Ready Reference - A selection of Web resources


	This selection of ready reference Web Sites, picked by the staff of Lakewood Public Library, is far from a complete list of sites for the various subject areas. However, we have tried to select sites which we have found to be useful, accurate and authoritative. Ready Reference uses a subject index based on Dewey Decimal Classification, a numerical classification scheme for breaking down fields of knowledge. We have kept our listing fairly broad by using the primary subdivisions.

000 General Works UFOs, Computers, Encyclopedias/Facts, Directories 100 Philosophy & Psychology Occult, Astrology 200 Religion Mythology 300 Social sciences Economics, Law, Government, True Crime, Education, Costume, Etiquette, Folklore 400 Language Grammar, English & Foreign Language Dictionaries 500 Natural sciences & Mathematics Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Botany, Zoology 600 Technology & Applied Sciences Medicine, Diet & Fitness, Automobiles, Gardening, Cooking, Pets, Business, Home Improvement 700 Arts & Recreation Architecture, Landscaping, Art, Antiques & Collectibles, Crafts, Photography, Music, Entertainment, Sports 800 Literature Writing Guides 900 Geography & History Biography, Genealogy, Baby Names, Travel © Lakewood Public Library. All rights reserved. The Dewey Decimal Classification is © 1996-2001 OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Incorporated. DDC, Dewey Decimal Classification, and Dewey are registered trademarks of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc. Used with Permission. Lakewood Public Library Lakewood, Ohio, USA		The UC Atlas of Global Inequality Maps, graphics and data for research on the "interaction between global integration (globalization) and inequality." Reports by countries or regions, time periods from 1960 to 2000, and dozens of indicator(s): economic, education, gender, health, population, technology and media. A great resource! Sources of statistics are noted. Includes information on how to use the site. Foreign Consular Offices in the United States The State Department publication. Another place to check is the Electronic Embassy. It provides directory information on each of the embassies in Washington D.C., with links to Web-based resources where available, at Foreign Embassies of Washington D.C. Ohio County Profiles "50,000 facts from over 50 sources." From the Ohio Department of Development Office of Strategic Research. See also other demographic/business data from the ODOD-OSR. Hoover's On-line Search Hoover's free Corporate Directory for current company/stock information. Also, check out "IPO Central," devoted to initial public offerings. The Fortune 500 Here one can find detailed information on the Fortune 500. Company snapshots are provided, as well as links to company Web sites where available. There are various articles relating to the companies and a breakdown by industry. The site can be searched in several ways including by company, industry and by chief executive officer.. Annual Report Gallery This is a library of company annual reports which are available on-line. It tends to deal with larger companies, and some of the reports can only be viewed using the adobe acrobat reader. Standard Industrial Classification Search This site comes from the United States Department of Labor. It allows the user to search the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification Manual by keyword or by SIC code number. It then supplies descriptive text from the SIC manual. Monthly Labor Review The monthly publication of the U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. Older issues are archived and there is a article index back to 1988. Contains the CPI Consumer Price Index reports as well as other tables of data. Grey House Publishing (Thomas) Food and Beverage Marketplace A quick, free registration allows access to information on food manufacturers throughout the United States. Search by product, company, brand name. Stock and Commodity Exchanges From Rutgers University, a list of "stock and commodity exchanges, including those dealing in futures, options, and derivatives, as well as sources for market and stock prices and reports." Insure.com Insurance Company Guide Standard & Poors reports on major national insurance companies. See also the Insurance Company Guide for articles and other information about insurance, plus insurance quotes for comparison. A.M. Best This publisher of business information and news about the insurance field, has made their Ratings Service available online on their Web site. A one-time, no-cost registration is necessary to access the searchable database of companies. The Best rating and the insurer profile are free; a full company report may be obtained for a fee. Universal Currency Converter Simply choose the currency you want converted, then choose the currency you want it converted into, and your answer will be provided. The Salary Calculator This is a simple, but very useful, site. Type in your current salary and follow the instructions to find out how much you would need to earn if you plan to relocate to another city in the US, or a major city in another part of the world. The Mortgage Calculator Fill in the different fields for principal loan balance, annual interest rate, length of mortgage and pre-payment method. Then calculate your mortgage. Lots of fun until you see the result.... USA Today