e-REFERENCE SHELF

General Resources
Internet Links by Subject
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What is the e-Reference Shelf?
The e-Reference Shelf lists both freely available and subscription web sites that have been reviewed by the WSU Librarians. Also, included are links to subject web pages that have also been selected by the WSU Librarians. For research assistance, please contact the Reference Desk.

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Almanacs & Factbooks
  • CIA World Factbook
    Comprehensive facts for 191 countries of the world including geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military, transnational issues, maps and flags. Additional appendices include information on international groups and organizations, environmental agreements and more.
  • Information Please Almanac
    A comprehensive reference source, hosted by Pearson Education, that combines the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas, and several almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records. (Retrieved from http://www.infoplease.com/helpfaqs.html#content10 on January 3, 2007).
  • The Old Farmer's Almanac
    Includes information about gardening, weather, astronomical information, and recipes.

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Associations & Universities
  • CollegeSource Online (WSU Only)
    This site allows access to 34,714 college catalogs from 2-year, 4-year, graduate and international schools. Also includes a course description database with millions of course records including the course names, codes, descriptions and credits (hosted by Career Guidance Foundation).
  • Gateway to Associations
    Hosted by the American Society of Association Executives, this database provides contact information to over 6,500 associations and organizations throughout the world; also includes background papers, links to additional websites and industry news.
  • University Homepage Directory
    This directory, hosted by the University of Texas at Austin, provides links to the homepages of American colleges and universities.

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Biographies
  • A&E Biography
    A companion to the television show, this site includes more than 25,000 biographies of famous stars, newsmakers and icons and includes video and audio clips.
  • Biographical Dictionary
    Produced by s9 Technologies, this site offers more than 33,000 biographies of men and women who have influenced the world from ancient history until today are included in this site. Biographies on this site can be edited by anyone and users can also create their own biography. Note: Because this site is self-edited, be sure to find information in other sources that confirm your findings.
  • Distinguished Women of Past & Present
    The biographies of female writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists, entertainers, and more are archived on this site. This site spans hundreds of years and includes well known and little known history makers. This site is created by Danuta Bois.
  • Who2?
    Access to short biographical entries on nearly 3,000 "famous people, characters, and creatures".
  • Who's Who Online
    Hosted by Who’s Who Global Network.A searchable site “containing professional and biographical data about individuals of accomplishment who are part of the worldwide Internet community. Profiles are provided by the individuals themselves” (retrieved from http://www.whoswho-online.com/ on January 3, 2007).

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Calculators & Converters
  • AIER Cost-of-Living Calculator
    The American Institute for Economic Research has created this calculator using the Consumer Price Index to convert the cost of living from 1913 to today.
  • ConvertIt.com Calculators
    Convert and calculate the difference in days, calendars, loans, sales tax, driving distance, flying distance, basic math, mathematical expressions, mathematical bases, Roman Numerals, Periodic Table of Elements, atmosphere and Body Mass Index on this site.
  • Inflation Converter
    Using the Consumer Price Index and Historical Statistics of the United States as its sources, this site calculates the cost of inflation.  It also includes links to an inflation calculator for Italy, the Consumer Price Index Home Page, Consumer Price Index Conversion Factors, Statistical Abstract of the United States, an inflation calculator in Java and the current value of old money.
  • MegaConverter 2
    The MegaConverter2 can convert everything from angles and density to wind chill and wire density. Created by Ben-Cam Intermedia.
  • OANDA Currency Converter
    Created by Olson and Associates, this site offers a multi-lingual currency converter for up-to-date exchange rates of 164 currencies.

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Citation Help Guides

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Dictionaries & Thesauri
English Language Dictionaries & Thesauri
  • The OED: Oxford English Dictionary
    (WSU Only) The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words—past and present—from across the English-speaking world.


