Selected Ready Reference Resources

These are a few of the many sites which contain ready reference resources such as calendars, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and telephone books. Check the Internet Search Tools section of the Virtual Research Library for more sources.

Almanacs and Yearbooks

CIA World Factbook
U.S. government resource providing detailed information on countries and non-self-governing territories around the world. Online edition of the World Factbook provides detailed information on a country's economy, government, people, and geography. Also provides information on abbreviations, selected international environmental agreements, international organizations, weights and measures and more.
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

Farmers' Almanac
One of America's oldest online publications. Provides extensive information on gardening, weather and astronomy, including long-range weather forecasts. Links to many related weather sites.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com

Infoplease
Provides a wide range of information on many subjects, such as government, education, health, history, science, business, sports, entertainment, biography and much more. Also includes links to many other topics. Sources include almanacs, atlas, dictionary, and an encyclopedia (Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition).
http://www.infoplease.com/

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Calendars and Chronologies

Anyday
Provides information about historic events and birth dates that occurred on a selected day of the year.
http://www.scopesys.com/anyday/

Historychannel.com
Provides extensive information about events from automotive history, entertainment history, Cold War, Civil War, Vietnam and World War II history, Wall Street history, Old West history, technology history, and much more.
http://www.historychannel.com/

The History Net
Includes a detailed list of events that occurred on today's date.
http://www.thehistorynet.com/today/today.htm

Today in History
Library of Congress site which provides information about events that happened on today's date throughout history.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

Worldwide Holiday & Festival Site
National and religious holidays are included at this site. National holidays are found under the particular country and religious holidays are found under the particular religion.
http://www.holidayfestival.com

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Consumer Information

Edmunds.com
Provides a variety of information on cars. Offers auto reviews, advice on evaluating and appraising cars, information on road tests, suggestions for buying, selling, and leasing. Includes information on finance, insurance, warranties, and many other topics of interest to automotive customers.
http://www.edmunds.com/

Find-It! Consumer
Offers information on over one hundred consumer safety and protection Web sites, as well as Washington State Library site guides to information and resources on a variety of topics.  Includes up-to-date recalls and new consumer information.
http://finditconsumer.wa.gov/

Frommers.com
A content-oriented travel site where the cost conscious traveler will find authoritative commentary on and recommendations for the best experiences travel has to offer. Includes world-wide information on hotels, restaurants, shopping, and other things of interest for tourists. Provides links to useful travel sites on rail travel, lowest air fares, cruises, car rentals, etc.
http://www.frommers.com/

Insure.com
Provides insurance information on home, life, business, auto, health, etc. Updated weekly.
http://www.insure.com/

Kellybluebook.com
A guide for car and motorcycle buyers. Includes information on trade-ins, used car retail, new car preview, financing, insurance, lemon check, warranties, etc.
http://www.kellybluebook.com/

Kiplinger.com
A guide to finance and business forecasting information. The site offers information on saving and investing, taxes, credit, home ownership, paying for college, retirement planning, car buying, and other personal finance topics.
http://www.kiplinger.com

Money.com
Includes information on stocks, markets, funds, real estate, insurance, retirement and a number of other topics and links.
http://www.money.com/money/

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Dictionaries, Thesauri and Writing Guides

For foreign language dictionaries, see Language and Literature .

BuzzWhack
BuzzWhack offers definitions, explanations, and examples of buzzwords and arcane techie-speak: dedicated to demystifying words.
http://www.buzzwhack.com/

Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Search the Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge Learner's Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/

DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms
Search or browse three available databases: the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Dictionary database, the Joint Acronyms and Abbreviations database, or the NATO database.
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Based on Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition. More than 160,000 entries. Each entry includes definition, pronunciation, grammatical function, brief etymology, and hypertext cross references.
http://www.m-w.com/dictionary.htm

Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
A thesaurus can be queried for similar words. Misspellings return suggested spellings.
http://www.m-w.com/thesaurus.htm

Online Dictionaries
A source of online dictionaries prepared by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Translation Center.
http://www.umass.edu/transcen/sites/dictionaries.html

Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences
The dictionary includes concise definitions of terms from sociology, criminology, political science, and women's study with a particular focus on Canadian examples.
http://datadump.icaap.org/cgi-bin/glossary/SocialDict/SocialDict