Calculators Take a deep breath and dive into this site to find out how much money you need in your life. Here you will find calculators for consumer loans, college tuition, new cars, mortgages and retirement. There is also a currency convertor if you think that you can still afford a trip after looking at the other calculators! Campbell R. Harvey's Hypertextual Finance Glossary Brief descriptions of over 7200 financial terms from a Duke University professor. Banks of the World Connect to the Web sites of banks around the world in this simple bank directory. Another choice for worldwide banks is Banking on the Web, with indication of online banking. Investor Words A financial glossary with over 5,000 definitions and 15,000 links between related words. Bank Rate Monitor Bank Rate Monitor is a leading source for tracking rates for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, savings, checking accounts, home equity loans and ATMs. It is updated every weekday and is a great source for timely financial information. Domania Search the database of home sales prices for a particular property or neighborhood from 1987 to present. Try HomeGain as another source for sales reports. Searching this property record database requires a free registration. Reports include additional data about the property's size and year built. New: try the beta Zillow.com. O-Net (source for occupational information) This is one of those sites on our list which is a lot more than a simple ready reference page. O-Net comes from the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration. It replaces the Dictionary of Occupational Titles as the standard guide to career specific information. Basically, it is an extensive database for information on employment and worker characteristics. At the time of writing it is very much a work in progress, but it is certainly a site worth watching. Occupational Outlook Handbook Search alphabetically by job description or by broader occupational area for profiles of over 300 occupations. The profiles include nature of work, training needed, earnings, outlook, and more. Supreme Court Decisions This site provides credits, conditions, context, structure of Supreme Court Decisions and selected historic decisions. It can be searched by topic and keyword. Decisions of US Courts of Appeal on the Net Includes a nice explanation of the U.S. Court System. Also included is a way cool map of the U.S.A. showing each circuit court. Hyperlinks enable you to click on the map and get local decisions by year. Ohio Supreme Court Includes opinions searchable by case number, date, keyword in caption or headnotes. There is a separate section of current case summaries. Eighth Appellate District Court of Appeals The Cuyahoga County appellate district. Includes court opinions from 1990-present The Federal Court Locator Access to the various Courts of Appeals and District Courts. U.S. Government Manual Hyperlinks take you to any branch or government office for a listing of people and their titles. There is no searchable index per se, but there is a subject index to the agencies. Full-text state statutes and legislation on the Internet Quite simply, this page provides links to full text state constitutions, statutes, legislation and session laws (i.e. laws as they appear before codification). Please note that the page seeks to avoid links to federal information, court decisions, summaries of laws or bills, single-topic sites (such as a state's computer laws), incomplete documents and sites that charge fees for access. Project Vote Smart A handy 9-digit zip-code lookup for contact information for state and federal Representatives and Senators plus court districts. (Look up your zip code here.) Contacting the Congress This very up to date resource supplies phone and fax numbers for members of Congress as well as e-mail addresses if available. More than this it provides links to the Web sites of individual Congress members. It is searchable by geographic location, by name and by zip code. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress From 1774 to the present. Presents a biographical sketch and directs you to further reading and the locations of research materials. GPO Access - US Government Printing Office Search one or more of a variety of government publications dating from the mid-1990's on. Publications provided include Congressional Record, Congressional Bills, Public Laws, U.S. Code, Federal Register, and more. United States Copyright Office Find out about copyright basics and registration; access forms for printing and link to other Internet resources related to copyright. United States Patent and Trademark Office Find basic facts about patents and trademarks; search the U.S. Patent database (1976-current) and the Trademark Electronic Search System (Trademarks Registered and Trademarks Pending); view U.S. and international legal materials and access links to other patent and trademark related Web sites. Delphion Research Intellectual Property Network This site serves as a good companion to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. It allows the user access to text and images of U.S. patents to 1974, text and some images to 1971, plus an extensive international collection as well. Free registration provides quick searching against the US granted bibliographic collection, patent number searching against worldwide collections and PDF or TIFF downloads on