Reference Tools

Reference Tools -----Excellent Resources

REFDESK - In a library, if you don't know where to look for a reference book, you go to the Reference Librarian. On the Internet, if you don't know where to look for answers, you go to Refdesk.com. At first glance, the sheer amount of useful links on the Refdesk home page can be overwhelming. But it's really quite well organized and useful.

Don't overlook the drop down menus and search tools. For example, if you want to access a particular ISP (Internet Service Provider), you can do so from this site. There are words of wisdom and thoughts of the day, but there is also access to all the major US news outlets. Items of widespread concern, including things like gas prices, are listed individually, so you can easily reference them. Do you need a Dictionary/Thesaurus, Computing Dictionary, Medical Dictionary, Legal Dictionary, Financial Dictionary Acronyms, Wikipedia Encyclopedia, or Columbia Encyclopedia? Access them from this site. Do you need a Style and Writing Guide or help with Grammar and Punctuation? The REFDESK can help you.

You can access current events, a real time airport monitor at LAX, a Facts Encyclopedia or a Recipe Resource. College Rankings, Hospital Rankings, statistics on how many homes have computers by state, and even a text to speech tool (you type in the text, and it is read to you...wonderful for ESL students working on pronunciation.) As a matter of fact, the sheer number of facts and information that you can reference from this one site is truly and utterly amazing. Check it out, and mark it as one of your favorites.
RefDesk - http://www.refdesk.com

LIBRARY SPOT - Convenient links to popular online Almanacs, Calculators, Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias, Historic Documents, Quotations, Statistics, and Thesauri. LibrarySpot - http://www.libraryspot.com/