Phrase Finder
Phrases, sayings, and clichés with their meanings and origins. Type in a word and it returns a list of related phrases/sayings.
http://www.shu.ac.uk/web-admin/phrases/index.html

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, third Edition. 1995
Online publication of Houghton Mifflin's Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, 1995 third edition.
http://www.bartleby.com/62

Thesaurus.com
This web site includes a thesaurus and a dictionary of English words and phrases, as well as writing resources and other useful links.
http://www.thesaurus.com

VoyCabulary
Find the definition or acronym of any word on any web page using English, medical, acronym, computer, or foreign language dictionary. Foreign language dictionaries include Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Hungarian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Welsh.
http://www.voycabulary.com

William Strunk, Jr.: Elements of Style
A standard manual of proper English language usage in writing, often recommended by teachers of English. Its focus is on the rules and principles of composition most commonly violated. http://www.bartleby.com/141/index.html

The WorldWideWeb Acronym and Abbreviation Finder
A database providing searches for both acronyms and words used in acronyms.
http://www.ucc.ie/info/net/acronyms/acro.html

Yourdictionary.com
Includes a number of useful tools such as interactive text translator, Web page translator, grammars for many languages, specialty dictionaries, foreign language dictionaries, etc.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
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Encyclopedias

Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
A general encyclopedia with over 50,000 article entries, 40,000 bibliographic citations, and over 80,000 cross-reference entries. (Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth edition, 2001).
http://www.bartleby.com/65

Encarta
16,000 articles with links to multimedia and related web sites. Includes Encarta World English Dictionary and an atlas.
http://encarta.msn.com

Encyclopedia.com
More than 50,000 articles taken from the Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition (The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia 2000). Links to 170,000+ web sites. Also links to 3,000,000 additional premium articles via Electric Library.
http://www.encyclopedia.com

Encyclopedia Mythica
An encyclopedia of myth, folklore, and legend.
http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/html

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Internet Directories

Bigfoot
White page directory. Type in a person's name, city and state. Then select White pages or email addresses or both.
http://www.bigfoot.com

Infobel.com
International business and residential phone, fax, and e-mail directory, including the United States. Searches White and Yellow pages and includes maps.
http://www.infobel.com/world

InfoSpace
Access to millions of U.S. and Canadian people, government offices and businesses. Search for a listing by name, address, business category or do a reverse lookup by phone number. Embassy information is under the Government section. The site also includes listings for several European countries and the World Directories section lists available phone books for the rest of the world.
http://www.infospace.com

InfoSpace Email Search
Millions of e-mail addresses worldwide from the InfoSpace address finder site.
http://www.infospace.com/info/email1.htm

Internet 800 Directory  Internet 800 Directory En español
Directory of business toll free numbers.  Search by company name, product or service.
http://inter800.com/index.html

PhoneNumbers.net
Provides phone, fax and e-mail addressees worldwide.  Each country directory typically includes Yellow and White pages, e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and links to embassies of the country. Provides local time, country code, and time zone.  Useful for finding businesses worldwide. Maintained by Swedish company Aktiv IT.
http://www.phonenumbers.net

SuperPages.com
U.S. business listings searchable by name or category. Special features include the ability to search by distance, nationwide, and obtain a map and directions. Yellow-page directories from around the world are also provided.
http://www.bigyellow.com

Telephone Directories on the Web
Telephone directories for countries other than the U.S. Includes links to online telephone, fax and business directories from around the world.
http://www.teldir.com

ZIP Code Search
USPS provides free ZIP Code Look-Up and City/State/ZIP Code Association to assist the public with their addressing needs.
http://www.usps.gov/ncsc/lookups/lookups.htm

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Maps, Gazetteers and Geographical Sources

EarthaMaps
Offers two map services: enter a place name and retrieve a map (CyberAtlas) or enter two place names and retrieve a trip itinerary and map.
http://www.earthamaps.com

Geographic Information and Analysis Lab
Portal for  geography resources, including state, federal and commercial sites, compiled by State University of New York at Buffalo. Categorized by U.S. federal resources, U.S. commercial resources, U.S. state information, and global information.
http://www.geog.buffalo.edu/GIAL/netgeog.html

Geographic Information from St. Charles City-County Library District
Portal for maps, U.S. government and state sources, reference sources in GIS, and tutorials. Categorized by general information, maps and images, states and universities, government agencies, international GIS sites, commercial sites/organizations, GIS tutorial, and comprehensive/interesting sites.
http://www.win.org/library/services/gis/gishp.htm

