| Encyclopedias,
Almanacs, and Dictionaries |
| |
50states.com
http://www.50states.com/
Find information about each state in the United States--capital,
famous people from the state, area, bird, flower, climate, colleges,
economy, flag, governor, and state song. |
American
Sign Language
http://commtechlab.msu.edu/sites/aslweb/browser.htm
|
|
Area
Code and Zip Code Look-ups
http://www.melissadata.com/keywordsearch/zipcode.htm
You're only a few clicks away from a plethora of information that
could make
your
life easier. These lookups are easy to use and will save you hours
in time, energy & frustration. |
ARTFL
Project: Roget's Thesaurus Search Form
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ARTFL/forms_unrest/ROGET.html |
Atlapedia
Online
http://www.atlapedia.com/index.html
The countries A to Z section provides facts, figures, and statistical
data on
geography, climate, people, religion, language, history, economy,
and more. |
Biographical
Dictionary
http://www.s9.com/biography/
This dictionary includes more than 27,000 notable men and women
who have
shaped our world from ancient times to the present day. |
Biographical
Directory of the United States Congress
http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp
Biographies of individuals who have served in Congress from
1774 through
the present. |
The
Cambridge History of English and American Literature: An Encyclopedia
in
Eighteen Volumes
http://www.bartleby.com/cambridge/
This is an online publication of all eighteen volumes of Cambridge
History of
English and American Literature. Includes an index to authors, bibliographies,
and chapters. A large resource on literary criticism and history. |
CNN:
Video Almanac
http://www.cnn.com/resources/video.almanac/
Relive the news as it happened. Cheer for the rescue of "Baby
Jessica," join
candlelight vigils marking the death of Jerry Garcia or jiggle along
with CNN
reporter Anne McDermott as she braces for an aftershock from the
quakes that
rocked southern California in 1992. Here you will find the best
video since the
birth of CNN in 1980. Choose a year or topic to begin a multimedia
tour through
history. |
Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/ |
Encarta
World English Dictionary
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx
North American Edition. The online dictionary that speaks to you. |
Encyclopedia
of 1848 Revolutions
http://cscwww.cats.ohiou.edu/~Chastain/index.htm
Nineteenth-century Europe. |
Familiar
Quotations: by John Bartlett.
http://www.bartleby.com/100/
A collection of passages, phrases, and proverbs traced to their
sources in ancient and modern literature by John Bartlett. 9th
edition. |
Farmers
Almanac
http://farmersalmanac.com/
Almanac Publishing Co. Reviewed: 5 March 2003.
This well-organized resource is the online version of the popular
Farmers'
Almanac. In keeping with the Almanac's goal of being informative
as well as
entertaining, the site, which provides only a selection of the features
contained
in the print version, offers astronomical data, gardening information,
and
cooking and household hints. In addition, the Almanac online also
provides a
list of links to other useful resources. The publishers do promote
the sale of the
print version of the Farmers' Almanac. A special feature is the
interactive bulletin
board where users can share information on such topics as the weather,
gardening, hobbies, or recipes, with other enthusiasts. Overall,
the site is a
useful and entertaining resource for a miscellany of information.
Best Free Reference Web Sites 2003
Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the reference and User
Services
Association (RUSA) of American Library Association |
HandSpeak™
http://www.handspeak.com/
HandSpeak™ is the largest, fast-growing popular sign language
dictionary online. |
Infonation
http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/infonation/e_i_map.htm
InfoNation is an easy-to-use, two-step database that allows
you to view and
compare the most up-to-date statistical data for the member states
of the United Nations. |
Infoplease
http://www.infoplease.com/
You can search the almanac, but the site also provides access
to an encyclopedia and dictionary, plus special sports and entertainment
sections. |
iTools
http://www.itools.com/
iTools.~ Reviewed 11 Feb. 2002 and 5 June 2002.
A revision of iTools' former Research-It! and Find-It! pages, the
site brings
together many useful online tools under six main headings. Search
Tools
provide links to search engines, subject directories, and phone
numbers or
email directories while Language Tools provide links to a variety
of dictionaries,
thesauri, and language translators. Research Tools link to such
resources as
encyclopedias, newspapers and magazines, and the Financial Tools
provide
currency converters. Map Tools provide links to driving directions
and maps,
and the Internet Tools allow the user to search networking, web
and html
sources.~ For resources in all six broad categories, you may either
use the
search interface provided by iTools or link directly to the source
sites.
