Online Reference Shelf
The following list contains quick online reference sources. Most of these resources are free and available to the public.
Acronyms, Abbreviations & Symbols
Acronyms
- Description: Searches over 3 million acronyms and abbreviations, including: common abbreviations, information technology, military, government, science, medicine, engineering, organizations, schools, colleges, business, finance, accounting, popular culture, slang, chat and many more.
- Access: Free
- Description: Provides access to over 40,000 acronyms and abbreviations in many categories. Updated regularly.
- Access: Free
Abbreviations
- Description: This database consists of more than 12,000 acronyms and abbreviations from various sources. There is a bias towards acronyms used in chemistry.
- Access: Free
- Description: Registry of Web resources that list or provide access to the full title of journal abbreviations.
- Access: Free
Symbols
- Description: Symbols.com contains more than 1,600 articles about 2,500 Western signs, arranged into 54 groups according to their graphic characteristics.
- Access: Free
Citation Manuals & Style Guides
Citation Manuals & Style Guides
- Description: This site is a reference guide to using internet sources. You will find detailed examples on how to cite online sources in four of the major styles guides: MLA, APA, Chicago, and CBE.
- Access: Free
- Description: This is a link to the Duke University site provides examples on both citing sources within your paper and compiling a works cited list. The site covers all the different style guides.
- Access: Free
Biographical Resources
Biographical Resources
- Description: This dictionary covers more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day.
- Access: Free
- Description: This site includes a collection of biographical resources provided by the Internet Public Library.
- Access: Free
- Description: Search for biographical details on approximately 116,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters.
- Access: Off campus use of the electronic resources is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
Almanacs & Factbooks
Almanacs
- Description: This is an online version of the Farmer's Almanac.
- Access: Free
- Description: On-line dictionary, Internet Encyclopedia, Atlas & Almanac Reference
- Access: Free
Factbooks
U.S. Census Bureau: American FactFinder
- Description: A new data access and dissemination system that provides useful facts and information about your community, your economy, and your society.
- Access: Free
- Description: The Facts on File World News Digest contains the entire back file of this weekly publication of record, with domestic and world news coverage from 1940 to the present.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
- Description: The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
- Access: Free
Government Documents & Legal Resources
Government Documents
- Description: The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
- Access: Free
- Description: Provides federal information, including bills, resoulutions, treaties, congressional activity and more.
- Access: Free
- Description: The official U.S. gateway to all government information. Provides links to millions of web pages–from the federal government, local and tribal governments and to foreign nations around the world.
- Access: Free
- Description: Maintained by the U.S. Government Printing Office and provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government.
- Access: Free
- Description: The FedWorld.gov web site is a gateway to government information. FedWorld was established by The National Technical Information Service (NTIS), an agency of the U S Department of Commerce, to serve as the online locator service for a comprehensive inventory of information disseminated by the Federal Government.
- Access: Free
- Description: Searches only government web sites, mostly .gov and .mil sites, along with some other sites in other Top Level Domains it deems valuable to the database.
- Access: Free
Legal Gateway
- Description: Provides the most comprehensive set of legal resources on the internet for legal professionals, businesses students, and individuals.
- Access: Free
- Description: JURIST is the authoritative legal news and real-time legal research website.
- Access: Free
Supreme Court of the United States
- Description: This official site includes an historical overview, a listing of members from 1789, access to 1999 term opinions (with more to come), visitors' guides, links to related sites, and general information. .
- Access: Free
International Legal Resources
Europa: Gateway to the European Union :
- Description: Provides up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs and essential information on European integration.
- Access: Free
Global Legal Information Network:
- Description: Global Legal Information Network (GLIN) is a database of laws, regulations, judicial decisions, and other complementary legal sources contributed by governmental agencies and international organizations. Provided by the Library of Congress.
- Access: Free
- Description: Information regarding peace keeping, humanitarian affairs, international law and more.
- Access: Free
Dictionaries & Thesauri
Dictionaries
- Description: An extremely extensive dictionary which includes word origins. Fully searchable.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
- Description: A list of acronyms gathered from many sources and submitted by users.
- Access: Free
- Description: In addition to searching a dictionary of words, names or quotations, this site will answer questions on English grammar, spelling, and usage.
- Access: Free
- Description: This site contains a wide array of reference material including a dictionary, thesaurus, translator, encyclopedia, and language resources.
- Access: Free
- Description: Featuring nearly 400 definitions, arguments, and essays on occult topics ranging from acupuncture to zombies, this dictionary provides detailed information on all things supernatural, paranormal, and pseudoscientific.
- Access: Free
- Description: ArtLex provides definitions for more than 3,600 terms used in discussing art / visual culture, along with thousands of supporting images, pronunciation notes, great quotations and cross-references.
- Access: Free
Foreign Language Dictionaries
- Description: Links to dictionaries and other electronic reference works in Spanish or English.
- Access: Free
- Description: Use this global dictionary to search in 275 dictionaries on the Internet. Translate from 69 source languages into 73 target languages - 400 language combinations.
- Access: Free
Multilingual E-Translation Portal
- Description: A multi-lingual searchable translation service. Input a word in one language and retrieve the equivalent word in various other languages; conjugate verbs; or use other features.
- Access: Free
Thesauri
Roget's International Thesaurus
- Description: Containing 35,000 synonyms and over 250,000 cross-references in an easy-to-use format, this thesaurus features succinct word definitions and an innovative hyperlinked category index. Connect by choosing "Roget's Int'l Thesaurus" from the Reference drop-down menu on the right-hand side of the page.
