Community and Resource Links

The Performing Arts Databases contain database and catalog resources that are intended to help users with research in the performing arts areas. 

The National Gallery of Art features numerous virtual programs and digital collections. 

Great Performances is America’s preeminent performing arts television series, showcasing a diverse range of performing arts specials from around the world. Watch full episodes and more. 

Read reviews and find out about forthcoming books.

Authoritatively ranked lists of books sold in the United States, sorted by format and genre.

Author interviews and book reviews from National Public Radio.

Perkins Library circulates more than a half million accessible books, newspapers and publications in braille, large print, and digital audio formats.

Explore different types of careers, find job training, and search for your next job. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Resources for job seekers and employers from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD).

How to write a resume guide, resume templates, and other helpful career advice and resources.

Find career statistics and information on duties, education and training, and pay for hundreds of occupations. From the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices using the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music. 

View PBS Kids videos, play games, and enter contests.

A comprehensive resource addressing many aspects of bullying.  Includes a "Get Help Now" button to provide quick assistance to victims.

Bridgewater Community Television, BTV or Cable 9, provides local programming, citizen access to the local television production facilities, and the education to use those facilities.

The mission of the Bridgewater Cultural Council (BCC) is to promote excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences in order to improve the quality of life for all Bridgewater residents and to contribute to the economic vitality of our community. 

The Bridgewater Fire Department provides protection to the 28,000 residents of our community as well as the students and staff of Bridgewater State University and the inmates and staff of the Massachusetts Correctional Institution.

The Bridgewater Police Department's mission is to work in partnership with the community to enhance the quality of life, guarantee Constitutional Rights, enforce the law, preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide a safe environment, while maintaining the highest standards of honesty and integrity to ensure the public’s confidence.

CLAVC-funded legal aid programs offer a wide variety of civil legal services to victims of crime. Services can include housing, public benefits, family law, immigration, consumer law, health law, disability law, education, employment issues, elder law, veterans rights and much more.

For families of children with special health needs, chronic illness, or disability. This resource offers a directory of Early Intervention programs, as well as information on services and community resources. It also provides emotional support through a parent-to-parent matching program. 

Read the local paper online.

MARE finds "a permanent place to call home" for children in foster care, including sibling groups and children who are traditionally harder to place. They do this by recruiting and supporting families throughout the adoption process, while targeting recruitment efforts to find families for specific children. 

The Chamber serves nearly 1,000 member businesses of all sizes from virtually all industries in the communities of Abington, Avon, Bridgewater, Brockton, Canton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Halifax, Hanover, Hanson, Holbrook, Norwell, Randolph, Rockland, Sharon, Stoughton, West Bridgewater, and Whitman.

Official website of the Town of Bridgewater.

These learning modules are designed to teach essential vocabulary skills related to computers, Microsoft Word, the Internet, and email. 

If you are new to computers, haven't used them for a while, are a little unsure and uncomfortable, or just need a bit of a refresher, DigitalLearn has the tools to help you tackle technology at your own pace and gain the confidence you need to succeed.

Need to brush up on your typing skills and/or speed? Visit this website for tests, practice, and games.

Learn about money management, using credit and loans, protecting personal identity, and avoiding financial scams.

The Simple Dollar's in-depth blog focuses on teaching financial literacy skills, along with lifelong personal finance strategies.

Science-based, accessible information to help consumers make smart seafood choices.

Search for goverment information about food and nutrition.

Find recipes and how-to videos.

Up-to-date information.

This website will be the clearinghouse for the latest materials and information on the COVID-19 outbreak and will eventually serve a variety of purposes for the dissemination of public health and emergency management news in Bridgewater.

Contains the latest updates, including what you need to know, how to protect yourself, what to do when you think you are sick, and resources for the community.

Developed by the Massachusetts Library System (MLS), with resources for parents/caregivers, school librarians, kids, and older adults. Also contains information on supporting your mental and emotional health, plus COVID-19 research and how to identify misinformation.

Provides an overview, current cases, and updated information on the novel coronavirus, along with contact links.

A New Day is based in Brockton and offers a 24-hour Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Hotline at 508-588-8255 or toll-free at 1-888-293-7273. They also offer advocacy, individual and group crisis counseling, connections to community resources, and mentoring.

Our local Red Cross office is located in Medford and can be reached at 781-410-3670. The Disaster Services toll-free number is 1-800-564-1234. In the event that you need emergency aid, the American Red Cross of Massachusetts provides temporary sheltering/housing, mental health assistance, financial assistance, and health services. All assistance from the Red Cross is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.

The Helpline is the only statewide, public resource for finding licensed and approved substance use treatment and recovery services. Services are free and confidential. Call 1-800-327-5050 8 AM-10 PM Mon-Fri, and 8 AM-6 PM weekends. Treatment options are available 24 hours a day through their website.

Call 1-800-273-8255, or chat through their website. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

Offers a free and confidential 24/7 Parental Stress Line at 1-800-632-8188 as well as online support groups every Friday at 8:30 AM and noon.

