The library is more than books!!!

SPL and many other libraries offer FREE access to full text databases WITHOUT having to visit the library. That’s right—24×7x365 access. All you need is a library card for the library.
See:
http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_db_list&dbPage=21

Favorites:
1) ABI/Inform. Full text from several thousand magazines. Full imaget too!

2) Expanded Academic Index
Several thousand publications.

3) Washington State Newsstand
Newspaper coverage from 18 Washington State Newspapers including: Tacoma News Tribune 1993 – current; Puget Sound Business Journal 1999 – current; Seattle Post-Intelligencer 1990 – current; Seattle Times 1984 – current.

http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=collection_db_list&dbPage=10
In this section, check out the Biography Resource Center and Oxford Online.

Btw, the King Cty Public also has an amazing and FREE collection.
http://search3.webfeat.org/KCLSSubjectSearch.asp?int=b&cat=Recommended%20Databases
including a databases containing the full text and full image (searchable) of every page from the New York Times back to 1851. Amazing!!!!