Basic Reference on the Internet
ALMANACS
50 States.com : State bird, flower, nickname, motto and song, colleges and universities, constitution, genealogical resources, highest point and geographical center, national forests and parks, newspapers, population, state and federal representatives, and date of entry into the union. Links to over 21,784 authoritative sites, most government related.
Information Please Almanac : Online version of print. Perpetual calendar for 1583- . History and current events. Keyword searching.
Nations of the World : Library of Congress site with links to information about international governments plus links to the World Factbook, Country Studies and Human Rights reports, Background Notes.
Old Farmer's Almanac Covers astronomical events, weather conditions and forecasts, recipes, and gardening tips.
World Factbook : Produced by the CIA, with clearly outlined directory and statistical information in a consistent and convenient format for all countries of the world. Updated throughout the year.
DIRECTORIES
Alcove 9: An annotated list of reference websites Websites selected and annotated by the Library of Congress Humanities and Social Sciences Division subject specialists.
BJ Pinchbeck's Homework Helper : A wealth of useful links, annotated and arranged by subject.
Digital Librarian: A librarian’s choice of the best of the web. Maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson, a librarian in Cortland, New York
Foundation Finder: Directory of U.S. grantmakers. Hosted by the Foundaton Center.
Google : Excellent index to Internet web sites.
Infobel.com : White and yellow pages. International in scope.
INFOMINE: Scholarly internet resource collections: Internet resources selected by academic librarians.
ipl2 - Internet Public Library : Reliable list of websites selected and annotated by library school students. Hosted by Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology.
Superpages.com: National business and residential directory.
Switchboard.com : National business and residential directory.
Vermont Library Directory : Directory of Vermont libraries. Located at Vermont Dept. of Libraries website.
Whitepage.com : Useful for looking up individuals.
WorldCat Largest bibliographic database in the world. Search library collections in the United States and around the world. Content includes anything that can be found in a library.
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online (free version): Brief versions of articles from the famous scholarly encyclopedia. Includes links to fee-based information, may be frustrating.
Encyclopedia.com: Search 49 general and subject encylopedias.
Encyclopedia Smithsonian: The Smithsonian from Art to Zoology. Search over 2 million records from Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries.
Infoplease Encyclopedia : Content of the Columbia Encyclopedia, 6 th ed.
Wikipedia: Web-based encyclopedia with volunteer contributors. Very extensive and often excellent articles. Editorial oversight has increased significantly over the recent years.
RELIGION AND MYTH
American Atheists : Atheism news, history, blogs, etc. Founded in 1963 by Madalyn Murray O'Hair.
Association of Religious Data Archives : Surveys, censuses, with state, national and international figures. Searchable by religion, demoniation, zip code, etc, with camparisons by nation, state and denomination. Compare yourself to other Americans on "religion measures".
The Baha'i Faith : Writings, community, news, media for and about the Baha'is.
Catholic Encyclopedia : Full-text of 1913 edition of classic print source. Extensive alpha subject list; individual articles include bibliographies.
Digital Quaker Collection : Browse by alpha, title, author, or search; from the Earlham School of Religion, a graduate level educational center in Richmond, Indiana.
The Episcopal Church : New Episcopalian Church site.
The Hindu Universe : One stop for everything Hindu, from baby names, recipies, lifestyle and travel advice to extensive scripture resources (requires Real Audio).
Islam online: Celerations, holiday cards, texts, history, etc.
Jewish Virtual Library : Covers some of the topics found in the classic print source, the Encyclopedia Judaica .
King James Bible : Full-text, searchable.
Positive Atheism : Discussion the history, philosophy and ethics of atheism since September 1995.
The Presbyterian Church: Explore the ministry and mission of the Presbyterian Church.
The Secular Web : Atheism, agnosticism, naturalism, skepticism and secularism on the web. FKA Infidels.org.
Virtual Religion Index : Annotated directory of links to world religious sites, including closely-related subjects (cf. morality and ethical theory, criminal and social justice, war and peace, etc.
STATISTICS
American factfinder : Comprehensive statistics related to population, housing, economic and geographic data. Latest information from U.S. Census 2000.
