General Reference Resources
Abbreviations & Acronyms
Abbreviations.com – online guide to acronyms, abbreviations, and initialisms. Includes a subject guide to specialized acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms in such areas as accountancy, maritime, medical, legal, military, and NASA.
Bieber's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations – this dictionary facilitates the search for the precise meaning of the abbreviations and acronyms and symbols found in reporters, legal treatises, law reviews, selected documents, loose-leaf services, legal encyclopedias, law dictionaries, legal reference books and citators. LEXIS password required.
Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations - legal abbreviations, searchable by title and abbreviation.
List of U.S. Government Acronyms – a guide to acronyms used to identify U.S. government agencies and departments with links to the relevant department's home page.
Almanacs
Information Please – includes information from the Information Please Almanac on government, weather, biography, sports, history, business, society, and health.
World Almanac of the U.S.A. – a collection of facts and information about the U.S., including: "Portrait of the U.S.A." which offers historical information, facts, and current statistics on the United States as a whole, and how the U.S. compares with other nations; "Portraits of the States" which offers facts about each of the fifty states, including its history, famous natives, intriguing facts, major cities, geography, and the latest statistics on education, health, housing, economics and business, sports, climate and the environment, crime, the arts and attractions; and the "States Compared" which offers rankings of the states in dozens of categories, including education, crime, employment, health, racial and ethnic diversity, climate, communications, and quality of life. Lexis password required.
CIA World Factbook - detailed information on all nations, including government structures and personnel, politics, legal systems, and the military, demographic information such as birth and death rates, ethnic groups, literacy rates, migration and refugees, and population distribution, geographic information and maps, budget, economi, labor and trade data, environment and international environmental agreements, oil and gas data, and communications.
Atlases
The National Atlas of the United States – is intended to provide a comprehensive, map-like view into the enormous wealth of data collected by the Federal Government. The new National Atlas delivers authoritative views of scientific, societal, and historical information, and provides easy-to-use tools to display, manipulate, and query the National Atlas data so that customers can produce their own relevant information. The Atlas includes links to current and real-time events and to other federal producers of geospatial information, and furnishes a national framework of well-maintained and documented base cartographic data for use by others.
Google Maps - view any area in the U.S. by street map, by elevation (terrain), or by satellite picture, and obtain driving directions and traffic and local business information. Public transportation information is now available for some areas.
MapQuest – provides driving directions between any two points in the U.S. and Canada. Given an address, it will also provide street maps of the surrounding area which can be sized to provide varying levels of detail.
Rand McNally - a large site with many features, including online maps, driving directions, address finding, travel and tourism guides (including national park guides), local weather and traffic information. There is a map store for making purchases.
Biographies
Biographical Dictionary – covers more than 28,000 notable men and women who have shaped our world from ancient times to the present day. The host site, s9, is a wiki that accepts entries from the public, so quality of entries can vary a great deal.
Bowker Biographical Directory – a collection of biographical directories, each of which is indexed as a separate subfile. The database corresponds to the following printed publications: American Men & Women of Science, Who's Who in American Politics, and Who's Who in American Art. Westlaw password required.
Gale Biographies – is a reference source containing more than 100,000 profiles on people from all facets of life and from all regions of the globe. Lexis password required.
Books
The Online Books Page - from the University of Pennsylvania, has over 17,000 free full-text books and documents. It can be searched by author or title, and new resources are added on a daily basis.
Bartleby.com - "Great Books Online" are available in full text from this site, including many reference books, fiction from mysteries to Shakespeare, non-fiction and poetry.
Census
American FactFinder – by the U.S. Census Bureau, quick find of census information on a profile of selected social, economic, or housing characteristics for states, cities, counties, congressional districts. Locate data from U.S. Census and American Community Survey about households, education, income, homeownership. Find tables that compare information for states, counties, and places, predefined tables that provide frequently requested information for a single geographic area, and tables containing data for the year, survey, and geographic areas you select.
U.S. Census Bureau – official site, with searchable population data, latest economic indicators, 2008 election information, and more.
U.S. Historical Census Data Browser – from the University of Virginia, for censuses from 1790 - 1960; allows county and city data to be searched over time in different categories.
U.S. Population by State, 1790-1990 – from the Census Bureau, in an easy-to-read table format.
Dictionaries
Terms of Environment: Glossary, Abbreviations and Acronyms. – a glossary of environmental terms from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, defining in non-technical language the more commonly used environmental terms appearing in EPA publications, news releases, and other Agency documents available to the general public, students, the media, and Agency employees.
American Heritage Dictionary 4th ed. – over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes.
Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable – contains over 18,000 entries that reveal the etymologies, trace the origins and otherwise catalog "words with a tale to tell."
Dictionary of Units – provides a summary definition of most of the units of measurement to be found in use around the world today (and a few of historical interest), together with the appropriate conversion factors needed to change them into a 'standard' unit of the Système International d'Unités (S.I.).