Map Machine
National Geographic Society's site providing political and physical maps and information for places anywhere in the world.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

MapQuest
Directions and maps for towns and cities worldwide.
http://www.mapquest.com

Maps.com
Includes maps for driving directions in the USA, world maps, antique maps, digital map graphics,  world atlas, weather center and time zone map, online map games, interactive maps, geographic glossary, Earthweek (a diary for the planet), travel deals, etc. Also provides cartographic services for specialized needs.
http://www.maps.com/

National Atlas of the United States of America
This site includes a collection of interactive, multimedia, and printed maps from the United States Department of the Interior.
http://www.nationalatlas.gov/

New York State Office for Technology--Geographic Information Systems
Provides technology policy 96-18, policy implementation resources (Clearinghouse, projects, issues), related resources, and publications.
http://www.nysfirm.org/irmpolcy/geois.html

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Browsable maps of countries of the world, both current and historical, derived from the CIA, U.S. Bureau of the Census and other major sources. Compiled by the University of Texas at Austin.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/Libs/PCL/Map_collection/Map_collection.html

Place Names on the Internet
Portal for place name servers, arranged in U.S., world, country, and planetary sections. Compiled by Arizona State University Libraries.
http://www.asu.edu/lib/hayden/govdocs/maps/geogname.htm

U.S. Census Bureau Geography
Provides mapping products and services, geography resources, geographic programs. Links to many downloadable documents. Includes TIGER products, online mapping, geographic resources, geographic programs, understanding census geography, and GIS.
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/index.html

U.S. State Department - Independent States of the World
Independent states with diplomatic relations with U.S. and member of United Nations. Country capitals, names, and FIPS codes.
http://www.state.gov/www/regions/independent_states.html

Your Sky: Interactive Planetarium
Create sky maps for any time and date, viewpoint, and observing location.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/

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Money and Currency

Investing for Beginners
Provides information on a variety of investing topics such as investing in stocks and bonds, global investing,  investment research, estate planning, government information, and other issues of interest. Also includes a number of related links to insurance, bad credit repair, credit card ratings, global markets, etc.
http://www.beginnersinvest.about.com/money/beginnersinvest/

Travel-Finder's Currency Converter
Converts any quantity of currency from nearly 70 countries.
http://www.travel-finder.com/convert/convert.htm

The Universal Currency Converter
The site offers currency services in English, French, and Swedish.
http://www.xe.net/ucc/
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Opinion Polls

PollingReport.com
Results of new polls in politics and policy, business and economy, and the American scene compiled by the independent organization Polling Report, Inc. Browse indexed content and search by keyword.
http://www.pollingreport.com

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Quotations

Simpson's Contemporary Quotations
Collection of 10,000+ quotes from over 4000 sources ranging from 1950 to 1988, indexed by both author and subject. Each record includes source, date, and occasion.
http://www.bartleby.com/63
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Sign Language

Handspeak: A Sign Language Dictionary Online
Includes words shown in animated graphics, the alphabet and numbers, stories in sign, a sign of the day feature, and a language and culture section about signing in several cultures.
http://dww.deafworldweb.org/asl
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Statistics

Census 2000 Population Tables and Reports
Prepared results of the 2000 Census on such topics as race and group quotes. Includes links to other census sites and American Fact Finder.
http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html

Consumer Price Index
Published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm

Economy at a Glance
This site from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides figures for unemployment, employment, average hourly earnings, productivity, the consumer price index, and the producer price index at the regional, state, and metropolitan levels.
http://stats.bls.gov/eag/eag.map.htm

Fedstats: One Stop Shopping for Federal Statistics
Statistical information from more than 70 government agencies organized in a subject based A-Z index or searchable by keyword. Also organized by agencies and programs. Includes regional statistics for state, county, and local area data. Mapstats for state and county data available through a graphical interface.
http://www.fedstats.gov

Geostat
The Geospatial and Statistical Data Center (Geostat) provides an extensive number of geographical and statistical data, sources, links, Internet-accessible data extraction tools, computing facilities, instructional material for architecture, political science, sociology, landscaping, etc.
http://fisher.lib.Virginia.edu/

