Research > Topics > Quick Reference

Quick Reference

Miscellaneous
Addresses & telephone numbers
Countries & states

Government
Language
Statistics

Databases

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AccuNet/AP Multimedia Archive

Columbia Gazetteer

D&B Total USD&B Total US

Encyclopedia Americana

Facts.com

Gale's Quotes: Who Said What?Gale's Quotes: Who Said What?

Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia

Nueva enciclopedia Cumbre en linea

Oxford English Dictionary

ReferenceUSAReferenceUSA

World Almanac

WorldCat (via your Interlibrary Loan account)

Miscellaneous

Citizendium: http://en.citizendium.org/

"The Citizens' Compendium" is a community-edited encyclopedia of general information, that aims at credible and accountable information.
Classic 164 Currency Converter: http://www.oanda.com/converter/classic

A simple currency converter, which allows you to look at historical and current currency values.
Dead People Server: http://www.deadpeople.info

A very comprehensive list of famous and notable people, with information about whether they're dead or not. Updated constantly.
eHow.com: http://www.ehow.com/

Offers more than 15,000 staff-written, reviewed and edited step-by-step project solutions. Projects range from changing the oil in your car to planning a butterfly garden to negotiating a raise.
Internet Public Library: Reference: http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref00.00.00

The Internet Public Library's links to ready reference sources in 19 categories.
The Official U.S. Time: http://www.time.gov/

What time is it in the United States and its territories? Find out with this website from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory.
Tide Predictions: http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/weather/tides/tides.html

Tide Tables for the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center Dock in Yaquina Bay, Oregon, based on predictions by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
Where to Write for Vital Records: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm

Direct access to individual state and territory information. Includes steps for obtaining foreign or high-seas birth, death, and certificates of citizenship. The entire document is available as a pdf file.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

The free encylopedia, with more than 420,000 articles on many subjects, in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, and many other languages.

Addresses & telephone numbers

AmeriCom Long Distance Area Decoder: http://http://www.areadecoder.com/cgi-bin/decoder.cgi

Search for an area/city or country codes by place name for phone numbers throughout the world.
Directories: http://www.multcolib.org/ref/directry.html

Multnomah County Library's list of databases and websites that provide directory information. Telephone books, address look-ups, and reverse directories are all heres.
U.S. ZIP Code Information: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/

Check for a 9 digit zip code for any U.S. address. From the United States Postal Service.

Countries & states

Oregon Blue Book: http://bluebook.state.or.us/

An almanac of legislative, financial, educational, cultural, and statistical information relating to Oregon.
Country Profiles: http://www.tradeport.org/countries/

Country overviews, Background Notes, trade information, travel advisories and mores.
Nationmaster: http://www.nationmaster.com/

Presents statistical information about nations in formats that allow easy comparisons on a variety of topics. The data are derived from the CIA World Factbook and other sources.
Stately Knowledge: http://www.ipl.org/youth/stateknow/

Basic facts about the 50 states, plus handy charts and learning games. Created by the Internet Public Library.
World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook

Concise country information from the Central Intelligence Agency: current issues, geography, people, government, economy, communications, transportation, military and maps.

Government

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774 to the Present: http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp

Search by name, state, or position for biographical information and photographs for past and present members of Congress. Includes bibliographies for additional information in standard reference works.
Congressional Directories: http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/Documents.center/congdir.html

Who is your Congressperson? Find out fast with the Zipper! University of Michigan Documents Center is the source for this page. Includes lists of Congressional e-mail addressess.
Foreign Consular Offices in the United States: http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/

A complete & official listing of the foreign consular offices in the U.S. and recognized consular officerss.
Government: Contact Elected Officials: http://www.multcolib.org/ref/gov.html#Contact

Multnomah County Library's list of websites for contacting local, state, and federal elected officials.

Language

The Internet Acronym Server: http://silmaril.ie/cgi-bin/uncgi/acronyms

Search for an acronym and see its expansion, or search for a key word and find organizations that have that word in their acronym expansions.
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: http://www.bartleby.com/61/

An online dictionary with over 90,000 words. The pronounciation feature allows you to hear each word spoken!
Bartleby.com: Great Books Online: http://www.bartleby.com/

Search the complete contents of standard reference books, including Bartlett's Quotations, Columbia Gazetteer, World Factbook, Gray's Anatomy, King James Bible and many others. Also offers works of fiction in the public domains.
Citation Style Guides: http://library.sonoma.edu/research/citation.html

Sonoma State University's library lists web resources about bibliographic citation. Sites explain correct format for electronic resources, the MLA & APA styles for paper resources, and for government publicationss.
FreeTranslation.com: http://www.freetranslation.com/

Translates text and web pages from English to French, German, Spanish and from those languages to English.
FSI Language Courses: http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/

Learn languages from Amharic to Yoruba using the audio-based method developed for the U.S. Foreign Service.
Merriam-Webster Online: http://m-w.com/
A dictionary and thesaurus of the English language. You can read definitions, find spellings, and hear words pronounced.
yourDictionary.com: http://www.yourdictionary.com

This large language information site provides a quick look-up of English language words and provides an index to online dictionaries, thesauruses, and grammars for many languages. YourDictionary also links to multilingual and subject speciality dictionaries.

Statistics

FedStats: http://www.fedstats.gov/

Find recent and historical statistics gathered by U.S. federal agencies — you can search by topic, geography, or by government agency. Links to statistical maps, press releases, and statistics information for kids are also provided.
Population Clocks | rss/xml feed: http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

Up-to-date projections for U.S. and world populations.

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