Steve Teich's Reference and News Sources
Great places to begin looking for all kinds of information, as well as to keep up with the latest news.
Reference
- Encyclopaedia Britannica
- The fee-based premium version is absolutely the best single reference source on the Net. Or anywhere else. The free version isn't bad for quick reference.
- Wikipedia
- Billed as "the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit." Its goal is to create "a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge." Even though such an accomplishment would be wasted on certain members of Congress, it's a useful start. Really.
- Refdesk
- Absolutely the best collection of reference sources on the Net. Incomprehensibly comprehensive. Updated regularly.
- New York Times Navigator
- Absolutely the second best collection of reference sources on the Net. Prepared as bookmarks for NY Times reporters. Updated regularly.
- Academic Info Reference Desk
- Easier to use than Refdesk; more comprehensive than NY Times Navigator. A labor of love from a library specialist at U. Washington's law library.
- Martindale's The Reference Desk
- Okay, this might be better than the others, at least for science and health topics.
- Internet Public Library Reference Center
- Easy to use, with lots of good, annotated links. Some quirky stuff, too. In the area of health and medical sciences, the focus is strictly on patient/consumer information, usually from nonprofit organizations and associations.
- Library of Congress
- Cross between a library and a museum. Always fascinating, often useful.
- Statistical Resources on the Web
- From the University of Michigan. Comprehensive coverage for statistical information.
- FEDSTATS
- One-stop shopping for statistical information compiled by more than 70 federal agencies. Uneven coverage/date range, but that's government. An unbelievable amount of data that you probably had no idea existed; that's government, too. Links to full text of Statistical Abstract of the U.S., State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, and more, viewable with Adobe Acrobat reader.
- CDC Data and Statistics
- Scientific data, surveillance, health
- State Health Facts Online
- From the Kaiser Family Foundation. Does just what it says, with state-level data on demographics, health, and health policy. Includes health coverage, access, financing, and state legislation. Easy to use.
- Oregon Vital Statistics
- Vital statistics statewide and by county.
- Oregon Blue Book
- The single most important Oregon reference book.
- Price's List of Lists
- Lotsa lists, arranged by category. As much entertainment as reference.
- National Geographic Map Machine
- The best atlas you'll never own. Not just all the standard phsyical maps, but also political and weather maps. Within each theme, there are several subjects. Map machine constructs the map you choose. Has the usual zoom and centering features.
- The Unbound Bible
- A collection of searchable bibles, including 10 English versions, Greek and Hebrew versions, 4 other ancient versions, and 42 versions in other languages. Commentaries, too.
- Robert's Rules of Order
- If you can't be Dictator for Life of your favorite organization, you can still use parliamentary maneuvers to get your way. Good preparation for aspiring congresspeople.
- AltaVista Translation Service
- Take a WWW page or any text and immediately (give it 20 seconds or so) have it translated to/from English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and more.
- Foreign Languages for Travelers
- Covers basic words and phrases in 70+ languages. Categories for each language include basic words, numbers, shopping/dining, travel, directions, places. Links to sound files, too.
- Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary
- Straightforward. Not a replacement for Dorland's or Stedman's, but a nice convenience.
- Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
- 160,000 definitions, plus links to a thesaurus and word games.
- yourDictionary.com
- If you're a lexicon lover, it doesn't get any better than this. Includes links to specialized dictionaries (more than 20 just for medicine), grammars, thesauri. Not to mention dictionaries for a whole lotta foreign languages. Not just French, German, and Spanish, but also Lojban, Yaka, and Gevove. Wolof, too.
News
- New York Times
- Full text, plus AP stories, readers' forums, multimedia. Updated throughout the day.
- Washington Post
- In case you don't like the NY Times.
- The Times
- The best source for international news and phenomenally difficult crossword puzzles.
- Oregonian
- News from The Oregonian. Slow to load. It figures.
- TIME
- TIME magazine online.
- US News
- US News & World Report online edition.
- CNN
- A must for news junkies. All kindsa news about all kindsa stuff.
- C-Span
- God's gift to political news junkies. Includes RealAudio and RealVideo clips.
- Television News Archive
- Say you want to find out what was covered on the evening news on NBC last friday. Or on ABC 10 years ago. Here's where to find it. Contains abstracts of ABC, CBS, and NBC evening news broadcasts all the way back to 1968. CNN is there now, too. From Vanderbilt University.
- NewsDirectory
- Bills itself as a "guide to English-Language Media." Covers newspapers, magazines, and television. Newspaper and magazine coverage is international; T.V. is by state. Browse by subject or region. A gem of a site.
- Art & Letters Daily
- Sorta like a newspaper for cultural highbrows. Where else will you find words like "belligerati"? Tres cool.
- Excite
- Could also be classified as an Internet directory, but its claim to fame, as well as usefulness, lies in its customizability. Basically, you create your own newspaper, using the San Francisco Chronicle's resources. Pick your own news topics, columnists, cartoons, weather, sports, business areas, etc. Then design the layout. A great place to check every morning.
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Steve Teich
teich@ohsu.edu
OHSU LIB/BICC
(503) 494-3444