Fedstats : Browse by topic, geographically, and by agency (with keyword help if you don’t know the agency). Their topic outline is here: http://www.fedstats.gov/cgi-bin/A2Z.cgi
Historical Statistics of the United States : Statistics from colonial times to 1970.
Library of the University of Michigan : Page displays results of search of their Government Documents library for <statistics>. More helpful topical list on right.
Religion-related statistics : From Preston Hunter, a computer programmer in Texas. Special page on Vermont: http://www.adherents.com/loc/loc_vermont.html. Last updated subsequent to 2006.
Statistical Abstract of the United States : Full-text of popular statistical tables in PDF format. Opening screen lists contents by subject. Historical statistics on this site link to the entry below.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics : Links to principal federal statistical agencies, plus statistical agencies from other countries.
Vermont Statistics via the Center for Rural Studies : Statistics from the U.S. Census for Vermont, including median income, population below poverty level, population projections, employment by occupation. See the section Vermont Indicators Online for summary data.
BUSINESS (including non-profits)
Bigcharts : Best known for historic stock quotes, BigCharts has information on over 50,000 symbols, including current information on all NYSE, Nasdaq, AMEX, and OTC stocks, all NASDAQ quoted mutual funds, as well as leading financial indexes and international exchanges. The current information includes company profiles, company financials, news, charts, analyst estimates, analysis, and intraday stock screeners. Historic quotes include open, closing, high and low prices, volume traded, split adjusted price, and adjustment factor since 1970.
EDGAR database of corporate information : From the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission,
U.S. public company filings from 1993 through the present. Mutual fund filings since Feb. 6, 2006. Search by company name, fund name, ticker symbol, filing number, state, Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC), and Ownership Forms. Mutual fund prospectuses, also known as 484 filings, also available.
GuideStar : Directory of non-profits with links to web sites. Also, individual web sites for specific organizations, particularly national organizations. Purposes, address, etc. Searchable by geography (to town level), EIN. More information with premium subscription.
Hoover's online: The ultimate source for company information : Records covering 600 industries describing public and private companies primarily in the United States, but including Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia/Pacific. Profiles have an overview, history, family tree, industry information, products/operations, top competitors, competitive landscape, top executives with biographies, news, significant developments, and financial data. Coverage generally includes a fact sheet, overview, video interviews, news from the last 90 days, etc.
A Short Guide to Vermont's Nonprofit Corporations Law : Just like it says.
Start a Business in Vermont : Sponsored by the Secretary of State and the Vermont Dept. of Economic Development. Permits and licenses, tax documents, links to additional resources (SCORE, SBA, SBDC, etc.)
Superpages.com : Another yellow pages, maps and shopping, people, and a nice “neighbor” search. AKA “bigyellow.com”.
Switchboard.com : Yellow pages style listings for businesses. Lists national businesses first, followed by local businesses; also persons, maps, phone and web search.
U.S. Small Business Administration : Great site with lots of advice and resources for small businesses. Nice feature is online courses in starting a business, financing, marketing, government contracting, e-commerce, international trade, etc.
Vermont Business Magazine : Business news of Vermont – unemployment, changes in archaeological rules, CEO news, grants to towns and the award of a literary prize sponsored by GMP and Vt. Life were some of the items on the site August 12, on September 19, the Fairpoint hearings, business grants, the "Retailer of the Year" award and tax revenues were the articles of the day.
Vermont Business Registry : To register a business to do business with the State of Vermont.
Vermont Corporations Databases : Directory of Vermont corporations, trade names and trademarks; use when choosing a business name.
In VOL :
Encyclopedia of Small Business , 2nd ed. (2002)
Top
CAREERS
About Jobs : Links to InternJobs.com, OverseasJobs.com, ResortJobs.com, and SummerJobs.com. The sites are good for new college graduates and high school students.
Career Builder : Want ads from 130 major U.S. newspapers. Search by keyword/location combo, keyword, and, under “Advance Search”, full-time, part-time, internships.
Collegeboard.com : Comprehensive information, but emphasis on SAT prep and admission. Interesting searching for colleges with similar characteristics.
Occupational Outlook Handbook : Complete, current and easy to use. Subject tree, by occupational category with: nature of the work, training and advancement, earnings, job outlook and related occupations.