Population Reference Bureau
Data and analysis on a variety of topics for areas and regions of the world. Topics include aging, crime, education, environment, HIV/AIDS, and many more. Includes a Quick Facts Search option. Maintained by the independent organization Population Reference Bureau.
http://www.prb.org

Stateline.org
This site provides comprehensive and comparative information on the public policies of all 50 states. It contains current and archived news, a calendar of meetings and conferences, and background information about the states and their governments. The information is accessed either by the issues such as health care, education, welfare reform, transportation, and utility deregulation or by the state. Statistical data tables include: budget and taxes; crime and prisons; environment, income and poverty; insurance and accidents; and population, along with the issues listed above.
http://www.stateline.org

Statistical Abstract of the United States
Provides extensive statistical facts on broad topics, such as health, education, employment, prices, income, and science. The complete text (the index does not contain hyperlinks) is included; the site also includes versions back to 1995 (Adobe Acrobat Reader needed to view files).
http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html

Statistical Resources on the Web
Metasite from the University of Michigan Documents Center which contains extensive statistical resources on the Web including Federal and commercial sites arranged by subject.  Categories include agriculture, business, directories, consumers, cost of living, demographics, economics, education, energy, environment, finance, foreign economics, foreign governments, foreign trade, government finance, health, housing, labor, military, politics, science, sociology, transportation, and weather.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/stats.html

STATS
The Statistical Assessment Service is a non-profit organization which examines the way
scientific and social research are interpreted and presented by the media to the public. Stats Spotlight analyzes current events, issues, and institutions.
http://www.stats.org/index.html

United Nations Statistics Division
Provides economic, environmental, demographic and social statistics, and information on UNSD publications. Links to national and international statistics, references for international statistics,  national publications, and statistical yearbooks and current statistics sites.
http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd

World Trade Organization Statistics
WTO statistics on merchandise and commercial services (world and regional) and historical trade by country, region and economic grouping.
http://www.wto.org/wto/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm
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Time, Weights and Measures

Daylight Saving Time, Its History and Why We Use It
California Energy Commission site which provides information on the history of Daylight Saving Time, and when it begins and ends each year between 1990 and 2004.
http://www.energy.ca.gov/daylightsaving.html

Earth View
Up-to-the-minute pictures of time around the globe.
http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Earth/action?opt=-p

Greenwich Time
Provides Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and many related documents, such as time converter, history on GMT, daylight saving time, calendar, the prime meridian, and  world time zone. Links to miscellaneous sites including time quotes, dictionary, time tracks, books, and travels.
http://greenwichmeantime.com

Horology
Portal for resources on horology on the Internet, categorized by horological organizations, reference sources on horology, timepieces (clocks and watches), issues in horology, and the exact time. Includes extensive foreign resources as well as national resources.
http://www.horology.com

Official U.S. Time
Provides the coordinated universal time, a world map displaying where the sun is currently shining, time exhibits, the history of Daylight Saving Time, calendars, clocks and watches, and  timekeeping. Provided cooperatively by the Time and Frequency Division of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory Time Service Department. Links to a page with international time zones.
http://www.time.gov

U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) Time Service Department
The official source of time for the Department of Defense and the standard of time for the United States. Provides the USNO Master clock, USNO clock development, network time protocol, automated data services,  U.S. time conversions, and sunrise/sunset/moon phase. Links to related sites, such as GPS and National Earth Orientation Services.
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/time.html

A Walk Through Time
Presents a historic view of the evolution of time measurement. The series begins with ancient calendars and ends with the atomic age. It includes information on and pictures of sun clocks and water clocks, mechanical clocks, quartz clocks, and atomic beam clocks. The site also has information on Greenwich Mean Time and world time zones. From the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Physics Laboratory.
http://physics.nist.gov/GenInt/Time/time.html

World Population
This site provides information about the number of people living at this moment, as well as on any particular date since 1970.
http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop

World Time Zone Map
H.M. Nautical Almanac Office map of standard time zones, corrected to June 2000, with legend for universal time.  Three formats to print (PDF, html and Post Script). A part of the Astronomical Applications Department of the U.S. Naval Observatory site, which provides extensive data services including sunrise/sunset/moonrise/moonset/twilight and dates, products information, U.S. time zone, and Universal Time and Greenwich Mean Time.
http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/faq/docs/world_tzones.html
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