a pay-per-use basis. Social Security On-line The history of the agency, benefits forms, the Social Security Handbook and much more. This is an invaluable resource for Social Security information. Ancestry's Social Security Death Index Non-members can look up a name and find the death year and county of last residence. Covers 72 million names dating from as early as the 1930s. Compiled from the Social Security Administrations Master Death File. Where to Write for Vital Records This site provides information from the National Center for Health Statistics. It lists the addresses of individual state databases of vital records where one can find the information needed to request a birth, death, marriage or divorce certificate. Other links provide access to information on foreign births and deaths of U.S. citizens, as well as certificates of citizenship for U.S. citizens. US GSA's Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs This site contains information on Federal programs, projects, services, and activities which provide financial and non financial assistance to the general public. Search by keyword. Fedworld Information Network A bold attempt by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) to make all sorts of government resources and information accessible from one site. Check out the link called Federal Job Announcement Search. It provides listings to hundreds of U.S. Government jobs and is updated several times every week. First Gov U.S. government portal launched during the Clinton administration. Scans 27 million federal agency Web pages from 20,000 government sites. In addition to keyword searching there is an "interesting topics" list and direct links to the 3 branches of government. USLinks: U.S. Federal Government Agencies Database Links to major federal agencies. From Perkins Library, Duke University. U.S. Blue Pages This site is modeled after the blue government pages in a telephone book. Find telephone and TTY numbers and links to Web sites for federal agencies grouped by function rather than name. A good place to find the locations and numbers of local offices. Legal and Government Pathfinder Bringing it all closer to home is this Lakewood Library resource guide, designed for library patrons and others seeking information on legal and government issues. Includes some of the better books on law and government in the library's collection, important Web sites containing legal and government information, as well as a referral section with links to institutions with more extensive legal resources. Internal Revenue Service Lists forms and publications which can then be printed. You will also find tax information for businesses, as well as tax regulations and instructions for on-line filing. See also the Library's Tax Forms on the Internet. American Payroll Association Tool Kit Good stuff for businesses including W-4 forms, withholding tables, current mileage and per diem rate charts. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Everything you might ever need to know about traffic safety in the United States can be found here. This great site will provide you with solid data about everything from airbags and recalls to school bus safety and traffic law enforcement. Take the time to scout around in this detailed resource if you have a traffic safety question - your answer is probably here. License Plates of the World Not too much need for explanation here. Click above for good quality pictures of license plates from all over the world. There are also brief summaries of how different license plates are formulated. These deal with both current and previous series. This site is a nicely organized labor of love from a true enthusiast. Martindale.com Lawyer Locator Locate lawyers and law firms in the U.S. and around the world. Search by lawyer or firm name and by area of practice, location or language. It is also possible to look for U.S. government lawyers in Washington D.C. and to locate corporate law departments. FindLaw Law Firm and Lawyer Directory (West Legal Directory) Lists individual lawyers addresses and phone numbers. Also search by city and state, which lists lawyers, law firms and other county offices. FindLaw FindLaw works in the manner of a hierarchical subject directory for its vast amounts of legal information. You can search or browse, where distinction is made as to legal professional, student, business or public. Search results are ordered into Q&A, articles, links. A good gateway. For another good start, visit Lakewood Library's Legal/Government Pathfinder. WWLIA The aim of the World Wide Legal Information Association is to provide a good basis of legal advice for the average, lay citizen. To that end, and in plain English, is information on legal topics in Canada, the Pacific, the UK and the U.S. Very useful is the Law Dictionary. Also, take a look at the Police Station for practical advice about such things as annoying phone calls and personal safety. The Law Engine The Law Engine is a clearinghouse for legal information. There are numerous links from one page to topics such as federal courts, state law, legal reference, international law, legal dictionaries, legislative action and law enforcement. American Law Sources On-line This is another fabulous law resource. While it is certainly contains a daunting amount of information, it may well become your one stop for legal information on the Internet. Navigation here is