Peterson’s College Search : Detailed descriptions of colleges in outline or narrative format. Links to web sites of institutions. Search by name of institution, location, major, tuition, size, GPA, sports. Also, how to pay, test preparation.
Salary Calculator : Compare cost of living, including real estate and other variables by occupation, by MSA.
Vermont Dept. of Labor Licensed Occupations : A directory of links to the state agency responsible for each professional license, e.g. dental assistants, tattooists and “pierciers”, cosmetologists, therapists, attorneys, embalmers, blasters, chimney sweeps, professional boxers, etc. Number of licensed by year.
VSAC : Vermont Student Assistance Corporation’s site with links to information on scholarships and loans.
Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans, Gale Co.
CONSUMER
Consumer Price Index : Federal government inflation rate statistics. Used to calculate child support payments, alimony, etc. Go to Economic News Releases, Current, and use the HTML version. Next choose Consumer Price Index Summary.
ConsumerSearch : Top-rated products in eight major categories and many subcategories including photo and video, health and fitness, etc. Presents the four best and four "runners up" with customer reviews and essays on the specific subject very handy for an overview. Comparison charts, background information, too.
eHow.com : How-to for range of topics, computers to cooking.
Kelley Blue Book : Trade in and market prices for used cars. Search by year, make, model, accessories, condition, mileage and zip code of owner.
NADAguides.com : Pricing for cars, motorcycles, boats, rv's and manufactured homes. Used by dealers.
Vermont Housing Data : Statistics, arranged by city or town, for housing demand, costs of homeownership and rental housing. Includes historical data. Also a Vermont directory of affordable rental housing, subsidized housing, a calculator for mortgage payments, a glossary of housing terms and more.
GOVERNMENT
Countries
Country Studies : Now published by the Library of Congress for the Dept of the Army. Also available through http://books.google.com; search: <“[name of country] a country study”>
Dept of State list of country and other area pages :Lists independent States, plus dependencies and areas of special sovereignty.
Governments on the WWW : Directory of official sites for national government agencies, political parties, courts, embassies and consulates for more than 220 countries and territories. Not updated since 6/26/2002.
Nations of the World : Library of Congress site with information about other Nations’ legislative, executive and judicial branches or equivalents, with sources (governmental and private) for further research and reports of international agencies and NGOs.
World Factbook :Produced by the CIA, with clearly outlined directory and statistical information in a consistent and convenient format for all countries of the world. Updated throughout the year. Print available, $39.95, but web version is complete and easy. Included in the Vermont Online Library.
People
Congressional Directory : Presents short biographies of each member of the Senate and House, listed by state or district, committee memberships, terms of service, staff and contact information. Also lists officials of the courts, military establishments, and other Federal departments and agencies, including D.C. government officials, governors of states and territories, foreign diplomats, etc. Searchable by phrase or keyword with Boolean (OR) and proximity (ADJ) operators, archived back to the 1995-96 (104th) Congress.
U.S. Government Manual : Provides information on the agencies of the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Federal government including: boards; commissions; committees; and quasi-official agencies and organizations in which the United States participates. Entries contain: a summary of the agency's purpose and general role; a description of its programs and activities; names and titles of major officials; and a list of sources of information. Many entries also provide organization charts. Also contains a section on terminated or transferred agencies. Archival editions on web.
World Leaders : The CIA publishes and updates the online directory of Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments regularly. The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid and includes as many governments of the world as is considered practical, some of them not officially recognized by the United States. Also includes ambassadors and UN representatives.
Statistics
FedStats : Browse by topic, geographically and by agency; extensive topic list is here.
USA.gov : Federal and state governments. Topical, site index (top right), government agencies on right – including tribal governments. Information auctions, grants, jobs, money, environment, health, etc. Also tutorials.
Vermont
Vermont Place-Names :Placenames both real (from Swift) and imaginary (from UVM).
Vermont Town Websites :Alpha list of towns’ websites.
Other, lesser, States
LAW
General
AllLaw : Menu-driven topic list for legal topics. Includes advice, forms, discussions, links to other resources.
United States
Vermont
DICTIONARIES & THESAURI
AF: Acronym Finder : Dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language : 90,000 words, 70,000 audio pronunciations, etymologies and synonyms. No browsing, search only by single words.
Dictionary.com Hosted by Ask.com. Includes dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia searching.