  • ASLPro.com
    Demonstrated in videos, this site provides over 7,000 signs, over 1,300 Interdenominational signs, over 3,000 conversational phrases, and much more.
  • Babel Fish Translation
    This site will convert web pages and blocks of text into a selected language.
  • Clichésite.com
    The definitions and explanations of over 21,000 clichés, euphemisms, and sayings and figures of speech are detailed on this site.
  • Dictionary.com
    In addition to finding definitions to terminology, Dictionary.com also provides links to several online dictionaries (including non-English language dictionaries) and encyclopedias, a thesaurus, language resources (grammar and style manuals) and games (maintained by Lexico Publishing Group).
  • The Internet Acronym Server
    Silmaril Information Management Consultants have collected acronyms on the internet for 20 years. This site is a compilation of the acronyms collected.
  • Merriam-Webster OnLine
    This online version of the unabridged dictionary also offers a learner’s dictionary, word central for kids, a collegiate dictionary and the Encyclopedia Britannica.
  • Thesaurus.com
    Part of Dictionary.com, Thesaurus.com allows you to type in any word in the search box and a list of synonyms and antonyms will appear. The thesaurus used for this site is Roget's New Millennium™ Thesaurus.
  • Wordsmyth
    The Wordsmyth is the only dictionary with an integrated thesaurus eliminating the need for separate entries. The definitions are ordered by frequency of use and are clear, simple and succinct. University of Chicago's ARTFL Project assisted in presenting the first Web edition.
  • Word Spy
    This site defines the latest jargon.
Foreign Language Dictionaries
  • French-English Dictionary Form
    This French-to-English and English-to-French dictionary offers translations for approximately 75,000 words and is sponsored by the University of Chicago’s ARTFL Project.
  • Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid
    This dictionary, hosted by the University of Notre Dame, can translate approximately 15,600 terms for Latin to English by the stem of the word or the stem and ending of a word.
  • Logos Dictionary: translates words in dozens of languages (a multilingual source)
    This multilingual dictionary translates words in dozens of languages and has over 7,000,000 entries for all languages combined. It is continually updated and corrected by a network of professional translators.

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e-Books
  • netLibrary Reference Center
    NetLibrary allows access to WSU’s e-Content collection including e-Books, e-Journals and e-Audiobooks. (If you are off-campus or in the dorms, you will need to sign in using your 14-digit barcode on the back of your WSU ID and your last name.
  • Political Handbook of the World (WSU Only)
    Coverage 2005-2006, 2007
  • Project Gutenberg
    Project Gutenberg is the first and largest collection of free downloadable electronic books with over 20,000 titles.
  • Vital Statistics on American Politics (WSU Only)
    Provides public and private data from more than 225 tables and figures.

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Encyclopedias

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Grant & Funding Sources
  • FinAid
    The SmartStudentTM Guide to Financial Aid - Claims to be "the most comprehensive annotated collection of information about student financial aid on the web."
  • Grants.gov
    Offers information about finding and applying for all federal grant programs.
  • Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
    Compendium of federal programs and activities of benefit to state and local governments, organizations, and individuals.
  • The Federal Register
    The Federal Register provides a uniform system for making public regulations and legal notices issued by Federal agencies available to the public. Funding announcements listed in the Federal Register will contain information such as application deadlines and people to contact at the agency.
  • The National Endowment for the Humanities
    The NEH seeks applications for fellowships in the humanities or social sciences that draw on the vast collections of the Library of Congress. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of the humanities. Recipients usually produce scholarly articles, monographs on specialized subjects, books on broad topics, archaeological site reports, translations, editions or other scholarly tools. Deadline: From March 1 to May 1, annually.
  • The Fulbright Scholar Program
    The Fulbright offers over 800 grants for faculty, administrators and professionals to lecture, do research or participate in seminars in 140 countries around the globe.. The traditional program's deadline is August 1, 2005.
  • GrantsWeb
    From the Society of Research Administrators International, this site is most useful for graduate students and faculty seeking financing for their own research.
  • National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
    Information here on grants to racial/ethnic communities.
  • Winona State University Grants & Sponsored Projects Office
    This pages also includes links to Internal WSU Grants.

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Internet Search Engines
Search Engines
MetaSearch Engines Internet Archive
  • WayBack Machine
    This search engine allows users to view archived versions of Web pages.

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Maps & Gazetteers
  • Atlas of Minnesota Online Edition
    The Center for Rural Policy and Development has created an online, interactive version of the Atlas of Minnesota 2nd Edition.
  • MapQuest
    Access maps, driving directions and mobile navigation tools via this site.
  • Maptech
    Find topographical maps, nautical charts, navigational photos and Aeronautical charts on this site.
  • Google Maps
    Get directions, find business and search maps on this site.
  • USGS 7.5 Minute Topo Maps
    Download for free.
  • TopoZone
    This site offers the most complete set of digital topographical maps, aerial photos and related photos.
  • Upper Mississippi River Navigational Charts
    This site offers information on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ mission navigation, disaster response, flood damage, environment, permits and recreation for the Upper Mississippi.
  • Worldwide gazetter
    Find world atlases, travel guides, business travel information, planet ecology, travel stories, exchange rates, news, and current research on countries around the world on this site.

