contains primary source documents, photos, maps, and flags. Designed to meet the unique needs of its users, Explora supports both student research and classroom instruction.

Getting Started Video

Contains the full-text of high-quality articles, covering a wide-range of subjects for research papers, class projects, and homework. Includes biographies, primary sources, newspapers, reference books, and images.

Getting Started Video

Your favorite magazines like Consumer Reports, Food & Wine, Fortune, People, Sunset, TIME and many more are available on your computer or mobile device. Complete issues with full-color images and articles. No check-out required, just click and read.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started Video

The experience and impact of Hispanic Americans as recorded by the news media. This collection is sourced from more than 17,000 American and global news sources, including over 700 Spanish-language or bilingual publications. The time period Hispanic Life in America covers is from the early 18^th century to today. 

Getting Started Video

Find eBooks, magazines, and eAudiobooks on your device or in your browser. You can send your borrowed eBooks to your Kindle eReader.  

Check out up to 6 titles at any time— total includes eBooks and eAudiobooks. You can have up to 10 holds. Unlimited checkouts on magazines. 

Libby Help

Getting Started with Libby (for library patrons) Webinar - Registration link

Getting Started Video

Explore amazing adventures in science, nature, culture, archaeology, and space. Find the National Geographic Kids magazine 2009-present (three-month embargo);  National Geographic Kids books, downloadable images, and videos. Best for kids ages 6–14.

Access to this resource is made possible by the California State Library.

Get started:

• Go to the New York Times account page.
• Enter your library card and 6-digit PIN if outside the library.
• Create Your New York Times Account or Log In if you already have an account with this provider.
• Off-site access is available through 72-hour passes. To continue using this resource, log in again.  (You will only be asked to create a user account the first time you access this content.)
• Enjoy from any location, on any web enabled device, by just logging into NYTimes.com with that same email and password.

Note:

• In-library use provides full-text online articles from 1981 – present. Due to publishing restrictions, articles from 1923 – 80 are not available for on-site access; however, patrons can access 5 articles per day from this date range via remote access.
• The Crosswords app is not included; however, crosswords from the past week, as well as a handful from the archive, are available in the Crosswords section. The Cooking app is not included, but patrons can access recipes via the Food section.

Access to this resource is made possible by the California State Library.

Getting Started Video

Explore and stay informed on local, national, and international topics, people and events in areas such as business, health, education, jobs and careers, political and social issues, and more.

Read full-page, full-color versions of hundreds of national, international, and California newspapers with NewsBank's Image editions. Search for a specific title and select the "Image" format when available.

• East Bay Times daily image edition from 12/18/18 - present.
• San Francisco Chronicle Collection - current and archived issues with full-color newspaper pages, full-text articles, and content only published online. The daily image edition is available from 2017 - present. 
• Contra Costa Times is available from 6/1/95 - 4/4/16. Obituary articles are included, but obituary notices are not.
• Black Life in America - The experience and impact of African Americans as recorded by the news media, 1704 to today. Discover hard-to-find articles from historical and current sources with information on people, issues, and events that shaped and continue to influence conversations about race, equity and diversity.
• Hispanic Life in America - This collection is sourced from more than 17,000 American and global news sources, including over 700 Spanish-language or bilingual publications. The time period Hispanic Life in America covers is from the early 18^th century to today. 

Getting Started Video 

Downloadable bestsellers, classics, fiction, and nonfiction. Loan period is 7, 14, or 21 days; it's your choice at the time of checkout. You can have 6 titles checked out at any time— total includes all formats. You can have up to 10 holds.

This collection also includes magazines with unlimited checkouts. 

You may check out a maximum of one Lucky Day item from at a time with a loan period of 14 days. 

Libby is an app by OverDrive that is available for Android, iOS, and Kindle Fire devices.

Support:

• Libby Help
• Contact Front Line Tech Support for further questions. 
• OverDrive offers a Help section to answer your questions.

Find popular titles such as US Weekly, National Geographic, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone. Titles in a variety of languages including Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, German, French, and more. Includes Comics and Manga magazines. Rolling 3 years of back issues, wherever available. 