TheFreeDictionary.com Hosted by Farlex. Search general and subject dictionaries (including foreign language), thesauri, and encyclopedias.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary : Includes dictionary and thesaurus, short etymologies, and audio pronunciation. No browsing, search by single words. Also links to Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online
OneLook Dictionaries : Index of 750 dictionaries with four million words including subject dictionaries and foreign languages, “from banjo terms to wine glossaries.” Search entire database or select individual titles.
Online Etymology Dictionary : Explanations of what selected words meant in the past. Limited but interesting.
Pseudodictionary : (with words used in sentence) or Word spy (with dated sources, including newspapers). Words not yet found in a dictionary.
Roget's International Thesaurus : 1922 edition. Located at Bartleby.com.
Wiktionary A wiki dictionary from the Wikimedia Foundation. Includes a thesaurus, a rhyme guide, phrase books, etymologies, abbreviations, and more. No advertisements.
Wordsmyth: the Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus Standard American English dictionary, integrating a thesaurus within its structure.
FOREIGN LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES
Babel Fish : Translates any text or web site from English to Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, Korean or Chinese and reverse, plus numerous other combinations. Similar, although with fewer combinations of languages, FreeTranslation.com .
Logos Dictionary : 7.5 million words in dozens of languages. Search by phrase or single word. Another possibility is Language Dictionaries and Translators .
SCIENCE
Science.gov : The place to begin for information from the myriad of federal agencies dealing with some aspect of the sciences.
Science Tracer Bullets : The Library of Congress put together these research guides on specific topics, referring to all types of resources. There is even one on science fairs.
Annotated List of Websites on Computers and the Internet : Also from the Library of Congress.
National Agricultural Library : One of the country's four national libraries, and one of the world's largest and most accessible agricultural information collections. Part of the US Department of Agriculture.
USDA Consumers Gardening : Many useful gardening resources, including organic vegetable gardening and plant hardiness zones. For information on specific plants, check out the PLANTS Database.
National Science Digital Library : Funded by the National Science Foundation, this site includes lots of images.
National Digital Library : Photos of animals, plants, landscapes, habitats.
North American Mammals : From the Smithsonian. Describes mammals, includes pictures. Search by geographic area, scientific or common name, conservation status.
Landsat Missions Gallery : Fantastic color imagery from Landsat satellites, by the US Geological Survey. Find more at Maps, Imagery and Publications.
National Weather Service : Up-to-the-minute warnings and forecasts.
Energy Star : Identifies Energy Star rated appliances and links to publications on saving energy.
Mammals of Vermont : Links to fact sheets and photos of many, but not all, of Vermont's mammals. Emphasis on game. For a more complete listing of Vermont's mammals.
Vermont Reptile & Amphibian Atlas
Videos from Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Buy Local, Buy Vermont : From Vermont Agency of Agriculture. Find famermers' markets, CSAs, pick-your-owns, and other ag sites throughout the state.
Vermont Online Library : Most databases include full-text reference works on science, science books, or articles from scientific journals.
Eric Weisstein's World of Science : Scholarly explanations of math, physics, chemistry and astronomy with biographies of scientists .
Nobel Prizes : Nobel Prizes in science are awarded in chemistry, physics, and medicine. This site includes articles and video interviews, video Nobel lectures, and educational games.
Fear of Physics : Easy access to straightforward explanations of basic concepts, e.g. gravity, acceleration, pendulums, etc. Allows you to set up animated tests based on your chosen criteria. Also, Physics and Astronomy Reference : Fundamentals plus biographies of Nobel and Bruce Medal winners.
Eight Planets : Astronomy and space travel. Beautifully illustrated and fun to use. Comprehensive coverage.
Encyclopedia of Earth : Articles about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society. Written in non-technical language by scholars, professionals, educators, and experts who collaborate and review each other's work.
Nature Online Video Streaming Archive : Nature, one of the reeminent science journals, covers all aspects of science, not merely natural history.
Google Earth : Download free software to explore the word from above. Now includes ocean floor and sky.
Custom Sunrise Sunset Calendar for Vermont
Snow : Vermont's own Snowflake Bentley and beyond.
Vermont Center for Geographic Information
Math.com : Calculators and tables for pure and practical math. See also Bankrate.com to calculate interest and other home finance applications.
