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The Reference and User Services Association, a professional association of Reference Librarians,recommend these outstanding reference sites. The annotations have been edited for brevity. 

1. AARP http://www.aarp.org 
AARP is the web site for people over 50, whether retired or not.From health and travel to taxes and finances to computers and technology, there are topics for everyone. There is a handy site map and a search box on the main page making it easy to navigate.

2. The American Civil War Homepage http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/
The American Civil War Homepage seeks to provide a comprehensive directory of hypertext links about the Civil War period (1861-1865). This Internet directory covers the war from the major military, political, and social perspectives. Links arranged in broad categories take the user to sites that supply narrative overviews, bibliographies, photographs, and primary source documents. 

3. AskOxford.com http://www.askoxford.com/ 
Oxford University Press 
In addition to including searchable access to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, this site features many other helpful resources for writers and students. The Global English Section allows the user to click on a map and see what words from the chosen country have been adopted into the English language.

4. Epicurious http://eat.epicurious.com/ CondéNet 
Search for recipes by keyword, watch cooking instruction videos, or browse recipes and articles by theme are just a few of the possibilities offered by Epicurious. Most of the recipes included come from Bon Appétit and Gourmet magazines. Many others come from cookbooks. This is an outstanding site for locating just about anything one needs to know about cooking and eating. 

5. Household Products Database http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/
National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 
Department of Health & Human Services 
The Household Products Database links over 4,000 consumer brands to health effects from Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) provided by the 
manufacturers. Records for each product contain a physical description of the product, its purpose, the manufacturer with address and telephone 
numbers, health effects, safe handling and disposal information, and 
ingredients from the product's label and/or Material Safety Data Sheets. 

6. Math Forum http://mathforum.org/
Drexel University. 
The Math Forum at Drexel University is a comprehensive resource for Math education assistance. The site contains hands-on web learning tools, lesson plans, and activities for pre-kindergarten through college courses. There is a searchable archive of answers to posted questions about mathematics from students in elementary school through college. If the answer can't be found in the archive it can be sent to Dr. Math for a response. 

7. National Geographic  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/
National Geographic Society.
The official web site of the National Geographic Society features
easy navigational tools. This is a multimedia database that promotes
and provides access to geographic knowledge and brings about awareness of the need to protect the planet's natural resources. 


8. The NYPL Picture Collection Online http://digital.nypl.org/mmpco/
The New York Public Library 
The digital collection of images presents digitized images from books,
magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints 
and postcards, mostly created before 1923. It is taken from the in-print 
collection of images that NYPL has been collecting since 1915.



9. Picture History http://www.picturehistory.com/
Kunhardt Productions 
Describes itself as a "...digital library of high quality images and footage illustrating more than 200 years of American history."  This site has indexed still images of maps, postcards, photographs, cartoons, 
stereo cards, periodicals, and more, in addition to video and audio clips.

10. Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov
National Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture 
This database provides a wealth of information about plants growing in the United States. All types of plants are covered, from noxious weeds to 
ornamental flowers and food crops. This is a comprehensive resource for finding information about plants in the United States. 

11. Research and Documentation Online 
http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/index.html
Bedford/St. Martin's Press 
The late Diana Hacker wrote reference books on various writing-related topics. Her web site is an incredibly rich repository of resources for researching, writing and citing materials. Four of the major styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, and CBE) are represented here (divided by area: Humanities, Social Sciences, History, and Sciences). Users can access 
examples of each type of citation using drop down menus or see the styles by perusing sample papers written in each style. 

12. ScienceDaily Magazine http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Dan Hogan, Editor 
The home page provides headlines and links to the day's top science 
news stories, as well as links to major subject areas in science, health, 
and computing. Also available is an encyclopedia containing definitions
and information drawn from the Wikipedia Web site 
http://en.wikipedia.org/). 


