Gale Databases: A How-to Guide

Here is a brief overview of how to use the Worcester Public Library’s Gale Databases, as well as how to use some of the more specialized features contained within them. You can access these resources at mywpl.org by selecting Online Databases under the Resources tab, where you will be asked to enter your library card number and PIN.

We begin with Gale Culinary Arts,  a useful resource for looking up information on cooking and nutrition. The database provides both a search and an advanced search option. By clicking on the “Keyword” drop down menu, the user is able to select “Author,” “Abstract,” “Basic Search” or other search categories. The user can search for “pot roast," for instance, and select “basic search” in order to find information from many different sources discussing pot roast. The result of this search is 1,592 results from magazines on the topic of “pot roast," as well as hits in books, academic journals, news, and images. The user can narrow their results by using filters, such publication date, location to the right of the screen. After selecting an article of interest, the user may use any of thr five icons at the top right of the page, labeled “Cite,” “Send to,” “Download,” “Print,” “Get Link,” and “Highlights and Notes.” Using the “Send To” icon allows the user to share an article to Google Drive, OneDrive or an email address. Also, by left clicking within the text of the article, the user can highlight or enter notes. These highlights and notes will also appear if the user decides to email or save the document to GoogleDrive or OneDrive.

The following databases share the same search features so the user is able to easily switch between them: Gale Culinary Arts Collection, Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, Health and Nursing, Education and Test Prep, Business and Entrepreneurship, Virtual Reference Library, Reference Complete, Magazine and Journal Articles, Science, and Social, Global and Environmental Issues.


There are several Gale Databases that are slightly more specialized in their search features. Chilton Library, a leading repository of auto repair instructions, has quite a few different search features. The user is able to select a year, make and model of the car they are interested in researching. After selecting from the drop-down menu for each box, the user will click “Select.” The user can then select “Repair,” and choose from the available repair topics.

Gale Biography and Literature both offer a “Person Search," which allows the user to search a name using options such as gender, nationality, occupation, ethnicity, place of birth and place of death, before hitting “Search” at the bottom of the screen.

The US and World History Database offers a drop-down menu where the user can choose from “US History," “World History,” or both options simultaneously. For example, the user can select “World History and “WWI” and a list of articles covering both subjects will appear.

We hope this guide has helps demystify these databases, a great starting point for homework assignments, research projects or satisfying general curiosity!