All about Birds : Comprehensive. “Bird guide” contains in-depth descriptions with color photographs, sound, video, and distribution maps. From Cornell University and the National Science Foundation.
Botany, the encyclopedia of plants and gardening
National Gardening Association : Based in Vermont.
Urban Legend Reference Pages : You heard the story--is it true? This site attempts to find out.
TECHNOLOGY and VETERINARY MEDICINE
United States Trademark and Patent Office : This particular page has links to answer all sorts of questions from how do I find to how do I file. Also try Google Patents. Currently in beta testing, this site is often faster than the government's. Both sites include full-text and images of patents.
E-how : Use discretion when following these instructions, as anyone can submit entries and earn points.
How Products are Made : Odd home page with no atttribution, but content is good and attributed.
RepairClinic.com : For 16 household appliances, with free diagrams and repair instruction, links to sources of parts for purchase.
Google vehicle information : Type in a VIN number and get general facts about the vehicle. Links to Carfax, which wants to sell you more information.
Vehicle Pricing and Information : This site from the National Automobile Dealers Association, and a similar site from Edmunds, provide "blue book" values on cars old and new.
Auto and Truck Repair and Advice : Explains how vehicle parts work, how they fail and gives approximate cost of repairs.
U.S. Green Building Council : Everything to know about LEED certification of buildings and consultants.
Mother Earth News : How-tos of all sorts, emphasizing organic, back-to-the land.
Homemade play dough : Several recipes here and here.
Homemade cleaning supplies : Some of the many web sites with recipes for cleaning solutions can be found here, here, here, and here.
Wildlife Rehabilitation Information Directory : It's actually illegal to keep injured or orphaned wildlife. What to do when you find an animal in distress. Who to call in your area.
Merck Veterinary Manual : Claims to be the single most comprehensive electronic reference for animal care information. Meant for professionals, but famers and pet owners can certainly make good use of this.
Feline Health Videos : From Cornell University's Feline Health Center. Includes informational videos on hoe to pill your cat or brush its teeth. Makes it seem so easy...
Dog Breed Info Center : Though not very professional looking, this site has lots of good information on dog breeds, mixed breeds, dog behavior.
HEALTH
Best Hospitals, 2009 : U.S. News and World Report's compilation of rankings for U.S. hospitals by patient's medical condition and treatments.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention : Articles on diseases and chronic conditions with statistics. Information for travelers.
FamilyDoctor.org : Sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Regularly reviewed and updated by Academy physicians and patient education staff. Full-text of complete book, easy to navigate, uniform format.
Health and Wellness Resource Center and Alternative Health Module included in the Vermont Online Library (VOL).
KidsHealth : Content divided between information directed at parents and at children.
Mayo Clinic : Excellent reliable information in easy-to-read format with many visuals and graphics. Wide range of topics. Drug information including images, similar to PDRHealth (below)
Merck Manual of Medical Information: Second Home Edition, Online Version : Full-text of trusted medical text.
National Institutes of Health sites:
National Cancer Institute : A highly regarded source of answers on wide range of related topics. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine : Objective, evidence-based information about complementary and alternative medicine. National Institute of Mental Health : Comprehensive and aimed at the public. NIHSeniorHealth.gov : Information on health problems, fitness, taking medicine correctly and Medicare. Users may adjust type size and contrast. Includes audio version.
National Library of Medicine sites:
Medlineplus : All purpose health information source, includes link to the Merriam-Webster's Medical Desk Dictionary (included in the Vermont Online Library (VOL)), and a current medical encyclopedia. MedTerms Medical Dictionary , another medical dictionary, includes some commercial links, but contains lay person-friendly definitions from the Webster's New World Medical Dictionary . Go Local Vermont for Vermont doctors, hospitals and medical services.
NutritionSource : Harvard School of Public Health. Lengthy, but clearly written articles on topics of common interest, e.g. calcium, fiber, etc. Another option, What to eat , is a companion to the excellent book on nutrition by Marion Nestle.
Our Bodies Ourselves : Companion to the classic book, not full-text of book. Current news and links to other web sites. Go to “Browse topic index” on left or search by your own choice of topic.