- Access: Free
Roget's Thesaurus: ARTFL Project
- Description: This is the largest collection of digitized French resources. Search the headwords or full text of Roget's Thesaurus, 1911, version 1.02 (supplemented: July 1991) released to the public domain by MICRA, Inc. and the Gutenberg Project.
- Access: Free
Statistics & Demographics
Statistics & Demographics
Statistical Abstract of the United States
- Description: Published since 1878, it is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Sources of data include the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations. - Access: Free
- Description: The Census Bureau site is a gateway to information regarding the nation's people and economy.
- Access: Free
- Description: Search for information about the population and economy of US states and counties from 1790 to 1960. Data can be collected in the form of maps or tables.The data and terminology presented are drawn directly from historical volumes of the U.S. Census of Population and Housing.
- Access: Free
- Description: American FactFinder is your source for population, housing, economic and geographic data from Census 2000, the 1990 Decennial Census, the 1997 and 2002.
- Access: Free
- Description: The gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies.
- Access: Free
Statistical Resources on the Web
- Description: This site contains worldwide statistical information and was created by the Documents Center at the University of Michigan.
- Access: Free
- Description: Geographic mapping tools, statistical data, and reports on trends affecting US neighborhoods, cities, and regions regarding population, public schools, public health, crime, elections, economic conditions, and the physical environment. Projects currently include: Map USA, MapNY, MapNY Schools, Census 2000, School Segregation - Brown at 50.
- Access: Free
Quotations & Speeches
Quotations
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
- Description: The complete text of the 10th ed., published in 1919, containing over 11,000 searchable quotations.
- Access: Free
- Description: Large searchable collection of quotations organized by author and subject.
- Access: Free
The Columbia World of Quotations
- Description: The 65,000 essential quotations that constitute this authoritative collection represent the research of 154 experts. Entries from more than 5,000 authors and speakers are multiply classified into 6,500 subjects.
- Access: Free
Simpson's Contemporary Quotations: the most notable quotations, 1950-1988
- Description: With over 9,000 quotations from 4,000 sources organized into 25 categories and 60 sections, this comprehensive reference work contains words of wit and wisdom from modern notables.
- Access: Free
Speeches
- Description: The History Place provides speeches by famous politicians and activists from around the world.
- Access: Free
Encyclopedias
General Encyclopedias
Columbia Encyclopedia 6th Edition
- Description: Containing nearly 51,000 entries, and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references, the current Sixth Edition is among the most complete and up-to-date encyclopedias ever produced.
- Access: Free
- Description: The Country Studies Series presents a description and analysis of the historical setting and the social, economic, political, and national security systems and institutions of countries throughout the world.
- Access: Free
LoveToKnow Classic Encyclopedia
- Description: This is a searchable version of the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, first published in 1911.
- Access: Free
Arts and Humanities
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
- Description: Considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published, the Cambridge History contains over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages, with essay topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama and essays to history, theology and political writing.
- Access: Free
Literature Resources from Gale
- Description: Provided by Literature Resource Center, this encyclopedia contains entries for authors, works, literary landmarks, literary and critical terms, mythological and folkloric figures, fictional characters, literary movements and prizes, and other miscellaneous matters.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
- Description: Includes more than 1,000 original essays from more than 250 contributors and examines specific programs and people, historic moments and trends, major policy disputes and such topics as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandal. It also includes histories of major television networks as well as broadcasting systems around the world and is complemented by resource materials, photos and bibliographical information.
- Access: Free
glbtq: an encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture
- Description: The most comprehensive, accessible, and authoritative encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (glbtq) culture.
- Access: Free
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Description: Provides authoritative encyclopedia articles on many areas of philosophy. All entries are refereed by members of an editorial board and are maintained by experts.
- Access: Free
Business
EH.Net Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History
- Description: This site is designed to provide students and laymen with high quality reference articles in the field. Articles for the Online Encyclopedia are written by experts, screened by a group of authorities, and carefully edited.
- Access: Free
Encyclopedia of Business and Finance
- Description: Provided through the Gale Virtual Reference Library, this e-book presents a depth of information on wide-ranging areas concerning business, including accounting, economics, finance, information systems law, management, and marketing. Arranged alphabetically, this two volume set includes extensive cross references and a comprehensive index.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
- Description: Provides information about do-it-yourself legal solutions for consumers and small businesses.
- Access: Free
Social Sciences
- Description: Provided through the Gale Virtual Reference Library, this e-book was written by experts for a general audience, articles cover topics such as biology, medicine, economics, law, psychology, sociology, and history as they relate to aging. Illustrated with photos, graphs, and line drawings.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
- Description: The Encyclopedia of Psychology is intended to facilitate browsing in any area of psychology. Original information is generated by respected researchers and practitioners in various fields of psychology. It also provides hierarchical database of links to websites providing information about scientific psychology.
- Access: Free
Encyclopedia of Social Welfare History in North America
- Description: Provided through the Gale Virtual Reference Library, this e-book provides readers with basic information about the history of social welfare in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The intent of the encyclopedia is to provide readers with information about how these three nations have dealt with social welfare issues, some similar across borders, others unique, as well as to describe important events, developments, and the lives and work of some key contributors to social welfare developments.
- Access: Off campus use is restricted to Ramapo College students, faculty, and staff.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- Description: Provides authoritative encyclopedia articles on many areas of philosophy. All entries are refereed by members of an editorial board and are maintained by experts.
- Access: Free
Science
- Description: The Encyclopedia Astronautica is the single most comprehensive reference for the history of spaceflight.
- Access: Free
Environmental Contaminants and Toxicology Reader
- Description: Provided by The Encyclopedia of Earth this site provides information on basic concepts and information regarding the impacts of contaminants on living systems.
- Access: Free