13. Sparknotes http://www.sparknotes.com/
Barnes & Noble Learning Network 
Sparknotes.com provides free access to online study guides in the areas of literature, the arts and sciences. Sparknotes began as a site 
offering guides to literary classics featuring summaries, plot analysis,
character lists, themes and motifs. The collection now includes subject
areas like health, nutrition, computer science, and biography. This site
is easy to navigate making it an excellent web site for students and 
researchers. 

14. ThomasRegister http://www.thomasregister.com/
Thomas Publishing Company 
Thomas Register, a searchable database of North American manufacturing companies and products, contains entries for more than 173,000 U.S. and Canadian companies, over 152,000 brand names, as well as links to over 8,000 online supplier catalogs and Web sites. Users can search by company, product, service, trade or brand name. Products are also indexed.  Results contain brief company profiles, and links to online catalogs.

15. University of Michigan Documents Center http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/
Grace York, University of Michigan 
The Documents Center is one of the best gateways for government information on the web today. The Documents Center has a search engine and topical links to connect users with a wide array of government information from federal, state, local, and international sources.

16. U.S. Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/ 
United States Copyright Office 
This site provides one-stop shopping for copyright information complete with all the forms and processing instructions for obtaining copyright protection. Information regarding copyright law and practices is provided in clear detail, including the complete text of the Copyright Office's Circulars, Brochures, and Fact sheets. In addition, a catalog of 
copyright records is searchable back to 1978. 

17. The Valley of the Shadow http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/
Edward L. Ayers 
The Valley of the Shadow looks at the life of residents in Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, chronicling their experience of the American Civil War. The site provides a hypermedia archive of primary sources for a social history of these communities from 1859 through the Reconstruction period. Sources that are available include letters, diaries, newspapers, military records, photographs, church records, census records, and pensions. 

18. Where to find MSDS [Materials Safety Data Sheets] on the Internet
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/index.html 
Dr. Rob Toreki, Interactive Learning Paradigms Incorporated Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are an essential resource for those working with hazardous chemicals and include physical and chemical characteristics, hazards, safe handling, emergency and first aid procedures and more. This site provides descriptions of and links to over 100 free MSDS collections available on the Internet. Also included is an MSDS FAQ, a glossary of common MSDS terms, over 325 relevant government regulations, suppliers and more supplementary material.

Library Journal April 15, 2005 Websites
by Cynthia Etkin & Brian E. Coutts

1. American Psychological Association www.apa.org/
This official site of the largest scientific and professional organization for psychology in the United States offers the latest from the newswires and selected articles from journals on the study of the mind and human behavior. Topics include addictions, bullying, depression, personality disorders, resilience in time of war, sleep, and stress.

2. Feeding America: the Historic American Cookbook Project.
http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks.
Created by Michigan State University (MSU) and the MSU Museum. 
This site collects American cookbooks from the late 18th to the early 20th century.

3. geodata.gov: U.S. Maps & Data. www.geodata.gov/gos
This is the government's site for federal, state, and local geospatial data 
and generating maps. Among the categories to choose from are agriculture, biology, boundaries, ecology, economic, geophysical, health, transportation, and water resources.

4. In motion. www.inmotionaame.org/home.cfm.
Presented by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the New York Public Library, this site portrays a new interpretation of the 
Migration experience of Americans of African descent from the 1500's to the present. Included are essays, chapters, maps, manuscripts, articles, 
illustrations and lesson plans.

5. Indian Ocean Tsunami Disaster.
http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/indian-ocean-disaster.html
This interactive site began as a news and official emergency contact source for SUNY-Buffalo students from the Southeast Asian countries hit by the recent tsunami. Map librarian David Bertuca expanded his original page into a major resource with links specific to this disaster, including news services, relief efforts, scientific background, images, maps and videos.

6. NCAAsports.com www.ncassports.com/
Finding scores for top-ranked Division I men's football and men's and women's basketball games is easy. Locating information on Division II and III  teams and for the other 18 women's and 16 men's sports is not. You can find it on this official site for NCAA Sports. Visit the site for information on sports such as men's water polo or women's ice hockey.

