Reference Page
| Almanacs, Atlases & Maps | Biographies | Country & State Info. | Dictionary and Thesaurus Sites |
| Encyclopedias | Etymology - The Study of Names | General Reference & Homework Help | Quotations & Speeches |
Online Searching
College-BoundA great resource site for the college-bound student - created by the San Diego County of Education
Almanacs
HandbookThis site from George Washington University provides "a guide to find 'fast facts' like those you find in an almanac or statistical abstract."
Information Please: On-Line Dictionary, Internet Encyclopedia, Atlas, & Almanac Reference
Ready reference tool that includes almanac, encyclopedia and dictionary information
Welcome to Almanac.com
"The Old Farmer's Almanac has published useful information for people in all walks of life: tide tables for those who live near the ocean; sunrise tables and planting charts for those who live on the farm; recipes for those who live in the kitchen; and forecasts for those who don't like the question of weather left up in the air."
Atlases & Maps
Atlapedia OnlineContains full color physical and political maps, as well as key facts and statistics about countries of the world
Atlas Maps - The National Atlas of the United States of America
"This program allows you to make your own maps. Select, change, and display map layers. Roam across America and zoom in to reveal more detail. Point at map features to learn more about them. Locate and map more than 2,000,000 geographic names in the United States."
CGRER NetSurfing: Maps and References
This site from the University of Iowa "is intended to be an introductory guide to some of the map and reference resources available via the World Wide Web."
MapQuest: Driving Directions, Maps & Live Traffic Reports
A great site for finding a location, getting driving directions, or planning a trip
Maps @ nationalgeographic.com
An incredible map and geography website from National Geographic
PCL Map Collection
An outstanding collection of world maps from the University of Texas
TopoZone - The Web's Topographic Map
Topozone has "worked with the USGS to create the Web's first interactive topo map of the entire United States."
Yahoo! Maps and Driving Directions
Another good site for driving directions and area maps
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Biographies
Biographical Dictionary"This dictionary covers more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day. The dictionary can be searched by birth years, death years, positions held, professions, literary and artistic works, achievements, and other keywords."
Homework Center - Biographies
A biography homework help site from Multnomah County Library
Index to Biographical Entries. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001
Biographical information from Columbia Encyclopedia
Biographies (Homework Center)
Over 19,000 biographies available from the Multnomah County Library
The Nobel Prize Internet Archive
An interactive website of biographical information on Nobel Prize winners
The Past Men of the Year
Biographical information on Men of the Year winners
Universitätsbibliothek TU BS, WBI Recherche
This site gives bibliographic information on people around the world, living and deceased.
Women's biographies: Distinguished Women of Past and Present
"This site has biographies of women who contributed to our culture in many different ways. There are writers,educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and others. Some were alive hundreds of years ago and some are living today."
Country & State Info.
50states.com - States and CapitalsFacts about all U.S. states, including motto, flag, and even the state song
Welcome to California
The official California state website
U.S. Gazetteer
Census information from the U.S. Census Bureau
U.S. Geological Survey Home Page
An extensive geological website
WorldFactbook2000
An incredible site for information on countries of the world
World Gazetteer: population figures for cities, towns and places
"This site provides statistics about current population of countries, their administrative divisions, cities and towns as well as images of the current national flags."
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Dictionary and Thesaurus Sites
The American Heritage Book of English Usage. 1996"With a detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms, this valuable reference work is ideal for students, writers, academicians and anybody concerned about proper writing style."
ARTFL Project: ROGET'S Thesaurus Search Form
The University of Chicago has created an online version of Roget's Thesaurus.
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Merriam-Webster OnLine - Dictionary - Thesaurus - Word of the Day - Word Games - Word for the Wise
Dictionary and thesaurus reference from Merriam Webster
The Newbury House Online Dictionary
"This online dictionary contains over 40,000 entries and is based on the best selling Newbury House Dictionary of American English. Providing simple and clear definitions, this online tool provides a wealth of sample sentences, idioms, and a wide array of cultural facts and figures."