PDRHealth : Free information about diseases and drugs. Not as extensive as print version. RXList: internet drug index Another source, recommended by the American Library Association, for free information about drugs.
PubMed : MEDLINE medical periodical index with citations and some brief abstracts. Links to selected full-text articles. Obtain others via interlibrary loan. Search by topic, author or journal title. Use “limits” for advanced searching.
Vermont Dept. of Health website : Dept. rules and regulations, programs and updates on public health concerns. For information on all topics covered, choose “Contents, A to Z” link in left column.
YourSurgery.com : Explains surgical procedures, patient preparation, recovery, possible complications and treatment alternatives. Graphics are excellent. Some free information. $5.00 per session or $100/yr for in depth information.
VISUAL ARTS
Smithsonian American Art Museum SIRIS Comprised of three databases: Art Inventories, Photograph Archives, and Pre-1877 Art Exhibition Catalogue Index. Search by keyword or browse by artist, title, subject, object type or owner.
World Wide Arts Resources Contemporary art focus. Links to web sites for artists, museums, arts education, dance. The “Art History - Artists” database is searchable by artist with links to color reproductions of art work. Commercial site.
THEATER AND DANCE
Costumer’s Manifesto An educational costume site. Information about costume history and design. Use “(Costume) History sorted by period” for images and sewing patterns.
MUSIC
Allmusic.com Biographies of musicians and others in the music business, directory of albums, links to song audios.
Smithsonian Folkways Nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. "Dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound." Genres include folk, bluegrass, jazz, world music, prose, and more.
TV & FILM
ATHLETICS and SPORTS
Baseball-reference.com or Baseball-almanac.com : Players, teams, leagues, awards. Also Pro-football-reference.com and Basketball-reference.com
JockBio.com : Biographies by published sports writers for selected baseball, basketball, football, golf, ice hockey, soccer and tennis players, auto racers and Olympic athletes.
Yahoo! Recreation: Sports : Another directory of sports sites. Includes cockfighting, footbag, extreme sports, etc.
LITERATURE
Amazon.com : Catalog of books and other media currently for sale as well as titles that are out of print. Many titles include reviews from database editors, edited portions of reviews from Booklist, Library Journal and from the site's visitors.
American Verse Project : Easy searching for full-text classic American poetry, prior to 1920, mainly 19th century. “View text” often requires loading full volume. Instead, use “table of contents” for access to individual poems.
BarnesandNoble.com : Searching retrieves a list of various editions and formats, but clicking on a single item brings up editorial reviews, customer reviews, and helpfully, biographies of the author and discussion questions.
Bartleby.com Verse : Full-text of poems from standard anthologies, e.g. The Oxford Book of English Verse, and from numerous volumes by famous pre-1920 poets, e.g. Frost, Hopkins, Housman, Keats, Millay, Sandberg, etc. plus portraits and brief bios of selected poets, links to literary criticism.
Bedford/St. Martins Citation Styles : Citation manuals by subject area, with examples; thanks to Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister.
Brewer’s Phrase and Fable : 1894 version. Choose link listed in column, browse by letter.
The Elements of Style : William Strunk's classic handbook of English composition and usage, including words and expressions commonly misused. Find it (and other works) on the drop-down lists, then search the text. Once the results are returned, click on the "contents" button to browse. Also in the drop-down menu, Fowler's The King's English, 2nd edition (1908).
Grammar Girl : Who said grammar can't be fun? Not Mignon Fogarty (the Grammar Girl).
Guide to Grammar and Writing : From Capital Community College (Hartford, CT). Offerings include: The English House of Commas; and, Our Friend the Semicolon.
Inter-Play : Index of plays in collections developed by the Portland (OR) Area Library System. Lists plays not indexed in standard play indexes. Also does not cite plays published separately only. No full-text of plays.
Literary Market Place : Abridged directory of publishers' with addresses, phone numbers. Requires free registration.
New York Times Sunday Book Review : The gold standard of book reviews, scholarly, erudite and current. If you read the review, you almost don't have to read the book.
Poets' Corner : 6,700 full-text poems, all over 75 years old (not under copyright), by 790 poets. Also, biographical articles for 31 poets, 120 pictures of poets.
Playfinder : Full synopsis of plays sold by Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Keyword searching.