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms -- reissued by the Pentagon, and updated through March 2004. Contains over 700 pages of standard U.S. military and associated terminology.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary – another search interface for dictionary terms.
Modern Dictionary for the Legal Profession – contains over 8,000 modern terms and concepts from dozens of professions and careers, including banking, finance, investment, real estate, sales, accounting, insurance, oil and gas, marketing, commerce, manufacturing, advertising, sports, education, diplomacy, computers, engineering, biology, construction, political science, aviation, physics, chemistry, sociology, drugs, hospitals, fine arts, military science and the environment. Lexis password required.
MtDesk – Online Medical Dictionary – links are divided into the following categories: Drug References; Glossary/Terms; Lab Resources; MT Desk Extras; Radiology; Surgery/Specialties; MT Desk Message Center; and MT Sites. Each of these major categories has several subcategories. For example, under Drug References, you will find links to AIDS drugs, chemotherapy protocols, herbal tinctures, a nutrients glossary, and much more. Clicking on any of those links will take you directly to the drug reference itself.
Online Medical Dictionary – contains terms relating to biochemistry, cell biology, chemistry, medicine, molecular biology, physics, plant biology, radiobiology, science and technology. It includes: acronyms, jargon, theory, conventions, standards, institutions, projects, eponyms, history, in fact anything to do with medicine or science.
Travlang – contains links to online translation dictionaries including Spanish, French, German, Italian and Latin. The site includes a currency converter, international traffic rules, and calendars.
Directories
American Library Directory – provides information on public, academic, special, and government libraries, as well as library personnel, facilities, and programs. The database contains three sub-files: 1) library records containing complete descriptions of libraries in the United States (and regions administered by it) and Canada; 2) consortia/network records; and 3) library school records. Listings may include the following types of information: name and address, type of training available, telephone numbers, degrees offered, key personnel, special courses, entrance requirements, and tuition. Westlaw password required.
British Books In Print – provides comprehensive indexing of books published in the United Kingdom, plus those books published throughout the world that are printed in the English language and that are available within the U.K. from an exclusive stockholding agent. Information on forthcoming titles is provided up to nine months in advance of publication. Westlaw password required.
Catalog of U.S. Government Publications – a search and retrieval service that provides bibliographic records of U.S. Government information products. Use it to link to federal agency online resources or identify materials distributed to Federal Depository Libraries. Coverage begins with January 1994 and new records are added daily. New Electronic Titles contains online titles that are the latest entries in the Catalog or are in the queue to be added to it.
Federal Depository Library Directory – provides names and addresses of all U.S. Government Depository System member libraries.
Encyclopedia of Associations (Lexis password required) - provides addresses and descriptions of professional societies, trade associations, labor unions, cultural and religious organizations, fan clubs, and other groups of all types.
Energy Information Directory - provides addresses and types of information held by government, business, trade, and non-profit organizations in the energy field.
National Environmental Directory - a directory of more than 13,000 organizations in the United States concerned with environmental issues and environmental education.
Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory – a comprehensive source of information on over 200,000 periodicals and serials in 200 countries. Annuals, continuations, and conference proceedings are included, as well as academic/scholarly publications, trade publications, consumer magazines, newsletters and bulletins, and titles that have ceased publication since 1974. Basic information for each publication includes titles, status, publisher name, address and telephone numbers, editor, year first published, and ISSN. Additional information includes A&I services, abstracts, frequency, online and CD-ROM availability, rights and permissions contacts, subscription and price information, and other data.
Area Code Directory – directory for finding the latest area code and country code information. The area code database on this site is updated daily with the most recent information available.
U.S. Postal Zip Code Directory – enter an address to obtain the mailing zip code.
Encyclopedias
Bulfinch’s Mythology – "The Age of Fable, or Beauties of Mythology" - these ageless volumes span the ages: from the Olympus of Zeus and the Valhalla of Thor, to the Round Table of King Arthur and the Sherwood Forest of Robin Hood.
Cambridge History of English and American Literature – an eighteen- volume encyclopedia containing over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages, with essay topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama and essays to history, theology and political writing.
Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. – contains over 50,000 article entries, 40,000 bibliographic citations, and over 80,000 cross-reference entries. The entire Columbia Encyclopedia database is full-text searchable.
Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia – contains over 25,000 topics, both specific and broad categories of knowledge. Lexis password required.
De Imperatoribus Romanis – an online encyclopedia of Roman Emperors from Augustus (27 BC-AD 14) to Constantine XI Palaeologus (1449-1453). The encyclopedia consists of an index of all the emperors who ruled during the empire's 1500 years, a growing number of biographical essays on the individual emperors, family trees ("stemmata") of important imperial dynasties, an index of significant battles in the empire's history, a growing number of capsule descriptions and maps of these battles, and maps of the empire at different times. Wherever possible, these materials are cross-referenced by live links.