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Recommended Internet Indexes
  • Bartelby.com
    Provides access to freely available online encyclopedias, dictionaries, quotations, literature, and more.
  • Internet Public Library
    Hosted and maintained by the University of Michigan's School of Information.
  • Internet Scout Project
    "Since 1994, the Scout Project has focused on developing better tools and services for finding, filtering, and presenting online information and metadata." A project supported by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • iTools
    Organized by the SEO Company.
  • Librarians' Internet Index
    LII's mission "is to provide a well-organized point of access for reliable, trustworthy, librarian-selected Internet resources, serving California, the nation, and the world."
  • Refdesk.com
    "Refdesk aims to index, review, and publish quality, credible information-based Web sites and to assist readers in navigating and extracting needed data from these sites." (Retrieved from http://refdesk.com/support.html on January 14, 2007).
  • Virtual Reference Shelf at the Library of Congress
  • Voice of the Shuttle
    This site "links to humanities and humanities-related resources on the Internet. Its mission has been to provide a structured and briefly annotated guide to online resources that at once respects the established humanities disciplines in their professional organization and points toward the transformation of those disciplines as they interact with the sciences and social sciences and with new digital media."-VoS

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Statistics
  • Bureau of Justice Statistics
    The Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, and U.S. Department of Justice collaborated to present current statistics for crime and victims, criminal offenders, law enforcement, prosecution, federal justice system, courts and sentencing, corrections, criminal record systems, employment, and special topics. In addition to these statistics, there are also links to publications and press releases.
  • FedStats
    This government site is a gateway to statistics of more than 100 federal agencies and includes listing by A-Z directory and by state.
  • Minnesota Statistics
    • Demography A-Z
      Index of demographic statistics produced by the Office of the State Demographer for Minnesota.
    • Minnesota DATANET
      "Datanet is an online system consisting of summarized statistical information designed to serve Minnesota's governments, businesses, schools, nonprofit agencies and citizens. The system contains statistics about social, economic and demographic conditions in Minnesota. Datanet delivers 200,000 reports, maps and data downloads annually." (Retrieved from http://www.lmic.state.mn.us/datanetweb/ on January 14, 2007).
    • WSU Links to Minnesota Statistics
  • National Center for Health Statistics
    Created by the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Health Statistics, on this site you can access statistical information related to America’s health such as birth, marriage, divorce and death records as well as the latest health trends.
  • Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics Online
    The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics brings together data from more than 100 sources about many aspects of criminal justice in the United States. These data are displayed in over 600 tables. Currently this site presents Sourcebook 2003, the 31st edition. The site is updated regularly as new statistics become available. The Sourcebook is supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/on January 5, 2007).
  • StateMaster.com
    StateMaster.com is a statistical database which allows you to research and compare a multitude of different data on US states. The content is from various primary sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. StateMaster.com provides pie charts, maps, graphs and scatterplots as well as maps, flags, state profiles, and correlations. (Retreived from http://www.statemaster.com/index.php on January 14, 2007).
  • Statistical Abstract of the United States (Print:WSU Library Reference HA202 .A2)
    The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published since 1878, is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Use the Abstract as a convenient volume for statistical reference and as a guide to sources of more information both in print and on the Web. Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations (Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ on January 5, 2007).
  • U.S. Census Bureau
    This site is a gateway to the 2000 census information. It also includes information on people and households, business and industry, geography and current related news.

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Telephone Directories & Zip Code Lookup
  • QWest
    Find business, residential and government phone numbers within the U.S. here.
  • Switchboard.com
    Find phone numbers and addresses for businesses and people here. Also listed are area codes, zip codes, maps and directions and a link to web searches.
  • Telephone Directories
    Find anyone in the world with Infobel. Search by country and in multiple languages. Fee based services on this site include people search, background checks, criminal records, reverse phone number service (type in the number and find the name and address of the caller), and real estate reports.
  • Yellowpages.com
    Search the Yellow Pages, White Pages, get maps and directions and find city guides on this site.
  • Zip Code Lookup
    Find a zip code by entering an address, city and state on this U.S Postal Service website.

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Weather
  • The Weather Channel
    Find local weather by entering a zip code or a U.S. or international city name.
  • Weather Underground
    Find current and historical weather data by city, state, zip code, airport code or country.
  • Historical Weather Data, Minnesota
    Select a location from an interactive map and get NOAA climatological data for any weather station in Minnesota from 1850 to the present.

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