Sterling E-Reference Resources

Core Collection of E-Reference Tools

This page is a collection of links to electronic resources that make up a core collection of e-reference tools, as recommended by Mrs. Yates. This list includes databases, offered state-wide to all libraries in the United States, which are free or available by subscription from a number of commercial vendors. This Collection of materials was compiled and created by Mrs. Mary C. Yates the intellectual property is copyrighted.

Multi-volume encyclopedia

• Encyclopedia.com (Gale) Provides credible answers from published reference works, including 49 encyclopedias and 73 dictionaries and thesauruses. A free online resource, offering millions of articles, pictures, facts and biographies in a large variety of subject areas including the arts, science, sports, medicine, accounting and management.

• Informationplease.com (Gale) This database provides credible information on about any subject one could think of. 

• Refdesk.com Encyclopedias "Since 1995, refdesk indexes quality, credible and timely resources that are free and family-friendly."  Different sections like: Fast facts.

Dictionary

• Dictionary.com

• One Look Dictionary Search 

• Visual Dictionary Online (Merriam-Webster) When you know what something looks like but not what it’s called, or when you know the word but can’t picture the object, The Visual Dictionary has the answer. In a quick look, you can match the word to the image.

General Almanac

•  InformationPlease Almanac A comprehensive reference source that combines the contents of an encyclopedia, a dictionary, an atlas, and several almanacs loaded with statistics, facts, and historical records. A single search engine allows you to search all these sources at once.

• World Almanac for Kids A print publication with a good website where a sizable amount of reference content is free

General and Specific Country Information & World Atlas

• The CIA Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency, U.S.)

• Countries of the World (Infoplease.com) Each country profile provides information on: Geography, Maps, Flag, History, Current ruler, Area, Population, Capital, Largest cities, Languages, Ethnicity/race, Religion, Literacy rate, Economy, Government

• National Geographic Map Machine  and Atlas with printable maps

Thesaurus

• Roget's Thesauri at Bartleby.com

• Termium Plus   The data bank has almost four million terms in English, French and Spanish. Users can find translations for general and technical words and expressions in practically all fields of human endeavor: administration, informatics, environment, medicine, agriculture, industry, sports and the arts. TERMIUM Plus®records are created by language professionals who keep a close eye on trends in language: that makes it a reliable and useful tool for everyone.

• Thesaurus.com   

A book of quotations

• Bartelby.com Quotations