1. Language Tips for Finding Free, Reliable Online
Resources
 Bartleby’s. Find full-text verse, fiction,
U. Grant Miller
non-fiction, and quotations from famous  Look for the term “open access.” Library
authors like Emily Dickenson and Open access articles and journals are
Shakespeare. published online for free and without
http://www.bartleby.com/ copyright. This means you can print,
 Acronym Finder. Use this tool to decipher copy, and read them without worrying
seemingly random combinations of letters! about copyright law. These articles are
scholarly and peer-reviewed, so they’re
Help Guide
This online dictionary has over a million
entries on acronyms, abbreviations, and great sources to consult for research
initialisms.
http://www.acronymfinder.com/ 
papers.
Check the source. Where is the
information coming from? Research who
Free Online
 NetLingo. An online dictionary with
thousands of Internet terms.
http://www.netlingo.com/
or what is providing the information so
you know it’s provided by someone or Resources
 WordReference. This website compiles some organization reliable in the field.
online dictionaries covering languages like Some safe bets are government or
Spanish, French, Italian, German, library websites, as professionals check Finding reliable information
the information for accuracy.
Russian, and more. Translate words from
 Do some digging. The first result that
on the Internet can be a
English to another language and vice
versa. pops up on Google is not necessarily the challenge. That’s why our
http://www.wordreference.com/ best website. research librarians have
 Avoid Wikipedia. While Wikipedia is scoured the web to find the
useful when you need to quickly check a
fact, it is NEVER an acceptable source best resources available.
General Research for writing research papers for class. Look inside for a list of
FREE, RELIABLE websites
 The Internet Public Library. This public
service organization has thousands of
covering history,
students and librarians compiling lists of Ask a Librarian! government, geography,
links on every topic imaginable. You can science, medicine,
also use the ask-a-librarian feature to get  Still can’t find a website on your topic? language, and general
your questions answered! Unsure if the website you did find is reli-
http://www.ipl.org/ able? Consult a librarian! Just head to research.
 Primary Source Guide. The Reference the Research Services desk, where
and User Services Association created someone will be happy to assist you in
this guide to help students figure out what your online search.
primary sources are, where to find them  You can also use our online Ask-A-
online, and how to evaluate them as Librarian tool. Just go to
legitimate sources. http://www.washjeff.edu/library and click
http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/usingpri on “Ask A Librarian” in the Quick Links
marysources box. Washington & Jefferson College

2. History Government Science
 Library of Congress Digital  USA.gov. The United States Government’s  U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS is a
Collections. These collections provide official web portal. You can find government great website for images, maps, and news
access to rare documents, images, and agencies and explore topics like health, on hot geological topics like climate
audio-visual materials on subjects like defense, the environment, and more. change, energy, and natural disasters.
American history, the arts, and veterans’ http://www.usa.gov/ http://www.usgs.gov/
history.  FDsys. The Government Printing Office’s  Public Library of Science. PLoS
http://www.loc.gov/library/libarch- Federal Digital System lets you search for publishes several open access (free,
digital.html and view official government publications online, and without copyright restrictions),
 Encyclopedia Mythica. An online from all 3 branches of government. These peer-reviewed scholarly journals on
encyclopedia that covers mythology, include the Federal Register, the United biology, medicine, genetics, and diseases.
folklore, and religion. Search by States Code, Public and Private Laws, http://www.plos.org/
geographic region or special interest. and more. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
http://www.pantheon.org/  THOMAS. THOMAS is the Library of
 Pittsburgh History. The Carnegie Congress’s database on legislation. You
Library of Pittsburgh has a can search for bills and laws of past
comprehensive online collection of Congresses and current legislation as well.
information about all things Pittsburgh. http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php
http://www.clpgh.org/research/pittsburgh/  American Factfinder. This tool from the
history/ U.S. Census Bureau can be used to find
 Best of History Websites. This portal census data, like population, housing,
has over 1200 links to history websites. economic, and geographic information.
Some topics include ancient history, early http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/p
modern Europe, and military history. ages/index.xhtml
http://www.besthistorysites.net/
Geography
 Perry-Casteñada Library Map Medicine
Collection. The best online map
collection, with maps of Europe, the  PubMed. One of the best tools for
Middle East, the oceans, or anywhere accessing medical journal citations. You
else on the globe! There are even maps can search through millions of citations
on hot topics like fracking and the E.U. from leading medical journals. Includes
Debt Crisis. some links to full-text articles.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/
 CIA World Factbook. Find facts on the  The Mayo Clinic. Health information from
geography, people, government, some of the best medical professionals in
economy, communications, the world. Search by disease/condition,
transportation, military, and transnational symptom, drug/supplement, or
issues of 267 countries. text/procedure.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/th http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/medical/
e-world-factbook/index.html HomePage