LibGuides: Library Services and Resources for Distance Education Students: Online Reference Sources

Ready Reference Websites

Acronym Finder The Acronym Finder is a searchable database of more than abbreviations and acronyms about computers, technology, telecommunications, and the military.
Alcove 9: An Annotated List of Reference Websites virtual alcove" is a collection of websites selected and annotated by Humanities and Social Sciences Division subject specialists. All of these websites have components that are free and available to the public; some might require user registration, or may have links to fee-based services.
Atlapedia Online Atlapedia® Online contains full color physical maps, political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.
Biographies Biography.com captures the most gripping, surprising and fascinating stories about famous people. With over 7,000 biographies and daily features that highlight newsworthy, compelling and surprising points-of-view, we are the digital source for true stories about people that matter.
Calculators On-Line Center Currently the Calculators On-Line Center contains over "22,125" Calculators & Spreadsheets, over "4,420" Courses, Lectures, Manuals, Handbooks, & "1,000's" of Movies, Videos, Simulations & Animations
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all Federal programs available to State and local governments (including the District of Columbia); federally-recognized Indian tribal governments; Territories (and possessions) of the United States; domestic public, quasi- public, and private profit and nonprofit organizations and institutions; specialized groups; and individuals.
CIA Factbook About CIA The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Harry S. Truman. The act also created a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to serve as head of the United States intelligence community; act as the principal adviser to the President for intelligence matters related to the national security; and serve as head of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Cities/Buildings Database The Cities/Buildings Database is a collection of digitized images of buildings and cities drawn from across time and throughout the world, available to students, researchers and educators on the web.
Consumer Information(Federal Trade Commission) The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them.
Elected Officials Learn how to get in touch with your federal, state, and local elected leaders.
FastWeb: Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Colleges Fastweb is the premier online resource for paying and preparing for college.
FDsys GPO’s Federal Digital System (FDsys) provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government. Through FDsys, you are able to: Search for documents and publications — FDsys provides advanced search capabilities and the ability to refine and narrow your search for quick access to the information you need. Browse for documents and publications — FDsys offers browsing by collection, Congressional committee, date, and Government author. Access metadata about documents and publications — FDsys provides information about Government publications in standard XML formats. Download documents and publications in multiple renditions or file formats — With FDsys, users can download a single file or download content and metadata packaged together in a compressed file.
Find Law FindLaw, a part of Thomson Reuters, is a pioneer and innovator in marketing solutions for law firms, online legal information and services for lawyers, businesses, and individuals.
Occupational Outlook Handbook The OOH can help you find career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations.
Old Farmer's Almanac An almanac, by definition, records and predicts astronomical events (the rising of the Sun, for instance), tides, weather, and other phenomena with respect to time.
United States Census-Index The Census Bureau's mission is to serve as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. We honor privacy, protect confidentiality, share our expertise globally, and conduct our work openly.
United States Patent & Trademark Office
The White House

Dictionaries & Thesauri

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (among the best-selling books in American history) and newly published dictionaries for English-language learners.
Oxford Dictionary Oxford Dictionaries focuses on current language and practical usage. The English site provides free access to the largest current English dictionaries and thesaurus as well as helpful tips on grammar, usage, spelling, and more.
Roget's International Thesaurus Peter Roget’s classic structure coupled with Mawson’s modernization becomes even more user-friendly on Bartleby.com with 85,000 hyperlinked cross-references—thus fulfilling their goal of “each word being related to its neighbors and each part to the whole.” Additionally, over 2,900 proverbs and quotations from classic and modern authors illustrate the 1,000-plus entries.
Thesaurus.com Thesaurus.com is the world's largest and most trusted free online thesaurus brought to you by Dictionary.com. For over 20 years, Thesaurus.com has been helping millions of people improve their mastery of the English language and find the precise word with over 3 million synonyms and antonyms and the ability to filter search results by relevance, word length, and complexity.
Vocabulary.com Using Vocabulary.com, students independently learn the words they need to know, while teachers apply the insights gained from our educator dashboard to focus their efforts on the more sophisticated skills required for critical reading and effective writing.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia.com Encyclopedia.com has more than 100 trusted sources, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses with facts, definitions, biographies, synonyms, pronunciation keys, word origins, and abbreviations.
Encyclopedia Britannica

Internal Revenue Service

IRS Forms & Publications

English & Literature

Aesop's Fable Online
Grammer A to Z Oxford Dictionaries focuses on current language and practical usage. The English site provides free access to the largest current English dictionaries and thesaurus as well as helpful tips on grammar, usage, spelling, and more.
Literary Criticism
Purdue Online Writing Lab
Strategies for Eliminating Wordiness

Statistics

American Community Survey (ACS) The American Community Survey helps local officials, community leaders and businesses understand the changes taking place in their communities. It is the premier source for detailed information about the American people and workforce
American Fact Finder American FactFinder provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data in American FactFinder come from several censuses and surveys.
Bureau of Labor Statistics BLS links to statistics and information from more than 100 agencies in the U.S. Federal Government.
CDC: FastStats - Statistics by Topic FastStats provides quick access to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Topics include diseases and conditions, injuries, life stages and populations, health care and insurance, births, and deaths. Content is updated automatically when the device is connected to the internet, giving the user the most up-to-date health statistics available.
Crime Statistics
Data.gov Data.gov collects information on the total number of datasets and dataset collections. Fluctuations in dataset and dataset collection totals may occur as the result of resolving issues with dataset duplicates or merging datasets into dataset collections.
Economic Census
Education Data
Families & Living Arrangement Data
Health Data
Income and Poverty in the United States
Louisiana.gov
Statistical Abstract Series Statistical Abstract data present here ranges from our most recent edition to the historical abstracts compiled throughout the decades. Some of the data were scanned as an effort to make historical abstract information available to the public. The display of data will continue as historical records become available.
more...less...
The U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for the Statistical Compendia program effective October 1, 2011. The Statistical Compendia program is comprised of the Statistical Abstract of the United States and its supplemental products—the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book and the County and City Data Book. To access the most current data, please refer to the organizations cited in the source notes for each table of the Statistical Abstract.
United States: Current Population Survey Current Population Survey The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPS is the primary source of labor force statistics for the population of the United States.
United States Census: People and Households - Data By Subject
United States Employment Data
United States QuickFacts QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.