straightforward and the site itself deals with federal and state law. You can go directly to Federal Government resources under the headings of law, commentary and practice or to individual states. There is also detailed legal information for Canada and Mexico. If you are involved in legal research this is probably the one site you have to visit! Legal Encyclopedia from Nolo Press Here is another legal page which is really worth a visit. The LegalEncyclopedia is clearly presented in a manageable directory style. It includes excellent articles on everything from starting a small business and dealing with tax problems to patent law and general legal issues. Best of all, it avoids legal jargon and is clearly written with the ordinary member of the public in mind. Law Facts Pamphlets - Ohio State Bar Association A solid resource for general and everyday law as it pertains to Ohioans. Articles on various topics for small business, family matters, real estate and other legal basics. The Law You Can Use section also publishes handy question-answer columns. See also Legal Basics for Small Business. ABA LawInfo.org Another source for dependable legal information on consumer-oriented topics. HealthGrades® Healthcare quality ratings for hospitals with information about specific procedures. Directory information for physicians, home health care and nursing homes (reports for a fee). usnews.com: Directory of America's Hospitals In collaboration with the American Hospital Association. More than 6,000 hospitals indexed by name and state. Searchable. Provides contact information, services, and statistics such as staffing and number of beds. Financial Aid Information This might be one of the only places you will need to stop for financial aid resources. Read the navigation area first to familiarize yourself with the site. Links are provided for sources to aid, loans, government, special interest areas, and so on. Please also take a look at S.C.O.R.E. (Student Cash On-line Resources), a guide to financial aid on the Internet created by the staff at Lakewood Public Library. American Universities Alphabetical list of links to university home pages. Referral to other sources: General Education Online (6400 links in 160 countries); Canadian Universities; Community Colleges. College Rankings Coverage of college rankings by U.S. News & World Report. Apart from the rankings, there are many useful areas in this site. These include a guide for parents, detailed financial aid information, and numerous useful articles. This is a great site for college seekers of all ages. The Princeton Review - Colleges Princeton Review supplies some wonderful advice for college hopefuls. Walk through the process of finding a suitable college, gaining admission and paying tuition fees. As you would expect from The Princeton Review, this is a detailed, informative and well constructed site. It will really help the college bound. Title IV Institution Codes Title IV codes are used to complete the FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). This page can be used to locate the Title IV codes for thousands of different colleges in the U.S. Petersons - The Education & Career Center This is a useful site for quick reference information about education and learning in the U.S. and around the world. Unfortunately, it does not offer the full text of the Petersons book series but it does provide good, at your fingertips type information. Areas covered include K-12 schools, colleges & universities, graduate study, distance learning, summer programs, vocational-technical schools and studying abroad. National Public School District Locator This site is searchable by area code, county, state and zip code. The information supplied for individual school districts includes address and phone number, county location, metro status, grade span, number of teachers and number of schools. From the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Private School Locator Searches approximately 29,000 schools that participated in the National Center for Education Statistics' biennial survey. American School Directory The American School Directory provides basic information about all K-12 schools in the U.S. This includes contact information, address and such facts as number of students, school colors and so on. Many of the schools are full of other sorts of information, such as calendars, menus, art and more. This is very much a work in progress and is worth revisiting from time to time. U.S. Census Bureau This site has frequently updated census statistics, including The County & City Data Book. Links to other sites lead to more information. An economic clock gives the latest business indicators. Statistical Abstract of the United States Excerpts from a standard reference source. It includes regularly updated statistics and many frequently requested tables such as ones on crime, population etc. There are also monthly updates on economic indicators and links to other government sources. Statistical Resources on the Web The Documents Center at the University of Michigan has compiled sources for statistics in a number of fields -- from economics to science to social science. Information Please Almanac This is one of the standard ready reference sources, so it is a pleasure to see it on-line. Search for hundreds of quick reference answers in the areas of world, sports, entertainment, the U.S., people, business and economy, living, society,and