Quick Reference

Quick Reference

ALMANACS

CIA- WORLD FACTBOOK

This government publication offers demographic, geographical, and political information about countries of the world.
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

FARMERS’ ALMANAC

This almanac is the oldest almanac in publication. This electronic version offers information on the weather, gardening and cooking.
http://www.farmersalmanac.com/

INFORMATION PLEASE ALMANAC

This almanac offers information about the United States, the World, Arts & Entertainment, Biography, Business, Health & Science, History & Government, Society & Culture, and Sports.
http://www.infoplease.com/almanacs.html

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BIOGRAPHIES

BIOGRAPHY CENTER

The Biography Center contains over 25,000 entries and is international in scope.
http://www.biography-center.com/

DISTINGUISHED WOMEN OF THE PAST AND PRESENT

Women from all periods of history are represented on this site.
http://www.distinguishedwomen.com/

INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY: BIOGRAPHIES

This meta site provides links to biographical information of many people both living and dead. Biographies are listed by artists & architects, authors, entertainers, musicians & composers, politicians & rulers, and scientists & inventors.
http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref15.00.00/

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CALCULATIONS & CONVERSION TOOLS

A DICTIONARY OF MEASURES, UNITS, AND CONVERSIONS

This site contains measures and units. The measures and units are defined, and the site details how to convert these measures and units into standard units as well as other units for all types of subjects and purposes
http://www.ex.ac.uk/cimt/dictunit/dictunit.htm

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CENSUS DATA & DEMOGRAPHICS

AMERICAN FACTFINDER

This site is maintained by the Census Bureau. Demographic information is obtained from the 2000 US Census.
http://factfinder.census.gov

Census Bureau

This site is maintained by the US Department of the Census. Demographic data gathered from the census are divided into the following categories: people, business and geography.
http://www.census.gov

Fedstats

This site contains statistics that are contributed from over 70 federal agencies ranging from agriculture to transportation. This site is sponsored by the federal government.
http://www.fedstats.gov

GPO ACCESS

This site is the home of the federal government’s printing office. Publications can be bought here. This site is not limited to the GPO, and it includes links to all types of federal sites and services.
http://www.gpoaccess.gov

National Archives and Records Administration

The National Archives sponsors this website to display some of the federal records maintained by the NARA. The NARA’s mission is to preserve the federal records of the United States. Statistics, records and photographs can be located on this website.
http://www.archives.gov

Statistical Abstract of the United States

This online version of the book created by the Census Bureau provides data in both graphic and statistical format for many topics such as business, economics, social issues and mortality.
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/

United States Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statisitics

The United States Department of Statistics- Bureau of Labor has compiled a list of statistical resources.
http://www.bls.gov/

U.S. Gazetteer

Census and demographic data is available by zip code or place name.
http://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/gazetteer

U.S. State Fact Sheets

This site provides population and employment information including farming. It is sponsored by the Department of Agriculture.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/

United States Historical Census Data Browser

This site covers the social and economic data of the United States from 1790-1970.
http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/census

World Gazetteer

This site provides population for towns and cities spanning the world. National flags are also featured.
http://www.world-gazetteer.com/home.htm

U.S. Census Bureau International Database

Provides demographic and socio-economic data in table form for over 227 countries.
http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/idprint.html

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DICTIONARIES

ACRONYM FINDER

This site contains a database about the meanings of acronyms from all subject areas with a primary focus on technical terms from the fields of computers, defense and telecommunications.
http://www.AcronymFinder.com

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

This dictionary provides detailed definitions, pronunciation, and usage for over 90,0000 words.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/

ASK OXFORD.COM

This site contains a database where you can search for the definition of words from the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).
http://www.askoxford.com

CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARIES ONLINE

Cambridge provides an English word dictionary, but also a French/English and a Spanish/English dictionary that can be accessed.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

This site provides a dictionary and a thesaurus online. The dictionary and thesaurus provide definitions and usage for each word in the database.
http://www.m-w.com

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Columbia Encyclopedia

This online version of the sixth edition of the this encyclopedia contains over 51,000 entries with over 80,000 cross reference links.
http://www.bartleby.com/65

Encyclopaedia Britannica

This online encyclopedia provides brief articles on a wide variety of topics. There is also a subscription service that is fee based that provides detail comparable to the print version.
http://www.britannica.com

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GEOGRAPHY

GEOGRAPHIC.ORG

This site provides information about countries such as climate, flags, maps, and country rankings. The country rankings is exhaustive covering many morbidity, population, transportation and economic topics. The lists are easy to access and properly sourced.
http://www.geographic.org

Mapquest

This popular site provided both maps and driving directions for users looking for how to get from one place to another. The directions include the estimated time required for driving the distance. Maps accompany the directions that enable the user to see roads and routes.
http://www.mapquest.com

USGS Geography Information

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Geological Survey. The mission of this site is to provide and maintain the National Map. This is done by partnering with federal, state and local agencies to show the current state of geospatial data for the United States.
http://mapping.usgs.gov

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NEWS & CURRENT EVENTS

Citizens’ Voice

The online version of this newspaper that details the Wyoming Valley and Luzerne County.
http://www.citizensvoice.com

New York Times

Since 1857, this newspaper has been one of the premier news sources in the country. The web version requires users to register, however the registration is free.
http://www.nytimes.com

Times Leader

This online version of the Times Leader, a local newspaper, details news and events in the Wyoming Valley region and Luzerne County. National and international news is also covered by wire services.
http://www.leader.net

Washington Post

The Washington Post provides information on current events from a national and international perspective. The Washington Post is one of the nation’s premier newspapers. Registration is not required.
http://www.washingtonpost.com

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QUOTATIONS

COLUMBIA WORLD OF QUOTATIONS

This searchable site contains 65,000 quotes arranged by subject and author. This comprehensive site also enables full-text searching.
http://www.bartleby.com/66

FAMILIAR QUOTATIONS

Bartlett’s 10th edition contains over 11,000 searchable quotes. This work is arranged in three ways: the chronological index of authors shows the evolution of quotes throughout history; alphabetical listing of authors for those familiar with the who said a quote, and concordance listing detailing an alphabetical listing of quotes by keyword.
http://www.bartleby.com/100/

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REVIEWS

INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE

The most comprehensive grouping of films and film players and creators on the world wide web.
http://imdb.com

METACRITIC

This site provides reviews to movies and other forms of media such as videogames.
The reviews are from both national magazines and major newspapers.
http://www.metacritic.com/film/

THE NEW YORK TIMES- MOVIES

Over 5000 reviews from the New York Times can be reviewed since 1983. Some films dating back to 1929 are also on this site. Access is free, but registration is required.
http://movies.nytimes.com/ref/movies/reviews/index.html

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STYLE AND WRITING GUIDES

APA STYLE TIPS

This electronic fact sheet answers common questions for using APA format for the preparation of papers. Links are supplied for citing sources in both print and electronic formats.
http://www.apastyle.org/previoustips.html

USING APA FORMAT

This site from Purdue University details APA format from paper format to a Reference List. This cite summarizes the APA format for the 5th edition.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

USING MLA FORMAT

This site is also from Purdue University. It details the MLA format for both print and electronic resources for the 6th edition.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html