Dictionaries and Language

• OneLookDictionary Search
• Bartleby.com: The "reference" section includes dictionaries, thesauri, usage guides, quotations, and more.
• Word Spy: Dictionary of new words and phrases that cites news articles and other published sources where they've been used.
• Word2Word: Index to foreign-language and translating dictionaries and sites on the Web.

Directories (Telephone numbers, addresses, etc.)

• AnyWho: White pages, yellow pages, reverse, international, toll-free.
• InfoSpace: White pages, yellow pages, reverse lookups, links to foreign directories.
• ZIP Code Lookup: Find ZIP Codes for addresses and cities.
• See the Business Centerfor company directories.

Encyclopedias

• World Almanac Encyclopedia: Part of the Facts.com reference center.
• World Book Online: World Book Encyclopedia, Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos, and more. (Link for in-Library use.)
• Bartleby.com: Includes the Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.) and other reference resources.
• Wikipedia: Free encyclopedia, collaboratively written by its readers.

Entertainment (Movie, music, and sports reference)

• AllMusic: A lot of information about recordings, musicians and groups, composers, and instruments.
• ESPN: News and information for just about every sport.
• Internet Movie Database: Film information: plot summaries, credits, actor biographies, links to reviews, and much more.
• Screen It!: Lists just about everything in each movie that parents might not want their children to see or hear.

Facts and Statistics

• Facts.com: World Almanac, historic events, country profiles, and more.
• FedStats: Gateway to statistics from the U.S. government.
• Illinois Facts: Statistics, state symbols, and other information.
• Urban Legends Reference Pages: Site investigates whether rumors are true.

Law and Government

• Thomson Gale LegalForms: Templates you can download and edit.
• FindLaw: Laws and court decisions, articles on legal topics, lawyer directory.
• FirstGov: Gateway to U.S. government Web sites.
• Illinois Government: The state's official site.
• Martindale.com: Lawyer directory and articles on legal topics.
• Tax forms & information: Federal. Illinois.
• Will County Bar Association: Member directory, local court rules, some legal forms, information about lawyer referrals.

Maps and Directions

• Google Maps: Includes satellite pictures and map/satellite overlays.
• MapQuest
• MapsOnUs
• MSN Maps & Directions
• Yahoo! Maps

Search the Web

• Librarians' Internet Index: Directory of high-quality sites selected and reviewed by volunteer librarians.
• Google: Many people's first choice for searching the Web. Advanced Searchpage.
• AlltheWeb: Features a useful "refine" function to narrow down search results. Advanced Searchpage.
• Ask Jeeves. Advanced Searchpage.
• Clusty: Results can be clustered together by topic or source. Advanced Searchpage.
• CompletePlanet: "Find databases with highly relevant documents that cannot be crawled or indexed by surface web search engines."
• Dogpile: Performs basic searches simultaneously over several major search tools (Google, Yahoo, etc.). Advanced Searchpage.
• MSN Search. Advanced Searchpage.
• Pandia Powersearch: Web search, plus a directory of links to special search tools.
• Proteus: Convenient site for basic searches of (and links to) most major search engines.
• Wayback Machine: Archive of past versions of Web sites. Look here for pages or sites that aren't "on the Web" any more.
• Yahoo!. Advanced Searchpage.
• Search tips and tutorials:
  • Finding Information on the Internet: From University of California, Berkeley.
  • The Invisible Web: A presentation by Marylaine Block, a librarian in the Quad Cities area.
  • Search Engine Tutorial: From Pandia.