- General reference sites
- Converters
General
Currency
Time - Dates and holidays
- Dictionaries, grammar, and usage
Dictionaries
Foreign language dictionaries
Grammar and style guides
Thesauri - Encyclopedias and almanacs
- Languages
- Libraries and book catalogs
- Quotations and poetry
- Statistics
- Telephone directories
Area codes and prefixes
General directories
World directories
Yellow pages - Virtual libraries
- Zip codes
Web resource 
Available with Skokie Public Library card 
Available in Library only
General Reference Sites
AcronymFinder
Billed as "the Web's most comprehensive database of acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms," this database includes more than 250,000 entries.
dMarie Time Capsule
This database of "Time Capsules" includes headlines, famous birthdays, top songs, TV shows, top books, and top toys. Coverage includes any date in history from 1800 to 2001.
Gale Directory Library
Gale Directory Library provides access to the full content of 15 reference directories. Find information on business and media entities including consultants, distributors, tradeshows, brands, market share, and more.
Guinness World
Records
Browse the online version of the famous Guinness Book of World Records to find the biggest, fastest, largest, and more.
IllinoisCLICKS!
IllinoisCLICKS! contains a collection of the best information websites compiled and maintained by Illinois librarians.
Price's List of Lists
This site contains ranked listings of companies, people, and industry data.
Robert's Rules of Order
The complete text of the classic guide to parliamentary procedure.
SYMBOLS
This online encyclopedia of graphic symbols provides the history, use, and meaning of various symbols and signs.
Converters
General
Convert-me.com
Calculate different types of conversions with this easy-to-use unit converter that provides multiple conversions with one click. A "significant figures" switch is available for increased accuracy.
ConvertIt!
This collection of conversion tables will help you "convert just about anything to anything": volume, area, energy, length, mass, pressure, temperature, velocity, and more.
OnlineConversion.com
This site provides conversions for over five thousand different units in twenty-nine different categories.
Currency
OANDA
Currency Converter
View any exchange rate among 164 currencies for any day from 1990 through today.
The Universal Currency
Converter
Use this website to perform currency conversions for hundreds of different currencies.
Time
time and date.com
This site allows easy searching of time zones around the world.
Time Zone
Converter
Use this website to check the time and calculate time differences for hundreds of locations around the world.
World Time Server
Use this website to find the exact time for cities and countries around the globe.
Dates and Holidays
Calendars
through the Ages
This website describes the various calendars currently in use throughout the world and calendars that are no longer used. The site also provides answers to questions about leap years, daylight savings time, names of days of the week, and much more.
Daily Almanac from Infoplease.com
Use this website to find key events that occurred on particular dates in history including birthdates of significant people.
Earth Calendar
A daybook that lists holidays and celebrations around the world by date, religion, and region.
This Day in
History from HistoryChannel.com
This site provides information about major historical events that occurred on specific dates. Subject areas include entertainment, crime, literature, technology, and more.
Those Were The Days:
Today in History
For given dates, this website lists significant events, birthdates, and chart-topping music.
Dictionaries, Grammar, and Usage
Dictionaries
The American Heritage
Dictionary of the English Language from Bartleby.com
The online version of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language includes illustrations, pronunciation guides, and etymology information.
OED Online
The online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, which covers the
language from the earliest times to present day, explains the current
meanings of words and their development through time.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database available
OneAcross
A crossword puzzle dictionary that allows you to search by meaning, word size, and individual letters within a word.
OneLook® Dictionary Search
Search more than eight hundred regular and specialized online dictionaries with this dictionary search tool. More than four million words are indexed in the OneLook® search engine.
Visual Thesaurus from Thinkmap
Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that show the various meanings of a word and branch to related words. Its innovative display and thought-provoking articles encourage exploration and learning and helps users to understand language in a new way.
yourDictionary.com
This website includes foreign language dictionaries for hundreds of languages; specialized dictionaries for science, industry, and slang; and various thesauri, acronym, and rhyming dictionaries.
Foreign Language Dictionaries
iLoveLanguages
This catalog of language-related resources includes online language dictionaries.
lexicool.com
A searchable directory that "links to over 3500 bilingual and multilingual dictionaries and glossaries freely available on the Internet."
Grammar and Style Guides
The American Heritage® Book of English Usage
With a detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups, and scientific forms, this reference work is ideal for students, writers, academicians, and anybody concerned about proper writing style.
Citation Style for Research Papers
This website includes color-coded examples of various citation styles (APA, Turabian, MLA, Chicago, and AMA) and a guide to citing Internet sources.
EduFind: The Online English Grammar
Find free English grammar resources in this searchable Skokie Public Library's guide to this database.
How to Cite Electronic Sources from the Library of Congress
A citation guide to online resources such as films, law, maps, recorded sound, photographs and drawings, special presentations, and texts.