Unlimited checkouts on magazines. 

Magazines can be read in the Libby app, on Libby in your browser, and on the Library's OverDrive site. 

Getting Started Video
PressReader is a newspaper and magazine service that provides unlimited access to 7,000+ current publications from over 120 countries, in 60 different languages. Publications include The Economist, USA Today, The New York Times, La Opinión, World Journal, Times of India, El Diario, La Razón, China Daily, Der Tagesspiegel, The Guardian, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Variety, Newsweek, and Popular Science.  

(Please note: issues for The Economist and The New York Times are limited to a 24-hour checkout period and can be checked out again once the 24 hour period is up.) 

Read online or download. No limits on downloads. Provides up to a 60-day backfile and the ability to perform keyword searches across all titles. Instantly translates articles into 18 languages. Listen to content out loud.

Use PressReader in your browser

Click on PressReader and enter your library card number and PIN, if needed. If you are in a Contra Costa County Library location you may see language indicating you are at a "PressReader Hotspot." This designation should provide you with access to all of the PressReader content.

To use the full features of PressReader, such as creating collections, saving articles, and reading offline, create a personal account from the sign in page using your email address.

Use the PressReader App

1. Download and open the PressReader app
2. Tap on "Libraries & Groups"
3. Search and select “Contra Costa County Library”
4. Enter your library card number and PIN
5. Tap on Sign in

After you’re authenticated, you have access to the app for about 48 hours. When your two days are up, just repeat the process.

More Help

PressReader Help Center

PressReader Support Site

Getting Started Video

General reference collection of periodical and digital media content with editorial guidance for novice researchers. Includes newspapers (Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times), magazines, scholarly journals, books, videos and audios, dissertations and theses, reports and more. 

Access to this resource is made possible by the California State Library.

A general reference database for upper elementary and middle school learners, researchers and educators covering curriculum areas such as reading, language arts, current events, science, social studies, history, health and technology. Includes age-appropriate newspaper, magazine, book and website content. Grades 3-9

SIRS Discoverer Help

Access to this resource is made possible by the California State Library.

Delivers the pros and cons on social issues with relevant, credible information. Analyses and opinions are hand selected from thousands of national and international sources such as newspaper and magazine articles, videos, charts, maps, statistics, primary sources and government documents. Grades 6-12

SIRS Issues Researcher Help

Access to this resource is made possible by the California State Library.

Getting Started Video

Lists periodicals (journals, magazines, newspapers, etc.) available through many of the Library’s online databases, and links you to the databases that hold their articles. Search for a specific publication or browse by topic area. 

Get started:

• Use this link to create your account. Password parameters are 5-15 characters, at least 1 capital letter, 1 number, and no special characters.
• Your access will be available for the next 3 days.
• After 3 days, come back and click the above link again and login as an existing user with the same username and password you originally created.

You will have access to: 

• Unlimited articles on WSJ.com
• A four-year archive/article search
• The digital version of the daily paper
• More than 30 newsletters and alerts
• Informative videos and podcasts, featuring interviews with WSJ editors and notable influencers

The default search is for the last 90 days of articles. The Advanced Search feature lets you search articles for the last four years.

This service is available via any web browser (such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge) on your computer or device, however it is not available via the WSJ app.

IMPORTANT: You are not permitted to share the sign-on credentials with any other person whatsoever. Any violation of this clause will result in Dow Jones terminating access for our library. 

No library card required.

Expert reporting and analysis from Washington and around the world, including award-winning investigative coverage and editorial commentary. You can access the Washington Post for free from either inside the library or remotely.  

• Washington Post Onsite Access - This is the link to use when you are either on a library computer or on a device using the library's public wi-fi. 
• Washington Post Offsite Access - This is the link to use when you are remote from the library. To access your free Washington Post account, register or log in by entering an email address and password.

Unrestricted off-site access is available for 7 days. To continue using this resource for another access period, use the offsite access link to log in again. Note that closing your web browser or restarting your computer may require revisiting the authentication link.