OneLook® Dictionaries
This online dictionary even includes a language translator.
Dictionaries & Translation Sites
An outstanding resource for English, foreign language and specialty dictionary links from the University of Texas Library
RhymeZone
Type in a word and find " its rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more."
Thesaurus.com
A good online source for thesaurus, dictionary, and grammar information
Undergraduate Writing Center
Another outstanding website from the University of Texas
yourDictionary.com - Home Page
This site even includes foreign language dictionaries
Encyclopedias
Britannica.comThis is an online version of the Britannica Encylopedia.
Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001
Another excellent online Encyclopedia
Encyclopedia.com from Electric Library
An user-friendly online encyclopedia
Smithsonian: Encyclopedia Smithsonian
An outstanding, easy to use online encyclopedia from the Smithsonian Institute
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Etymology - The Study of Names
Behind the Name - the Etymology and History of First NamesThis site gives information on first names
Hall of Names
This site gives information on last names.
General Reference & Homework Help
Ask Jeeves - Ask.comA user-friendly search engine where students can ask questions on almost any topic
American FactFinder
This is an incredible site. It provides complete 2000 census information from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Consumer Education for Teens
Interesting consumer information from the Washington State Attorney General's office
Home Page: American Memory from the Library of Congress
This is a fabulous site. It is worth taking some time and looking at the many collections. "American Memory is a gateway to rich primary source materials relating to the history and culture of the United States. The site offers more than 7 million digital items from more than 100 historical collections."
Berkeley Digital Library SunSITE
Authoritative educational resource from UC Berkeley
Homework Help offers BJ Pinchbeck's help with homework at DiscoverySchool.com.
Compiled by a student who understands the reference needs of fellow students
DiscoverySchool.com
This site gives links to good reference websites for students
Explain Acronym Search - The ultimate acronym tool with a new home at WIRS, UWA
If you need to know what an acronym stands for, this is site for you.
Finding Data on the Internet
Another good site that links you to reference sites for students
FunkandWagnalls.com
IPL POTUS -- Presidents of the United States
"In this resource you will find background information, election results, cabinet members, notable events, and some points of interest on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included to enrich this site."
Reference research refdesk.com
A one-stop reference source
Smithsonian Institution
You can find the resources of the Smithsonian Institute in this online museum.
Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
A collection of data on social, economic, and international subjects - a superlative site for statistical information
SYMBOLS.com -- encyclopedia of Western signs and ideograms
"SYMBOLS.com contains more than 2,500 Western signs, arranged into 54 groups according to their graphic characteristics. In 1,600 articles their histories, uses, and meanings are thoroughly discussed."
The Virtual Reference Desk
A terrific online reference source
UCSD Libraries: Reference Shelf
"The Reference Shelf is a service of the UCSD Libraries. It is a collection of information sources on the Internet such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, directories, handbooks, manuals, guides, and other general resources"
Welcome to California
This is the official home page for the state of California; it is a wonderful resource for California government and history research.
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Quotations & Speeches
Bartlett, John, comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th edition"A collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their sources in ancient and nodern literature - This tenth edition of 1919 contains over 11,000 searchable quotations."
The Quotations Home Page
"The collections presented here contain thousands of quotations, old and new, familiar and obscure, humorous and pompous, ironic and maybe even a little profound. This site is intended as a place for enjoyment, enlightenment, exploration and general reference."
The Quotations Page
Not as thorough as Bartlett's, but it provides another source for famous quotations
Simpson, James B., comp. 1988. Simpson?s Contemporary Quotations
Another excellent quotation site - "over 10,000 quotations from 4,000 sources organized into 25 categories and 60 sections"
Speeches and Quotations--College of St. Catherine Libraries
This is an excellent site to find not only quotes but notable speeches.
Speech and Transcript Center
An outstanding and authoritative speech and transcript website