Guides
Currency Converter – OANDA provides a powerful currency converter, as well as daily currency exchange rates and foreign exchange tables for travelers, investors and businesses. OANDA also has a large database of historical exchange rates and the most extensive suite of currency conversion and localization tools for etailers and businesses.
Disability Etiquette Handbook – designed to disseminate information to and enhance opportunities for persons with disabilities to pursue careers and independent lifestyles. Prepared by the City of San Antonio, Texas Planning Department and the Disability Advisory Committee.
Emily Post’s Etiquette (1922) – a practical guide to proper social behavior.
Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States – is based on a paper version with the same title compiled by Robert B. Matchette, et al. in 1995. This version incorporates descriptive information about federal records acquired by the National Archives after the 1995 paper edition went to press, and it is regularly updated to reflect new acquisitions of federal records.
Foundation Center – the Foundation Center Online publishes information on researching and drafting a research funding proposal, including a guide to funding sources and the Catalog of Nonprofit Literature.
Internet Movie Database (IMDb) – search for information on movies, actors, producers, screenwriters and others involved in film making, and view trailers.
Occupational Outlook Handbook – from the U.S. Department of Labor, lists close to 800 occupations and the characteristics of each, including: nature of work, conditions, training and education, job outlook, earnings, and related occupations.
Mass Transportation
Amtrak – provides information on routes, schedules and fares, purchase reservations, and information on arrival status of trains.
Bee Line Bus – provides system maps, schedules and fares.
Greyhound Bus – provides schedules and routes, online ticket purchasing, student and military discounts, and links to Canadian services.
Leprechaun Connection – transports passengers from Dutchess and Putnam Counties in the mornings, and returns from White Plains and Westchester Medical Center in the evenings. Web site provides information on transfers, schedules and fares.
Metro-North Train Schedules – provides train schedules and fares for all Metro-North trains with links to New Jersey Transit and the Metropolitan Transit Authority.
New York City Transit Bus Guide – provides general rider information, maps, fares and schedules, and information on service to airports.
New York City Transit Subway Guide – provides general rider information, fares, maps, lines and schedules, and information on service to airports.
SeatGuru - provides detailed charts of airline seating for most planes, allowing you to pick the best seats for your flight. From TripAdvisor.
Quotations
Bartlett’s Quotations, 9th and 10th editions – these editions of this famous work contain over 9,000 and 11,000 quotations respectively.
Good Quotes for Speakers, 3,500 – contains 3,500 quotes of concise and often funny statements of the imperfection of human behavior. The publisher's goal was to provide a quote book "of social criticism designed to comment on, and poke fun at, the human condition..." that can be used by speakers, writers, students and others seeking these types of observations. Lexis password required.
Oxford Dictionary of Quotations – originally compiled in the 1930's; the third edition was published in 1979. The database presents relatively brief quotations accompanied by the author's name, birth and death dates, and the source of the quote. Material is drawn from: poets, novelists, playwrights, politicians, public figures, the Bible, Vulgate, the Book of Common Prayer, the Latin Mass, ballads, Greek and Latin classics, modern European language classics, and famous historical mots, dicta, quips, and utterances. Westlaw password required.
Simpson’s Contemporary Quotations (free); Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (Lexis password required) – Most Notable Quotations: 1950–1988; including over 10,000 quotations from 4,000 sources, contains quotations from such modern individuals as Ezra Pound, Henry Kissinger, George Orwell, Dorothy Parker, and Desmond Tutu.
Religion
Book of Mormon – fully searchable text of the Testimony of Witnesses and the parts of the Book.
King James Bible – American Bible Society’s King James Version is full-text searchable, and includes a content-based tables of contents and a quick verse finder.
Koran – an electronic version of The Holy Qur'an, translated by M.H. Shakir and published by Tahrike Tarsile Qur'an, Inc., in 1983. The text was provided by the Online Book Initiative and subsequently marked up in SGML. Like all the versions of this text derived from the Online Book Initiative, it is not free from errors.
New American Bible – a contemporary Roman Catholic Bible.
Torah – provides the Five Books of Moses along with commentaries.
Style Manuals
American Heritage Book of English Usage – guide to contemporary English with a detailed look at grammar, style, diction, word formation, gender, social groups and scientific forms.
Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage – a style and usage guide to legal writing, designed in the form of a traditional dictionary. Its purpose, for attorney and non-attorney alike, is to promote clear, concise legal writing. The book also strives to eliminate common misconceptions in phraseology and the misuse of specific terms. Lexis password required.
William Strunk Jr., The Elements of Style – highlights the most commonly violated rules of usage and principles of composition.
Thesauri
Roget’s Thesaurus, 3rd edition (1995) – online version of the famous English language thesaurus containing 35,000 synonyms.
© 2008 Pace Law Library
Compiled by Jack McNeill, Associate Director, and updated by Gail Whittemore, Special Collections Librarian. Updated March 13, 2008
