Find Reference Material
| Almanacs | |
| CIA World Fact Book | Good overview, including maps, of most countries in the world. |
| Infoplease.com |
An online version of the Information Please Almanac. |
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| Biographical Sources | |
| Contemporary Authors | A section of the Gale Literature Resource Center. Provides complete biographical & bibliographical information on 120,000+ U.S. and international authors. |
| Biography.com | Over 20,000 entries from the Arts and Entertainment television network show, Biography. |
| Biographical Dictionary | Biographical information on "more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day." |
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| Bookstores Online | |
| Amazon.com | Search for books - includes some reviews |
| BarnesandNoble.com | Search for books - includes some reviews |
| AddALL.com | Book search and price comparison |
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| Colleges and Universities | |
| America's Best Graduate Schools | Maintained by U.S. News and World Report |
| Petersons.com | Offers information about colleges, graduate study, studying abroad. Links to downloadable enrollment forms, information on test preparation and financial aid. |
| 2007 Colleges, College Scholarships, and Financial Aid Page | Free college and financial aid searches plus SAT and ACT test preparation. |
| U.S. Universities and Community Colleges | List maintained by the University of Texas at Austin. Links to U.S. universities as well as community colleges. |
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| Dictionaries/Thesaurus | |
| YourDictionary.com | Links to more than 1,800 dictionaries in 20 languages. |
| OneLook.com | "Search engine for words and phrases." Includes translations as well as definitions. |
| Merriam-Webster Online | Searchable version of online English dictionary and thesaurus. |
| Netlingo.com |
Words and definitions that describe "online world of business, technology, and communication" |
| Webopedia |
Online dictionary of computer and internet technology terms |
| Roget's Thesaurus | Search for synonyms in the 1911 edition. |
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| Directories | |
| LiteraryMarketPlace.com | The online directory of the book publishing industry, with information about publishers, agents, wholesalers, etc. |
| PubList.com | Easy access detailed publishing information on 150,000+ U.S. and international print and electronic publications |
| Thomas Register | Finds companies and their products manufactured in North America |
| U.S.Societies & Associations | A listing of general interest societies & associations in the United States |
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| Encyclopedias | |
| Gale Virtual Reference Library | Online subject encyclopedias |
| Britannica Online | Online version of the famous encyclopedia |
| Access Science | Includes the online version of the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology |
| CREDOreference | Full text general reference resources |
| Wesley | Search < ref > under < Local Call Number > |
| How Stuff Works | Offers explanations about the operation of a wide range of items |
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| Government Information | |
| USA.gov | A portal to U.S. state and federal government web sites. |
| United States Depository Ready Reference Sources | A convenient arrangement of freguently-used government documents (e.g. Consumer Price Indexes, Budget of the U.S. Government, etc.) |
| Bureau of the Census | The official site includes access tools, current economic indicators, and more. |
| Constitution of the United States of America | Analysis and interpretation of the U.S. Supreme Court decisions that deal with core constitutional issues. Also included are proposed amendments not ratified, congressional acts, state measures, and municipal ordinances deemed unconstitutional, and acts of Congress held unconstitutional. |
| FedStats | Easy access to a range of statistics and information produced by more than 70 U.S. federal government agencies. |
| GPO Access: A Service of the U.S. Government Printing Office | Links to some of the most important federal government information, including searchable, full text versions of the Federal Register, Congressional Record, Congressional Bills, and U.S. Government Manual. |
| The Library of Congress | Information about the Library of Congress, digital collections, and links to federal and state government information sources. |
| United States Code | Contains the Legal Information Institute's hypertext version of the full U.S. code (the laws in force as of 26 January 1998) and other important legal documents. |
| Supreme Court Collection | A searchable, hypertext version of U.S. Supreme Court decisions from May 1990 to the present plus 582 historic decisions and information about the Court. |
| THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet | The official site for Congress and Senate information. Contains links to the full text of legislation, full text of the Congressional Record, Congressional Record Index, Bill Summary & Status, Legislation, the U.S. Constitution, and more. |
| Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents | Offers all public statements or writings of the President, including speeches, press conferences, messages to Congress. |
| Project Vote Smart | Researches, tracks, and provides independent factual information on over 13,000 candidates and elected officials. Voting records, campaign issue positions, performance evaluations by special interests, campaign contribution, backgrounds, previous experience, and contact information are available. |
