Reference Resources On the Web
Here you can find lots of information about history, geography, government, biographies, literature, science and also general resources such as encyclopedias, dictionaries and almanacs.
Search for reliable information on any topic.
History, Government & Geography
CIA Homepage for Kids
History, Geography, and the World Factbook presented by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, designed especially for kids!
The CIA World Factbook
Wide variety of information about countries of the world, including maps, prepared by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.
States and Capitals (50states.com)
Look here to find out about the states of the U.S. and their capitals.
Today In History
A feature of the American Memory collections of the Library of Congress. A special historical, primary source feature for each day of the year.
On This Day
The New York Times provides a look at the front page and news stories about important events from different years. Includes recognition of important birthdays, plus other information related to that day in history.
Old Farmer's Almanac
One of the first almanacs published in the U.S. is now online.
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Abbreviations and Acronyms of the U.S. Government
When you hear people use strings of letters (acronyms) when referring the government, such as "ARPA", do you wonder what they stand for? This page shows what they stand for and link to the government agency.
American FactFinder
General information about the American people gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Ben's Guide to American Government for Kids (Grades 7-12)
Info USA
Information about many agencies and departments of the U.S. government, produced and maintained by the U.S. Department of State. Created for foreign audiences seeking information about American society, political processes, official U.S. policies and culture, but useful for all as an accurate source of data and information.
US Census Bureau
The provider of timely, relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the United States.
World
Leaders and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments
If you want to know who the top government officials are in any country of the world, please look at this page.
Heraldica
This site contains a variety of information on heraldry and related topics, in the form of texts, images and links.
Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index
A very large, well-organized and indexed collection of editorial cartoons.
World Flag Database
In addition to flags, "There are over 260 pages on countries and international organizations. Each page contains basic information on the country, including its formal name, capital city, area, population, currency, languages, and religions."
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U.S. Geological Survey
Geographical information for the United States is offered here. See and browse their new section: USGS Information by State for information on Earthquakes, Floods, Maps, Public Health, Volcanoes and other similar/related topics.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
Find the most frequently requested statistics about the United States here. Collected and provided by the U.S. Census.
World Population Data
"...contains the latest population estimates, projections, and other key indicators for 200 countries, including births, deaths, natural increase, infant mortality, total fertility, life expectancy, urban population, HIV/AIDS prevalence, contraceptive use, GNI PPP per capita, land area, and population per square mile.
Maps & Gazetteers
Altapedia Online
"Contains full color physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world."
The National Atlas of the United States of America
The National Atlas of the United States is intended to provide a comprehensive, map-like view into the enormous wealth of data collected by the Federal Government.
The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping
This is a very handy place to find maps of places of the world. It has many, many other mapping resources as well! Browse the index to find the information you need.
Map Machine (National Geographic)
Maps from the world famous National Geographic organization.
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U.S. Gazetteer
Find geographic facts about places in the U.S.
The World Gazetteer
Offers current population figures for cities, towns and places of all countries.
Biography
Biographical Dictionary
Very brief descriptions of over 18,000 people who have helped shape our earth.
Biographies (Homework Center)
Links to biographical information, organized by subject area of the person.
Conversations With History
Distinguished men and women from all over the world talk about their lives and their work.
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."
Outline of American History Biographies
The biographies included in the hypertext book about American History.
Science / Mathematics Biographies and History
Combines links to biographies and history related to science and mathematics.
WIC Biography Index
Links to biographical information about various "women of accomplishment". Created by the Women's International Center.
Cliché Finder
Looking for a "well worn phrase"? "Over 3,300 clichés indexed."
a.k.a. (Author Pseudonyms)
Here is where you go to find out the real name of an author who is using an alias (pseudonym). As of 9/26/01 there were 10,982 entries (3,924 'real' + 7,058 'pseudo') listed.
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Dictionaries, Thesauruses , Encyclopedias, & Almanacs
InfoPlease Almanac
Find answers to your questions in this wide ranging reference work, which includes an almanac, encyclopedia, and dictionary-- plus lots more. See also their Fact Monster for kids.
OneLook Dictionary Search
Searches over 20 different dictionaries at the same time.
Cambridge Dictionaries online ©
Three different Cambridge dictionaries may be searched from this site: International Dictionary of English, Dictionary of American English, and the Learner's Dictionary.
Columbia Encyclopedia
Contains "nearly 51,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references."
Encarta Encyclopedia (Free Version)
This is a scaled down version of the commercial version, but still worth checking if you don't have access to a full version.
Infoplease Encyclopedia and Dictionary
A combined small encyclopedia and dictionary.
Wikipedia
A free encyclopedia anyone can edit. It is a great source of information, but remember, it is created by everyday people whom, we hope, are experts in their field. Always check with a well know source, like Encarta, just to make sure!
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Science
Calendar Conversions
There are many different calendars in use. This converter converts one into another.
A Dictionary of Units of Measurement
Helpful for converting units of measurement.
How Stuff Works
Explains in detail what makes a wide variety of things function, from air conditioners to jake brakes to tattoos.
How things get done (eHow.com)
Explains how to do things, and where to buy what you need to do it with.
Periodic Table of the Elements
Find information about the elements that make up our physical world. Very basic and simple.
The PLANTS Database
Includes names, checklists, automated tools, identification information, species abstracts, distributional data, crop information, plant symbols, plant growth data, plant materials information, plant links, references, and other plant information.
WebElements Periodic Table
The Periodic Table of the Elements includes basic information about the chemical elements of the scientific world.
Quotations
Creative Quotations to Inspire Creative Thinking
Provides thousands of quotations, organized and searchable by various arrangements (e.g., month, day, theme, famous person.)
American
Rhetoric
Search for the texts of many famous speeches and addresses. Find quotations too.
Quoteland.com
Quotations on many topics, by many authors, and in many possible fashions.
Statistics
Baseball: Major League Baseball Historical Stats
Check the statistics of any and all professional baseball players.
Fast Facts: Almanacs/Factbooks/Statistical Reports & Related ....
A huge collection on non-annotated links to ready reference sources online.
InfoPlease
Great resource for writing papers, and includes almanac, encyclopedia, dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, homework center, and white pages.
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General Resources
Pinchbeck -
Homework Helper
From the famous student's Homework Helper website. Collection of links to ready reference works.
Reference. Bartleby.com
A number of high quality reference books are available here includes "contemporary and classic reference works."
Refdesk.com - Quick Reference / Research
Collection of links to ready reference works. Check out their main page too!
Internet Movie Database
Find out about the different movies, actors, directors and other interesting background on films. Huge! See their Oscar Awards section!
Librarians'
Internet Index
Searchable and annotated
subject directory of Internet resources selected and
evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of
public libraries.
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