Best Free Reference Web Sites 2002
Fourth Annual List
RUSA Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS)
American Library Association |
Merriam-Webster
Collegiate Dictionary
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm |
Merriam-Webster
Online
http://www.m-w.com/
At the language center you can find a dictionary and thesaurus.
A useful site. |
The
Morse Code Translator
http://www.soton.ac.uk/~scp93ch/morse/index.html?http://www.soton.ac.uk/
~scp93ch/morse/trans.html
Type your text and this site translates your text into Morse Code
dot-and-dash
text, a Morse Code sound file, or both. Speakers are necessary for
full enjoyment of this site. |
The
Old Farmer’s Almanac
http://www.almanac.com/index.php |
Refdesk.com
http://www.refdesk.com/
An extensive, searchable, collection of links "on three levels:
quick, studied
and deep." (The single best source for facts on the Net) |
Spell
Check
http://www.spellcheck.net/
Free online spell checker. Copy and paste a word or document up
to 5000
characters to check and correct it online. |
Stanford
Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is designed to be a dynamic
reference work. Each entry is maintained and kept up to date by
an expert or group of experts in the field. |
Symbols.com
http://www.symbols.com/
Symbols.com claims to be the world's largest online encyclopedia
of graphic
symbols! |
|
A
Web of On-line Dictionaries
http://www.yourdictionary.com/
YourDictionary.com has been recognized as the web's pre-eminent
language
portal by dozens of organizations around the world. Most recently,
YourDictionary.com was selected as the "Best of the Web for Reference"
by Forbes magazine. Other recent accolades have come from The
New Yorker, the BBC, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Washington
Post, USA Today, and Yahoo Internet Life,among
many others. This site is an English teacher's dream. |
Who
2
http://who2.com/
Find famous people fast! |
Wordsmyth:
The Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus
http://www.wordsmyth.net/
Wordsmyth meshes the functions of a dictionary and a thesaurus
with powerful
and flexible search capabilities. This database is designed to work
the way peoplethink. A spell-like button makes it easy to look up
words even if you aren't sure how they are spelled. The simple search
mode offers quick and easy lookups, while the advanced mode allows
the user to specify which fields will be
displayed in the results. An interactive result page is returned
including lists of
synonyms for which definitions are just a click away. Example sentences
and
phrases, and indicators of context and grammar are included. This
excellent
dictionary-thesaurus tool will allow those who utilize it to express
their ideas more concisely.
Best Free Reference Web Sites 2001
Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the Reference and
User Services Association (RUSA) of American Library Association
|
World
Factbook 2000
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
A CIA web page. Current facts about any country in the world can
be easily
accessed. Christy Rogers suggested this web site. |
XRefer.com
http://www.xrefer.com/
This database of electronic reference sources, billing itself
as a "reference
engine," is a great place to go for a quick lookup on many
topics. Xrefer.com
links free reference works from a number of publishers including
Oxford
University Press, Bloomsbury, and Macmillan. Although the resources
collected at Xrefer.com are not likely to be the current ARBA Best
Books, they do provide a useful, quick resource for looking up quotations,
terms, or subjects. The researcher can either search the whole database
by keyword or choose a specific subject area. Choosing an entry
from the search results brings up the full text of the entry, along
with cross-references and adjacent references in that particular
resource. Xrefer.com is an excellent starting point for the kind
of question that is likely to be answered in an encyclopedia, thesaurus,
or dictionary.
Best Free Reference Web Sites 2001
Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the Reference and
User Services Association (RUSA) of American Library Association
|
yourDictionary.com
http://www.yourdictionary.com
"yourDictionary.com provides the most comprehensive and authoritative
portal for language [and] language-related products and services
on the web with more than 1800 dictionaries with more than 250 languages."
An Advisory Council of Experts provides "guidance in the development,
acquisition, and maintenance of the dictionaries." The Endangered
Language Repository section has been created to highlight world
efforts to preserve the many languages and dialects that are threatened
with extinction. This site aims to "provide ways of building
vocabularies, studying grammar, practicing spoken and written languages,"
"provide scientific information about language as well as various
forms of language play designed to build language skills,"
and meet any linguistic need. Although the home page is a little
crowded, it is generally easy to use and navigate. There is a "Quick
Look-up" conveniently placed at the top for searching a word
either in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary or Thesaurus.
yourDictionary.com, with its easy-to-remember URL, should become
a favorite.
Best Free Reference Web Sites 2001
Machine-Assisted Reference Section (MARS) of the Reference and
User Services Association (RUSA) of American Library Association
|
|
