Avon Lake and Lorain County 

Business Resources

Bank Rate - Mortgage, credit card and CD rates

Business Advisors of Cleveland - Provides one-on-one counseling and workshopes free of charge to entrepreneurs and small businesees.  Their volunteer are retired business executives.

Business Source Premier* - Company and industry profiles, country and market research reports

COSE - Council of Smaller Enterprises provides advice and networking for small business owners.

Entrepreneur - A wealth of information from the founders of Entrepreneur magazine. 

Ideacrossing - Online community of entrepreneurs and investors offering advice and networking. Free, but registration required.  

LCCC@Work

Lorain County Chamber of Commerce - Click on the Small Business Development tab or information.

MoreBusiness - A good place to find sample marketing and business plans.

Ohio Business Gateway - Information for starting or expanding a small business in Ohio.

National Federation of Independent Business - Advocates for small business on the federal and state levels.  Most information is free, and a paid membership is optional.

Reference for Business - Full text of the Encyclopedia of Small Business, Enclyclopedia of American Industries, Business Biographies and more.

Reference USA* - Huge directory of residental and business information

Regional Business News* - Full text articles from over 75 regional business news sources, including Crain's Cleveland 

SCORE Cleveland - A local source of free counseling and workshops tailored to meet the needs of new and established small business owners.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

*Database access is funded by OPLIN’s Ohio Web Library for all Ohio residents, while some resources are provided by Avon Lake Public Library for our cardholders and visitors. All of these resources will work on computers inside our Library, but you will need a library card to access them from home or elsewhere.

Consumer Reference

*You must use a Library computer to access this database.

Employment Services

AARP - Free online search engine that provides employment leads for older worker.

Cleveland.com/jobs - Local online classified employment ads.

Cuyahoga County Public Library's Career Center - Available to all job seekers looking for career counseling.

Employment Connection - Resources for job seekers.  Located in Cuyahoga County.

Employment Network - Free Employment Center serving Lorain County.

Flipdog.com - Directory of job ads browsable by city, state or job category.

Greenenergyohio.com - Lists job boards and training programs in the "green energy" fields.

Indeed.com

Learning Express - Database that includes a learning center for resume assistance and workplace skills tutorials.

Lorain County Community College Employment and Career Services

Lorain County Community College Online Resume Builder

Monster.com

OhioMeansJobs.com - Ohio specific job-site provided by the Department of Jobs and Family Services.

Genealogy

• Ancestry.com* - Census records (1790 – 1930) and a wealth of other genealogical records.
• Cyndislist - A useful source of genealogical information.
• Family Search - Comprehensive genealogy site from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
• Fold3 - History and genealogy archives.
• Heritage Quest** - A rich genealogical database.
• Ohio Death Certificate Index 1913-­-1944* - A database provided by the Ohio Historical Society.
• Western Reserve Historical Society Library/Archives and Genealogical Center - Access to the Society’s catalog and many online indexes and files. Useful for genealogists and local history buffs.

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• History and Biography

• Biography Reference Bank* - Biographies, obituaries and photographs of thousands of individuals - both living and deceased.  Full text articles from more than 100 volumes of biographical reference books published by H. W. Wilson, plus thousands of profiles licensed from other respected publishers; updated monthly.
• Ohio History Central Online Encyclopedia - Information about Ohio's natural history, prehistory and history.  A product of the Ohio Historical Society.
• Ohio Memory Project - Over 75,000 primary source documents in Ohio history.  Another wonderful project of the Ohio Historical Society.
• Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps* - Large scale street plans - including builing outlines, property boundaries and building use - produced by the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company from 1867 to 1970.

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*You must use a Library computer to access this database.
** You must use an Avon Lake Public Library card to access this database from outside the Library.

Government

• FactCheck.org | PolitiFact - Two websites that check the accuracy of statements made by politicians, political ads and chain emails.
• Medicare
• Ohio Department of Taxation
• Ohio General Assembly - Find legislators and current legislation.
• Ohio Revised Code and Ohio Administrative Code - Ohio State laws and regulations, including Building Codes.
• Ohio.gov - Web portal of the Ohio state government.
• Representative Betty Sutton - 13th Congressional District
• Representative Matt Lundy - Ohio House District 57
• Senator Gayle Manning - Ohio 13th Senate District
• Social Security Office
• Thomas Legislative Information - Text and other information about U.S. legislation and laws.
• U.S. Senator Rob Portman
• U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
• USA.gov - Web portal of the U.S. government.
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Legal Resources