Samuel French, Inc : Product catalog for this major play publisher. Very brief comments with play listings. Keyword searching. Use author's name as keyword if needed.
Short Story Index : Index to short stories in collections and anthologies at the Los Angeles County Public Library. Only includes stories that are not listed individually in the Library's online catalog. Use to find the title of an anthology containing the short story you need.
Style Manuals and Writing Guides : CalState (Los Angeles) links us to various style manuals: AAA, ASA, APA, Chicago, MLA and others. Awwesome.
The Writing Center : From the University of Wisconsin (Madison). How-to for drafts, revisions, citation methods suggested styles (for lab reports, dissertations literary analysis, etc.), avoiding plagiarism, etc.
Women Writers Online : Approximately 200 texts written by women in English between 1400 and 1850, from Brown University.
QUOTATIONS
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations : 1919 edition of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations plus Simpson's Quotations and Columbia World of Quotations . Scroll down to browse by author (chronologically or alphabetically) or search by keyword. Use quotation marks around phrases.
Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations : Searchable version of the 2nd edition, 1953, containing more than 4,000 quotations on over 250 subjects. Gives both the author of the quote and the work where the quote appeared.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Quotations (print source): included in the VOL.
Quotations Book : Search by emotion, author, etc. Once quote is identified, authors and quotes can be blogged about or searched for on the Web. Free registration required.
Quotations Page : Small collections of quotations searched individually or in combination, by word, phrase or author.
Quoteland : Commercial site, but easy searching by subject, author, special occasion.
BIOGRAPHY
African American Biography on the Internet : Links to individuals from Columbia University.
Bio. : The Biography Channel's site, with 25,000 names with articles of various lengths, usually from the Encyclopedia Britannica.
Biographical Memoirs (of the National Academy of Sciences) : Bios of (deceased) American scientists.
Chambers Biographical Dictionary : Full 1997 edition, with amendments, of print version. Change drop-down search menu from “Chambers Biographical,” to “Chambers 21 st Century Dictionary.”
China Vitae : Search by name, institution, role and location with Boolean operators.
Congressional Medal of Honor Society : Complete citations for more than 3,400 recipients, history of the Medal and statistics. Inspirational.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online : Covers 1000-1930.
Distinguished Women of Past and Present : Biographies from diverse sources representing many countries, historical periods and fields. Currently being updated (Oct. 3, 2009)
Women of the Hall has biographies of prominent women from U.S. history.
The Political Graveyard : Directory of 120,948 politicians, judges and diplomats, giving biographical information along with burial sites. Browse names alphabetically, search by state and office, by birth or death date. Includes gazetteer.
Vermont Women’s History Project : Biographical information about women throughout Vermont’s history, sponsored by the Vermont Commission on Women. Search by location, era or occupation.
Who2 : Information about celebrities, including historical figures and names from fiction. Browse alphabetically, search by birth year or geographically.
Who's Alive and Who's Dead : Recently prominent people. Browse by category (actors, sports figures, murderers, etc.), by recent deaths, new listings, and today birthdays, or search the alphabetical list.
GENEALOGY
Ancestry.com : Easy searching by individual name in family trees, Social Security death index, selected census and vital records. Fees for full-text. Free access at the Vermont Dept. of Libraries Law Library, Montpelier.
cyndislist.com : Links to 181,400 genealogy related pages.
Death Indexes : Organized by state, most links require fees for all or most records.
Ellis Island : Passenger lists, multiple searching options. Requires free registration.
Family Search : Mormons' genealogy web site.
HeritageQuest.com available for Vermont libraries who subscribe to the Vermont Online Library (VOL).
RootsWeb.com : Commercial and related to Ancestry.com, but links users to message boards, volunteer projects and genealogy information submitted by other researchers. The USGENWEB project is part of this site. Queries can be posted and “look-ups” requested.
GEOGRAPHY
World
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection : Online maps of all types, plus a map portal. Note maps of current interest. One, the Swine Flu Tweet Map, has moved to: http://www.mibazaar.com/swineflu.html
Sheperd, William R. Historical Atlas. New York, Henry Holt and Company, 1923. : Links to – you guessed it – historical maps (.jpgs). Ancient Greece, Egypt, Rome, Europe, etc., up to 19th Century. Part of the Perry-Castaneda map collection.
