Sites by Subject · Quick Reference

Resources marked with are only available at Library agencies.

General Reference

The Free Dictionary

Includes dictionaries in many languages, a thesaurus, an acronym finder, an encyclopedia, and more.

Infoplease

A quick reference source from the publishers of Information Please Almanac.

IPL2 - Information you can Trust

Site compiled by librarians that includes a subject directory, a directory of magazines and newspapers from across the world, and lists of frequently asked reference questions.

IPL2: Resources by Subject

Sites selected by librarians with a deep subject index in the ready reference area.

Refdesk.com

Large mix of reference and popular links with a fact-finding search feature.

Almanacs

Chinese Farmer’s Almanac

This site provides access to the Chinese calendar, dates of festivals, lucky days, and links to Chinese culture sites.

Farmer’s Almanac

Information on astronomy, the best days for activities, gardening, and weather.

Infoplease

A quick reference source from the publishers of Information Please Almanac.

Old Farmer’s Almanac

An online version of the popular almanac.

RefDesk.com Daily Almanac

Offers access to a large number of resources including biographies, horoscopes, jokes, news groups, quotes, Today in History, web sites of the day, and more.

Calculators & Converters

Asknumbers.com

A wide variety of calculators and converters, including ones geared towards cooking and clothing sizes.

ConvertIt

Another good website for online converters and calculators.

iFigure

Links to online calculators of all types. Java-driven menu makes selection easy.

Calendars & Holidays

CalendarZone

Collection of calendars of all kinds, including religious and cultural.

Diversity Calendar

Calendar of major observances of ethnic and religious groups.

Holidays on the Net

Background and web links for major holidays.

Dictionaries

Acronym Finder

A searchable database of over 78,000 acronyms and abbreviations in all subjects with a focus on computers, telecommunications, and government military terms

The American Sign Language Browser

Animated images illustrate gestures for thousands of ASL words and phrases (Quicktime required).

Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

The first hypertext edition of a reference classic -- Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.

OneLook Dictionaries

Search hundreds of general and specialized online dictionaries at the same time.

Oxford English Dictionary Online

Definitive source of information about the meaning, history, and pronunciation of the English language over the last millennium. Dictionary entries contain definitions, detailed etymological analysis, and are illustrated with quotations from a wide range of English language sources.

The Semantic Rhyming Dictionary

Find perfect rhymes, last sound matches, consonant matches, homophones, synonyms and more.

Encyclopedias

Encyclopædia of the Orient

Specializes in North Africa and the Middle East. Contains both text and photos can be accessed with both keyword and menu-driven searches.

Encyclopedia.com

A free online encyclopedia, featuring titles like The Columbia Encyclopedia, Oxford's World Encyclopedia, and the Encyclopedia of World Biography.

Symbols.com

Covers more than 2,500 western signs and ideograms, including their histories, uses, and meanings.

World Book Online

Search the complete World Book Encyclopedia. Locate information through keyword searching or browse the contents by category or the alphabet.

Local News

Cincinnati and the Tristate · Newspapers

Use this directory for local resources.

Cincinnati and the Tristate · Television

Use this directory for local resources.

National & International News

ABC News

Cable News Network (CNN)

CBS News

Fox News Channel

MSNBC

The New York Times

USA Today

Quotations

Familiar Quotations

An online version of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.

Statistics

Adherents.com

Provides statistical and geographic information for over 4,200 religious organizations.

CIA World Factbook

Country profiles of over 250 nations; includes maps.

City-Data.com

Profiles of thousands of U.S. cities. Profiles include statistics (race, employment, education, crime etc.), geographic data, maps, weather info, and satellite images.

Crime Statistics, Reports, and Information

Links to a variety of criminal justice sources, including the FBI and prison directories; searchable.

Data Center

An Enquirer/Cincinnati.com site with "Local information, data and facts from where you live."

Fedstats

An index to federal statistics compiled by all government agencies.

National Center for Education Statistics · Search

Easy-to-search collection of federal statistical publications.

Statistical Resources on the Web

Well-organized, up-to-date collection of statistics, many displayed graphically, from the University of Michigan.

UN Social Indicators

International statistics by country for population, housing, health, education, employment and other social measures.

U.S. Census Bureau: People and Households - Data By Subject

Detailed subject listing of census statistics.

World Factbook of Criminal Justice Statistics

Descriptions of the political and legal systems plus crime statistics for 42 countries.

Thesauri

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Thesaurus

This companion to the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives synonyms, related words, idioms, contrasted words, and antonyms. Links to the Dictionary and to synonym entries are included.

Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases

Online version of the traditional subject-oriented approach, with results arranged by shades of meaning and parts of speech

Wordsmyth Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus (WEDT)

An online American English dictionary with an integrated thesaurus. WEDT contains 50,000 headwords with defined and hyperlinked synonyms. It has its own search engine.

Time

Official U.S. Time

The exact time from the National Institute of Standards and Technology atomic clock - official U.S. standard time.

Time and date.com

This website offers the current time of many international cities and provides a calendar and meeting planner for up to six cities.

Time and Time Zones

A collection of sites on world time and time zones.

World Time Server

Search by country for current time worldwide.

Weather

Cincinnati and the Tristate · Weather

Use this directory for local resources.

National Weather Service

Weather and climate data, warnings, forecasts, and maps from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Weather Channel

International weather information from The Weather Channel.

WorldClimate

This website provides data on what the weather is normally like for thousands of places worldwide.