Planned Parenthood's trained health center staff and volunteers are available to discuss a wide range of issues related to birth control, pregnancy options, sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, and other aspects of reproductive health. 617-616-1616 or toll-free 1-800-258-4448, option #3.  

Take practice Massachusetts car, CDL, and motorcycle tests for free.

Search for local Head Start programs in your area.

Learn math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more on your own time. 

Free online course materials from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Resources from the New York Times for students and teachers. 
 

By the New England Historic and Genealogical Society (NEHGS), the nation’s leading comprehensive resource for family history research and the largest society of its kind in the world. Through scholarship, research, education, and content, NEHGS is a wealth of family history information, in easy reach.

A subscription is needed for most searches, but some of it is free. Includes great print charts for gathering information. Features census searching and information about searching in other countries.

The world’s largest list of genealogic information.

Track your ancestors who came to America, tour the museum, and more. 

This site has lessons and free software for recording your genealogy records.

The "Encyclopedia of American Politics" with nonpartisan entries from a professional staff of writers, editors and researchers. 

Find registration deadlines, absentee voting guidelines, designated poling locations, information about U.S. elections, and other voting information from the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS).

Low income Massachusetts residents can create an account on the secure website, then log in and post their legal questions.  Volunteer lawyers answer the questions through the same website.  There is no charge to use this service. You can access the site from anywhere that you have internet access, including smart phones.  All information is confidential.

Official Website of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

From the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Find Post Office locations that offer passport acceptance services. You can filter your Post Office search to find specific passport services.

Unbiased information on elections, U.S. candidates and elected officials.  

This page provides links to several sites that contain advice for finding reliable health information on the Internet. Topics range from general advice to information about specific conditions and for specific groups.

Consumer health information from Merck.

This site provides access to thousands of images, documents, and sound recordings digitized by member institutions for use by researchers, students, and the general public.

Primary source collections exploring topics in history, literature, and culture developed by educators.

Enormous online library featuring newspapers, photographs, maps, and more.

Founded in 1791, the Massachusetts Historical Society is an invaluable resource for American history, life, and culture. Its extraordinary collections tell the story of America through millions of rare and unique documents, artifacts, and irreplaceable national treasures.

The nation's records with extensive information available online.

See what happened on this day, or search for any day in history. 

Explore the vast array of Smithsonian digital collections. 

Information about homeschooling support groups, including the Bridgewater Raynham Area High School Support Group (BRAHS). 

Get to know more about homeschooling laws in Massachusetts, connect with other homeschoolers for support and socialization, and learn how to incorporate different ideas and homeschooling methods into your approach.

MHLA is an advocacy and education organization which endorses home learning as an alternative to public or private schooling. MHLA informs and educates families, school officials, the media, elected officers, policymakers and other constituencies about the benefits, societal impacts and unique educational methods of homeschoolers. 

Learning a language on Duolingo is completely free, but you can remove ads and support free education with Plus.

Pronunciations of over 2.5 million words, crowdsourced from native speakers.

Includes resources on resume writing, properly citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, basic letter writing, and more. 

A great resource for librarians, prospective librarians, and anyone interested in American libraries. 

Search the Library of Congress catalog and access their research tools. 

MBLC is the agency of state government with the responsibility to organize, develop, coordinate, and improve library services throughout the Commonwealth.

The library at Bridgewater State University.

The SAILS Library Network has over 70 member libraries, including the BWPL. 

Provides access to the extensive digital special collections, including photographs, art and memorabilia, and Rare Book Collection illustrations. 

All about birds from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Explore this great resource from the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Search for anything or explore the most popular images from NASA.

Learn about and identify New England's flora. 

Explore or discover something new in Smithsonian's extensive digital collections.

Common Sense Media helps families make smart media choices using the largest, most trusted library of independent age-based and educational ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music. 

Define American is a narrative and culture change organization that uses media and the power of storytelling to transcend politics and shift the conversation about immigrants, identity, and citizenship in a changing America.

The purpose of kids-in-mind.com is to provide parents and other adults with objective and complete information about a film's content so that they can decide, based on their own value system, whether they should watch a movie with or without their kids.

Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live.

Search for schools, learn about financial aid and start planning for college.

Apply for financial aid through the U.S. Department of Education, and get help preparing for college, and managing and repaying your student loans.

Practice the SAT for free.

YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association)'s Teen Book Finder helps you search for books, show where to find the book in a nearby library, create booklists, and share books on social media. Teen Book Finder also has an app. 

Information, including contact information, for Bridgewater's veterans' services office. 

The mission of the Department of Veterans’ Services is to advocate on behalf of all the Commonwealth’s veterans and provide them with quality support services.

A compilation of resources regarding major state benefits in the areas of education, employment, housing, motor vehicles, property taxes, and medical assistance. Information regarding recent amendments to federal and state legislation on employment rights and federal burial benefits is also offered.

The Massachusetts RMV makes certain exemptions from regular procedures and waives certain fees for military service members, veterans, and their spouses/dependents.

The VA New England Healthcare System provides exceptional health care that improves the health and well-being of our veterans.