Landmarks Citation Machine
This site will help you properly cite your sources using either MLA or APA format.
ONLINE! Citation Styles
A guide for citing online sources covering using the styles of MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, and more.
Thesauri
Roget's Thesauri from Bartleby.com
Search Roget's II and Roget's International Thesaurus at this website.
Thesaurus.com
Based on Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, this thesaurus provides a brief definition, synonyms, antonyms (where appropriate), and more.
Visual Thesaurus from Thinkmap
Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that show the various meanings of a word and branch to related words. Its innovative display and thought-provoking articles encourage exploration and learning and helps users to understand language in a new way.
Encyclopedias and Almanacs
Britannica Online
Retrieve content from Encyclopædia Britannica and Britannica Concise Encyclopedia as well as media, websites, and videos. Magazine articles are also available.
InfoPlease.com
Part of the Family Education Network, this online version of Information Please almanac features a hodgepodge of interesting and valuable statistics and information.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a multilingual project to create a complete and accurate free content encyclopedia. Entries are written collaboratively by the readers.
World Book Online
The online version of the popular encyclopedia is good for students but also
valuable as a general guide to all fields of learning. The articles provide
cross-references and links to maps, charts, audio and visual clips,
animations, Bubble Views (360-degree virtual tours), websites, magazine and
newspaper articles, and other World Book articles and sections of articles
related to the article topic.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database available
Yahoo! Reference: Columbia Encyclopedia Concise
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia contains almost 52,000 entries covering a wide range of topics with more than 84,000 cross-references.
Languages
Babel Fish from Alta Vista
Type in text to translate words, phrases, and websites from one major European language to another.
iLoveLanguages
This catalog of language-related resources includes online language dictionaries.
lexicool.com
A searchable directory that "links to over 3500 bilingual and multilingual dictionaries and glossaries freely available on the Internet."
Mango Languages
Mango Languages provides access to a great variety of guided language learning programs, including foreign language and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses. Users can register to track their progress on the Mango site or simply select the “Start Learning” option to begin without registering. Use Mango to pick up a few phrases, or learn the basics of conversation in languages from Arabic to Vietnamese.
Libraries and Book Catalogs
Chicago Public Library
Browse the Chicago Public Library catalog or learn about Chicago at this website.
Evanston Public
Library Catalog
Search by keyword, author, title, or subject to find materials available at the Evanston Public Library.
I-Share
Use the I-Share catalog to search university libraries throughout Illinois.
lib-web-cats
Search this directory to visit over 4,700 library web pages from throughout the world.
Library of Congress
This great collection of material includes downloadable sheet music and photographic exhibits.
Morton Grove Public Library
Online Catalog
Use this website to search the Morton Grove Public Library online catalog and to find information about new and best-selling books.
The
Newberry Library
Located in downtown Chicago, the Newberry Library is one of the leading humanities research libraries in the country. Resources include a large collection on local history and an extensive non-circulating collection of rare books, maps, and manuscripts.
NUcatWeb:
Northwestern University Libraries
Use this website to search the libraries of Northwestern University including the Galter Health Sciences, Pritzker Legal Research Center, and United Libraries; or link to special databases and other libraries in the Chicago area.
Skokie Public
Library Catalog
Search the complete holdings of Skokie Public Library including information on availability of books, magazines, videos, CDs, cassettes, CD-ROMs, and other items in the library's collection.
Statewide Illinois Library Catalog
Illinois' first all inclusive statewide union catalog of library holdings, allowing users to scope to regional groups within Illinois such as "Chicago North Suburbs" or "Chicago and Suburbs," as well as by type of library. Users are able to link directly to most of the individual library catalogs directly from the SILC interface, allowing them to check whether the item is actually available.
WorldCat.org
This electronic catalog contains more than 35 million books, sound recordings, videotapes, computer software titles, musical scores, and magazines owned by local libraries and libraries around the country and the world.
Quotations and Poetry
The Columbia Granger's
World of Poetry
This online index to over 90,000 poems in anthologies includes the full text of 8,500 classic poems and quotations from 1,500 additional poems. Search by full text, author, title, first line, and subject.
Quotations from Bartleby.com
Search the collections of the classic quotation references: Familiar Quotations, The Columbia World of Quotations, and Simpson's Contemporary Quotations.
Quotations and Proverbs Search
This page identifies and provides links to sites comprising sources of quotations and related items such as proverbs, sayings, maxims, aphorisms, slogans, clichés.
Quoteland.com
A collection of thousands of quotations arranged by author and subject, this website also features a forum for asking questions about difficult quotations.
QuoteWorld.org
This website includes a database of close to 14,000 quotations, a Quote of the Day, a discussion forum, and the text of original documents from which many quotations originate.
