Reference

Use these links to find quick information on many topics.


Almanacs
Information Please: On-Line Dictionary, Internet Encyclopedia, Atlas, & Almanac Reference
Infoplease is a place for quick facts and statistics for lots of questions. This site also includes an atlas, encyclopedia and a dictionary.
Fact Monster
The Infoplease Kids' Almanac is the largest free reference Web site just for kids. Get homework help and find facts on thousands of subjects.
The Old Farmer's Almanac
Since 1792, The Old Farmer's Almanac has published useful information for people in all walks of life.

Atlases
Altapedia Online
Atlapedia Online contains full color physical maps, political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world.
MSN Encarta World Atlas
All kinds of interactive maps and information
National Geographic Map Machine
Satellite, street maps and more in our online atlas.
World Atlas.com

Find answers to geography homework or map questions.

Biographies
All Biographies
All-Biographies contains a growing collection of biographies about famous and not so famous men and women.
American National Biography
"The life of a nation is told by the lives of its people."


Freality.com: Online Biographies

Internet Public Library: Biographies
Artists & Architects, Authors, Entertainers, Musicians & Composers, Politicians & Rulers, Scientists & Inventors
Women's biographies: Distinguished Women of Past and Present
This is a great site for biographies of women. You can search by subject as well as name.

Dictionaries and Thesauruses
Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Use this dictionary for quick definitions and parts of speech.
Diccionarios.com
This dictionary is for Spanish, French, English and Catalan. It also supplies synonyms and antonyms.
Dictionary.com
This is a dictionary and thesaurus plus a lot more. There are games, writing resources, and a translator included in this site.
Merriam-Webster OnLine
Use this site as a dictionary and a thesaurus. Besides definitions, there are sites connected to words as well. This link will also take you to word games and the word of the day.
Thesaurus.com
Free online Roget's Thesaurus of English words and phrases.
Wordsmyth: Welcome!
Here is a one-stop dictionary and thesaurus. It will also give you understandable definitions and synonyms as well as part of speech.
Your Dictionary. com
YourDictionary.com provides the most comprehensive and authoritative portal for language and language-related products and services on the web with more than 1800 dictionaries in more than 250 languages.

Encyclopedias
Britannica.com
Links to top web sites and content from the Encyclopedia Britannica, in one place.

Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001

Containing nearly 51,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references, the current Sixth Edition is among the most complete and up-to-date encyclopedia ever produced.
Glossaries
Glossarist
A searchable directory of glossaries and topical dictionaries.

Glossary of Internet Terms

Sports Glossaries
If you have ever wondered what was happening in the game, here is the place to find out. This site is a sports glossary that includes ice hockey, football, basketball, and soccer.

General Chemistry Glossary
Other Reference
Library Spot
Find dictionaries, encyclopedias, newspapers, maps, genealogy tools and much more on this user-friendly library and reference information portal.
Martindale's: The Reference Desk
This is an incredible reference site. You can find information on any subject especially those that are Math and Science related. Everything is here!
SYMBOLS.com -- encyclopedia of Western signs and ideograms
This site offers symbols for words you have or the reverse: lots of symbols from which you may choose. Also, there are articles explaining the origins of the symbols.
xrefer: The Web's Reference Engine
This is an excellent resource for searching ready reference questions. After the initial search, there are links along the side related to your question that have much more information.
 
Quotations
The Quotations Page - Your Source for Famous Quotes
This site allows you to search for the perfect quotation or to find the author of one you already have. You can search by author or subject, Included are quotes of the day as well as motivational quotes.
Bartleby.com: Familiar Quotations

A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature: Compiled by John Bartlett

Web Gateways
Sources of high-quality information on the Web.
Blue Web'n Homepage
This site is excellent for curriculum resources. It is organized by content areas, subject areas and grade levels.
FREE -- Federal Resources for Educational Excellence - Home Page
Here are links by subject to many websites. Use this gateway to find links not so easily found through a search engine.
Infomine Scholarly Internet Resource Collections
Here is a list of databases spanning from biological, agricultural and medical sciences to visual and performing arts.
Information Resources for Information Professionals
This is a guide to resources information professionals use when problem solving or want to
learn more about ourselves as a profession. There is also a list of special topics for information professionals.
KidsClick! Web Search
So many subjects are represented in this gateway and all of the pages are written for young people. Check this site for links for any subject you are researching.
Librarians' Index to the Internet - lii.org
Librarian's Index to the Internet is a great place to search for any topic. It's organized by topic and also has special features.
Refdesk.com
This is a one-stop reference desk for quick answers. There are links to the major search engines as well.

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Mission High School Library Media Center
3750 18th Street
San Francisco, CA., 94114
(415) 241-6240

Updated: May 11, 2007