• Avon Lake Court
• Crash Course in Copyright - How to use copyrighted materials – legally!
• Katsuey’s Legal Resources - Legal directory for those who want to know more about the law, their rights and obligations. Also, search for an attorney.
• LexusOne - Ohio - Legal and government information for the State of Ohio.
• Lorain County Court Recorder
• Lorain County Bar Association - Lawyer referral, grievance process, other resources.
• Ohio Bar Association Resources for the Public
• Ohio State Legal Services - Search self-­-help legal materials or find an attorney (for low-­-income individuals).
• The Law and You - An electronic handbook of everyday law affecting Ohio citizens, published by the Ohio Bar Association.
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Allergy and Asthma Network - Describes itself as “the leading nonprofit family health organization dedicated to eliminating suffering and death due to asthma, allergies and related conditions.

American Dietetic Association

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Clinicaltrials.gov - A registry and results database of federally and privately conducted clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world.

Lab Tests Online - Describes lab tests a doctor may order and what various results may mean.

Lorain City Health Department - Serves Avon Lake.

Mayo Clinic - Comprehensive information from a nationally recognized hospital.

Medline PLUS - A service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health.

Merck Manual Home Health Handbook - A basic medical school textbook written in layperson’s language.
 
National Cancer Institute

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Information on standard complementary and alternative health practices.

Netwellness - A project of Case Western Reserve University, The Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati.

Ohio Department of Health

PDR Health for Consumers - An online drug information resource written for consumers by the publishers of Physicians Desk Reference.

RXList - Internet drug reference.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
 
WebMD - Written for consumers and health practitioners.

Magazines and Newspapers

• Academic Search Premier* - Full text for scholarly and academic magazines and periodicals, covering nearly every area of academic study.  Includes computer sciences, engineering, physics, chemistry, language and linguistics, arts and literature, medical sciences, ethnic studies, and more. 
• All EBSCOhost databases* - 24 databases, each on a particular subject, containing full-text articles and citations for thousands of periodical journals and reference sources.
• MasterFile Premier* - Full-text for a wide variety of periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more.  Also contains full-text for reference books, biographies, and primary source documents, and an image collection of photos, maps and flags.  Updated daily by EBSCOhost.
• Newsbank: Ohio’s Newspapers* - Full electronic edition, excluding paid advertising, of the Plain Dealer (June 1991 — present) and other major Ohio newspapers.
• Newspaper Source* - Cover-to-cover full-text for 20 national and international newspapers and selected full text for more than 230 regional newspapers plus TV and radio news transcripts - updated daily.

*Database access is funded by OPLIN’s Ohio Web Library for all Ohio residents, while some resources are provided by Avon Lake Public Library for our cardholders and visitors. All of these resources will work on computers inside our Library, but you will need a library card to access them from home or elsewhere.

Ready Reference

• Acronymfinder - Definitions of acronyms and abbreviations.
• Calculators - An array of different calculators for a variety of purposes.
• Dictionary.com - A multisource online dictionary.
• Free 411 - Two online telephone directories.
• Google Translator - Translate text into any one of more than 50 languages.
• Oxford Reference Online* - An assortment of dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri and subject reference books.

*Database access is funded by OPLIN’s Ohio Web Library for all Ohio residents, while some resources are provided by Avon Lake Public Library for our cardholders and visitors. All of these resources will work on computers inside our Library, but you will need a library card to access them from home or elsewhere.

Social Services

Avon/Avon Lake Community Resource Services - Provides assistance to residents of both communities with emergency aid, information referral and advocacy.

Find Help in Tough Times - A project of the State Library of Ohio.

Healthy Start/Healthy Families - Ohio Medicaid offers two programs for children, families and pregnant women with limited income to get health care.

HEAP - Home Energy Assistance Progam.

Lorain County Community Action Agency - Provides a variety of low or no-cost programs for those in need.

Lorain County Free Clinic - Offers some no-cost medical services to uninsured and qualifiying people.

Ohio Benefit Bank - Connects low and moderate-income Ohioans with existing work supports and tax credits, including Food and Medical Assistance, Federal Student Aid (FASFA), Prescription Assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit.

Ohio's Best RX - State program providing drug discount cards for low-income use at many area pharmacies.

Ohio Here to Help - Provides assistance with food, housing and other related requests.

Ohio Unemployment Compensation - File new unemployment claims online.

Prescription Assistance Program of Lorain County - Assists county residents without drug insurance.

Save the Dream Ohio - Resources for those facing foreclosure.

United Way 2.1.1 Greater Lorain County Community Resource Directory - Emergency referral service.