| Center for Disease Control and Prevention | News, articles on health topics, data and statistics, etc. |
| Background Notes | From U.S. Dept. of State Information about countries: people, history, government, economy, politics plus travel and business information. |
| U.S. Gazetteer | From U.S. Census Bureau, search for information on places in the U.S. |
| Statistical Abstract of the U.S. | Online version of popular annual reference book of statistics. |
| Iowa Official State Website | |
| Iowa Official Register | |
| Travel Iowa | Official Iowa tourism website |
| Midwest Profiles | From Dept. of Economics at Iowa State. Information about Iowa and 11 other Midwestern States |
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| Jobs/Careers | |
| NationJob.com | Information for both job seekers and employers |
| CareerBuilder.com | Search for jobs by job type, location, industry, company. |
| Monster.com | A popular employment site with several search options. |
| The Riley Guide.com | Detailed information on almost any topic related to employment. |
| IowaJobs | Job listings from Iowa Workforce Development |
| Occupational Outlook Handbook | Source of career information for "individuals making decisions about their future work lives." |
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| Librarians' Favorite List | |
| U.C. Berkeley Virtual Information Center | Internet resource links by academic disciplines |
| RensSearch | Rennsselaer Polytechnics Reference Room Lists |
| I-tools.com | "Quick access to the best internet tools" |
| refdesk.com | About indexing quality internet sites and assisting visitors in navigating these sites. |
| Internet Public Library Reference Center | From U. of Michigan, a public service organization whose activities include: "finding, evaluating, selecting, organizing, describing, and creating information resources. |
| Librarians' Index to the Internet | Searchable and annotated subject directory of resources selected and evaluated by librarians. |
| Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory List of Lists | Internet searching resources with a science emphasis. |
| Bartleby.com | Search several books of quotations, including the 1919 ed. of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations |
| LibrarySpot.com | Hand selected sites intended as "a free virtual library resource center for educators and their students, librarians and their patrons." |
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| Maps, Atlases, Driving Directions | |
| MapQuest | The leader in online mapping and driving directions |
| Rand McNally | Driving directions as well as planning a road trip feature |
| U.S. Gazetteer | Search for any place in the U.S. |
| National Geographic Maps & Geography Online | "Map machine" feature searches online atlas to provide a variety of worldwide maps. |
| Indo.com | How Far Is It? Finds "latitude and longitude of two places and then calculates the distance between them (as the crow flies)." |
| 1895 U.S. Atlas: Iowa | |
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| News/Current Events | |
| Today's News | Archival News |
| Links to Iowa Newspapers - Complete coverage of all daily and weekly newspapers in Iowa | Newsbank |
| Burlington (IA) Hawkeye Newspaper | |
| Cedar Rapids Gazette Online | |
| Christian Science Monitor Electronic Edition | |
| Des Moines Register | |
| Mount Pleasant News | |
| New York Times College Edition | |
| Television News Archives | |
| Newslink - Links to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and TV sources worldwide | |
| CNN (Cable News Network) | |
| BBC (British Broadcasting Co.) | |
| ESPN (sports) | |
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| Quotations | |
| Bartlett's Familiar Quotations | Search the 1919 10th edition of this famous work. |
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| Sports/TV/Entertainment | |
| Yahoo TV | Local listings and Nielsen ratings |
| Yahoo Movies | |
| ESPN sports | |
| MegaSoccer.com | |
| NCAA | Subject search for sports related topics plus statistics and polls |
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| Statistics | |
| Statistical Resources on the Web | Statistical files assembled by the University of Michigan. Included are hundreds of U.S. statistics as well as those for foreign countries and trade. |
| Statistical Abstract of the United States | As the National Data Book, it contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the U.S. |
| FedStats | Gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. federal agencies. |
| Iowa State DataCenter | The official source for U.S. census statistics about Iowa. |
| Sports Statistics on the Web | |
| U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics | An extensive collection of statistics and reports related to crime and justice. |
| National Center for Education Statistics | Collects and analyzes education related data. |
| National Center for Health Statistics | Collects and analyzes health related data. |
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| Telephone Numbers/Addresses/E-mail/Zip Codes | |
| AnyWho | One stop searching for residential and business phone numbers and addresses. Include toll-free numbers. From AT&T. |
| WorldPages | Look for business, people, e-mail addresses in the U.S. and worldwide. |
| Telephone Directories on the Web | An annotated meta-index of online phone books. |
| Zip+4Lookup | From U.S. Postal Service. Gives zip codes nation-wide. |
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| Weather | |
| Intellicast.com | Weather for the Mt. Pleasant area (choose "Iowa" then "Mt. Pleasant" to get weather forecast) |
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