ELM for the Minnesota Community
ELM is an online virtual library specifically for Minnesota residents. It contains full-text magazine, newspaper, and reference articles, as well as videos, images, and information from encyclopedias, almanacs, directories, and other information resources. You can use ELM from home, work, school, or any place that has Internet access.
Help using ELM
Need help in learning how to use ELM or share them with others in your family or community? Check out these brief videos:
- Consumer Health Complete
- Consumer Research
- Business Research
- Kids InfoBits (grades K-5)
- Points of View Reference Center (grades 6-12)
- Student Research Center (grades 6-12)
- Encyclopedia Britannica (all grades)
Or watch these help videos on our YouTube Channel and add them to your playlist and share them with others.
Help us share ELM with your community
Use these ELM talking points to share ELM with others in your community.
- ELM is a collection of library databases that contain hundreds of thousands of trustworthy encyclopedia, magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, plus images, video, primary sources, and much more.
- There are more than 40 databases in the ELM collection. Each database is focused in one way or another. So the first step is finding the right database for you.
- There are ELM databases specifically for elementary school students, middle school students, and high school students.
- There are ELM databases that focus on specific topics, like business or health.
- There are ELM databases that have a specific type of content, like newspapers or encyclopedias.
- The ELM databases cover a vast array of topics, including arts and humanities, current events, health, math, science, social sciences, politics, business, and more.
- The ELM databases save research time because they often contain content created specifically for certain age groups and don't include some of the troublesome content one might find in Google.
- The ELM databases contribute to better research projects because they can help researchers find reliable content from professionally published sources.
- ELM is paid for by state tax dollars. It is brought to you by your local library or school media center; Minitex, an information and resource sharing network; and State Library Services, the MN state library agency, with state appropriations to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the Minnesota Department of Education.
- ELM levels the information playing field by providing reliable research sources to MN residents no matter income level or geographic location.
- The ELM databases are used by school, college, and public libraries and serve as a bridge from K-12 to college and from school to the workplace and lifelong learning.
Got research questions? AskMN!
AskMN is an online information service that connects users with librarians in real-time. Librarians assist users with their information and research needs by sending links to resources, identifying credible websites, help with search strategies, and much more.