United States
USGS : Producer of topo maps, and many other types. USE: “Maps imagery publications” tab, then “USG Store” (or “download digital maps…”), then “map locator”. Nice feature: floating lat and long display as cursor is moved. Search utility is here. Many resources under the “Science Areas” menu on the left of the home page such as: Geologic maps (28 items) – can search by period (Cenozoic, Mesozoic, Paleolithic, precambrian), Topographic maps (3 items), Aeromagnetic maps (4 items) – like a gamma-ray intensity map of western Afghanistan, Earthquake occurrence maps (13 items) – more than just occurrence; predictability, volcanoes, tectonic plates, etc., Geochemical anomaly maps (9 items) – selected places: pesticide in wells in NJ, Carolina slate belt gold deposits, thermal hotspots in NYC after 9/11, etc., Gravity anomaly maps (5 items), Hydrologic maps (28 items), Landslide maps (4 items) – landslide probabilities and substrate liquefaction indica, Landslide susceptibility maps, Magnetic anomaly maps, Species distribution maps, Surficial geologic maps, Tectonic maps, Seismicity maps.
Vermont
Vermont Town Highway Maps : Town roads, state roads and Interstate highway by number, class, length and length by class (including discontinued, impassable and trails). Oldest town maps a mere six years old. Archived maps: http://www.mtbytes.com/vtrans/ Search by location or year.
TRAVEL
Expedia.com : Major commercial site for reservations, but users can also search by destination or by trip type (ski, romance, Disney, national parks, etc.)
Fodor's Travel Online : Travel information for major U. S. and international cities. Small portion of content from print series.
Frommers.com : Search by destination, theme, etc. Features maps, deals, etc. and handy Calendar of Events.
Lonely Planet : Travel advice, services, suggestions, members contributions (including Flickr and Twitter partnerships). Novel approaches to travel: ten best places to bathe, New York's West Side from a bike, take your kids to Rio, etc.
Tripadvisor : Good for traveler’s advice. Reviews, forums, overviews, articles, etc. Photos from hotels and resorts (some pulled from Expedia).
Yahoo! Travel : For reservations also. Nice travel “theme” feature (weekend, ski, honeymoon, winter, national parks, etc.)
HISTORY
American Women's History: a research guide : Subject and state indexes to print and internet sources. General history as well as women's history.
Best of History Web sites : Annotated links to over 1000 quality history web sites, useful for schoolwork. Contains links to a variety of PBS, BBC, and other credible sites.
HyperHistory Online : Color-coded timelines of people and events by historical period over the past 3000 years. Deceased people only. Most prominent individuals only. A similar resource, World History Timeline , gives a comprehensive narrative of world events, 1000-1799 by decade, 1800 to present by year. From the History Channel. To search, choose World Timeline on left, then select century.
Internet Archive : A digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts. Includes text, audio recordings, movies, software, and archived webpages.
Library of Congress American Memory : Access to the manuscript collections at the Library of Congress, selected topics only, best for browsing. View documents, photographs, videos.
World History : The History Channel’s site. Pleasing to the eye, varied resources, good section with audio/video of historic speeches.
Vermont Life Index : Keyword searching within article titles for issues 1946- . No keyword searching within text of articles. No links to full-text, only links to back issue purchase. Request articles from DOL ILL.
Vermont Timeline : Brief list of events in Vermont history including a few pre-historic events. Produced by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation.
NEWS AND CURRENT EVENTS
ABC News : News from the American Broadcasting Company's successor corporation.
Burlington Free Press/Rutland Herald Index : Via the University of Vermont's website.
CBS News : News from the Columbia Broadcasting System's successor corporation.
CNN : News from the Cable News Network.
Fox News : News from the Fox Corporation.
NBC News : News from the National Broadcasting Company's successor corporation.
New York Times: "All the news that's fit to print". Also available is a link to the "Global Edition".
Newseum : Over 700 front pages from 71 countries.
Politico : News and commentary.
Politifact : From the St. Petersberg Times. Commentary and fact-checking.
Washington Post Archives : 1877 to present. Many free hits, followed by priced hits.
|
|
This program is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency, through the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Vermont Department of Libraries. |