science-technology. At the ready reference level you won't find a more useful site. Fedstats This is not an easy site to summarize due to the amount of information it provides. Fedstats is maintained by The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy. It contains statistical data from more than 70 U.S. agencies. You can browse the entire contents of the site from A-Z or conduct a keyword search for a specific topic. HospitalWeb This database provides links to U.S. and some global hospitals which have a presence on the Web. There are also links to various medical companies and to medical schools. Core Health Indicators World health statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). The query system allows you to "construct tables for any combination of countries, indicators and years ." Web of Addictions This excellent resource provides a great deal of solid information about many addictive substances ranging from tobacco and alcohol to cocaine and heroin. There are fact sheets on individual drugs, links to various drug related Internet resources and contact information for substance abuse organizations. Information & Referral Network This relatively small site lists agencies in the U.S. which provide human services to the public. It covers a large number of areas including health care, domestic violence, substance abuse and welfare programs. In Cuyahoga/Geauga counties, use 211/First Call for Help. Consumer Price Indexes The Consumer Price Index measures the average change in price for consumer goods and services over given periods of time. It can be a confusing resource to use, but this site, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,strives to make it as easy as possible to understand. If you are unfamiliar with the Consumer Price Index take a look at the helpful Overview and Frequently Asked Questions areas in order to get your bearings. What's a Dollar Worth? CPI Calculation Machine An interactive inflation calculator. Uses CPI data for all major expenditure class items for years 1913-2001. From the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Consumer Information Center The full text of hundreds of the best federal consumer publications available for free. Whether you are thinking of buying a car or are looking for tips on recycling this is a very useful resource. The wealth of consumer information at this site makes it well worth a visit. Consumer Guide Consumer Guide provides information on a number of goods and appliances ranging from stereo systems and cameras to dishwashers and microwaves. Consumer World: Everything Consumer This is a vast clearinghouse for consumer information, which gathers together hundreds of the best consumer resources on the Internet. There is really too much to document in the space available but, if you have a consumer related question in any area, you will probably find the answer here. Use the search function if you find the labyrinth of information too confusing. United States Postal Service Among the many services, look for the 9-digit zip code look-up and the domestic rate calculator. The Postal Explorer provides a library of information for business mailers. Zip Express -- Lookup Zip Code Enter a city, county, or telephone area code and get all possible zip codes. Enter a zip or partial zip to get the locations contained. Addressing Formats - Universal Postal Union The proper postal format for addressing international mail. See a sample of a correctly addressed letter and decipher the structure of the format. Uses pdf files. US Newspapers List A directory of links to radio and television stations as well as newspapers. Arranged by state. Includes college newspapers and magazines. Sources of Information in Transportation Compiled/published by the Transportation Division of the Special Libraries Association/ National Transportation Library. A bibliography (5th ed. Sept. 2001) of information for aviation, maritime and inland water transportation, intelligent transportation systems, trucking, and highways. Covers Web sources but includes print and other electronic sources as well. History of Costumes A beautiful collection of costume pictures. First printed between 1861-1880 by the Munich publishing firm of Braun and Scheider, the collection provides a Victorian perspective to designs from around the world. The costumes date from antiquity to the end of the 19th century. The Costumer's Manifesto The Costume History section delivers a rich collection of illustrations from a number of sources, arranged by period. Ethnic Costume and Other Costume Links sections provide easy access to other sites. Federal Holidays Federal holidays for several years from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Earth Calendar Calendar dates for religious and national holidays around the world. Organized by country, religion or date. Keyword searchable. Festivals An attractive and useful online source for information on festivals from all over the world. It is divided into categories such as arts, children, culture and sports. Folktexts: A library of folktales, folklore, fairy tales, and mythology Folk and Mythology Electronic Texts compiled and edited by D. L. Ashliman. Browsable by subject. See also his Folklinks to more sites on folk and fairy tales. Another nicely formatted collection of e-texts that includes many folk tales can be found at The Baldwin Online Children's Literature Project.