Statistics
Bureau of Justice
Statistics
From the United States Department of Justice, this online source for crime statistics includes information about law enforcement, the courts, and a link to the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
From the United States Department of Labor, this well-designed site offers key labor and employment statistics including the latest unemployment rate, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Product Price Index (PPI), industry and wage data, and much more. Site visitors can create detailed tables of specific local data.
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is the official regional planning organization for the northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will. The Data section of the website links to a variety of statistical resources in demographic, land use, and transportation categories. Also find a link to MetroPulse, a site created by CMAP which includes tables, charts, and maps on over 100 different regional indicators.
Demographic Profiles from the U.S. Census Bureau
This site provides a neat, four-page summary of year 2000 census data for all places, counties, MSAs, PMSAs, and townships within a state.
FedStats
Use this site to find statistics from more than one hundred United States federal agencies. Information is searchable by agency, topic, or geography.
OFFSTATS
Click on the name of a country and OFFSTATS will link to websites that offer free and easily accessible social, economic, and general data from official sources including those that provide both current data and time series.
United States Census Bureau
Find population statistics for areas around the country and links to the latest economic census information on this official website from the United States Department of Commerce.
United
States Gazetteer
From the United States Census Bureau, use this site to find census data for towns, counties, or Minor Civil Divisions (MCDs).
Worldmapper
Worldmapper is a collection of world maps where territories are resized on each map according to the subject of interest. There are now nearly 700 maps in all representing the size of countries statistically according to data in topic areas including income, health, education, and religion.
Telephone Directories
Area Code and Prefix Searches
AmeriCom Area Decoder
Use this directory to look up city, state, or country area codes.
FoneFinder
Find the geographic location of any United States, Canadian, or international telephone number with this search engine.
General Directories
AnyWho
From AT&T, this online telephone directory allows you to search for toll-free, fax, international, and reverse-lookup numbers.
Internet 800 Directory
Search by product, service, company name, or toll-free number at this site.
ReferenceUSA
This residential and business directory with listings from around the
country allows searching by name, geographical area (including zip code,
area code, and address), and by telephone number.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database available
Reverse
Lookup
Part of the InfoSpace Yellow Pages, use this search tool to find the name associated with residential and business phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses in the United States.
Switchboard.com
Search by surname or profession to quickly find residential and business names, phone numbers, and street addresses.
The Ultimate
White Pages
Use this website to search multiple telephone directories simultaneously. Other resources include reverse searches and map searches.
WhitePages.com
Search for individuals and businesses at this site. Additional resources include area code, email, zip code, and reverse search.
World Directories
All Nations Expatriates & Travelers Telephone Search Engine
Use this telephone search engine to find dialing codes, directories, embassies, voltages, and rates.
Infobel.com
Infobel provides white and yellow page information (when available) for countries around the world.
InfoSpace International
This site offers a collection of phone books, business finders, and email directories for individual countries.
Yellow Pages
SMARTpages.com
Search "your online Yellow Pages" to find city or state business listings in various categories.
SuperPages.com
Search Yellow Page listings from across the country on this website. Other resources include a detailed search section that allows company searching by criteria such as zip code, area code, address, and more.
The Ultimate
Yellow Pages
Use this website to search multiple Yellow Page directories simultaneously. Other resources include reverse searches and map searches.
Yahoo! Yellow Pages
This Yellow Page directory is organized by category. Select a category and then search for business listings by address, city, state, or zip code.
Yellowbook
Find a business with this directory of Yellow Page listings from the United States.
Virtual Libraries
Digital Librarian
This librarian's guide to the web features a good listing of directories and general sites for librarians.
Gale Virtual Reference
Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of more than two hundred full text reference sources for research. Areas covered include Arts, Biography, Business, History, Literature, Medicine, and more. At one time, these reference materials were accessible only in print form from within the Library, but are now available online.
Skokie Public Library's guide to this database available
Illinois CLICKS!
Illinois CLICKS! contains a collection of the best information websites compiled and maintained by Illinois librarians.
Internet Public Library (IPL)
This annotated directory of online reference resources has been developed by Internet Public Library staff to help answer specific questions quickly and efficiently. Sources are selected according to ease of use, quality and quantity of information, frequency of updating, and authoritativeness.
Librarians' Index to the Internet
This searchable and browsable index to Internet resources has been developed and annotated by librarians at The Library of California.
RefDesk.com
This excellent directory to general information on the Internet is arranged in an easy-to-read fashion.
WWW Virtual Library
The Virtual Library is billed as "the oldest catalog of the Web." The site is maintained and links are selected by volunteers with expertise in various areas of interest.
Zip Codes
Frank's Compulsive Guide to Postal Addresses
This guide to world postal systems provides help in sorting out confusing postal rules, codes, and abbreviations.
Zip Code Lookup from the United States Postal Service
A zip code search engine that finds zip codes by address and lists cities by zip code or zip codes by city.
Zip Codes & Postal
Codes of the World
A link to sites that provide information on international postal codes and addressing internationally bound letters and packages.