7. World Weather information service. www.worldweather.org.
Brought to the web by the Hong Kong observatory for the World Meteorological Organization, this ultimate world weather site provides official weather observations, forecasts, and climate data for more than 1000 cities. It allows for instant conversions from Celsius to Fahrenheit and is available in English, Arabic, Chinese and Portuguese.

Best Free Reference Sites
(as reported in the Reference & User Services Quarterly, Fall 1999 & Fall 2002)

1. All-Music Guide (www.allmusic.com)
A comprehensive guide to all forms of popular music and musicians.

2. American Family Immigration History Center (www.ellisisland.org).
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
This site contains archival information on more than "22 million 
passengers and members of ships' crews [who] entered the United States through Ellis Island and the Port of New York between 1892 and 1924."  A chronicle of the history of immigration in America is another feature.

3. Bankrate (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp)
Provides consumers with financial data, research, and editorial 
information on investment and noninvestment financial products. Includes six calculators. 

4. Biography.com (www.biography.com). A&E Television Networks.
This site is searchable and offers more than 25,000 biographies for people past and present. Included are links to related people, places and organizations. 

5. Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov). U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This site provides information for public health and safety including data for travelers about vaccinations, outbreaks, and safe food and water. Look here for fact sheets and articles on diseases and chronic conditions, and statistics from the National Center for Health Statistics.

6. Findarticles.com (www.findarticles.com). Gale Group and LookSmart.
This site consists of published articles on a range of topics, including business, health, society, entertainment, and sports from more than 300 magazines and journals dating back to 1998. 

7. Foundation Center Online (fdncenter.org)
The Foundation Center's "Online Library" provides resources for learning more about foundations and nonprofits; "Grantmaker Info" provides a directory of grant makers covering private, corporate, public charities, and community sources. 

8. GuideStar (www.guidestar.org). Philanthropic Research. 
A searchable directory that provides detailed information on more than 850,000 nonprofit organizations. This site is useful for researching and comparing public charitable organizations. 

9. How Stuff Works (www.howstuffworks.com)
Description of how common "stuff" works, e.g. electricity, car engines, modems, etc.

10. Information Please (www.infoplease.com)
One-stop source for ready reference with material from the Information Please Almanac, the ESPN Information Please Sports Almanac, and the A&E Entertainment Almanac. 

11. The Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)
A highly comprehensive and easy to use movie reference tool made up of more than 2,250,000 filmographies. 

12. Internet Public Library (www.ipl.org)
An excellent beginning place for anyone doing research on the Internet, the site includes "Reference", "Exhibits", "Magazines and Serials", "Newspapers", and more. 

13. iTools (www.itools.com). iTools
A revision of iTools' former Research-It! and Find-It! pages, the site 
brings together many useful online tools under six main headings: search, language, research, financial, map, and Internet tools. 

14. Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Offers used and new car pricing; values on used motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATV's, scooters, mopeds, and sidecars; new car reviews; and a list of the fifty most popular selling cars. 

15. MapQuest (www.mapquest.com)
Provides free access to driving directions between any two points in the U.S. and Canada; also provides maps. 

16. Martindale's "The Reference Desk" (www.martindalecenter.com)
Covers a wide range of topics, including international business, 
astronomy, entertainment and the arts. 

17. MayoClinic.com (www.mayoclinic.com). Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. 
A consumer-oriented online health resource, this site is one of the most respected web resources for disseminating accurate and easy-to-understand health information to the general public. 

18. MEDLINEplus (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)
Offers free public searches to MEDLINE, the premier bibliographic database for medical information. 

19. The Merck Manual Home Edition (www.merckhomeedition.com). 
Merck & Company, Inc. 
This site contains the full-text online version of The Merck Manual Home Edition (MMHE) specifically written for the layperson. Covering topics ranging from medical fundamentals to accidents and injuries, this is an excellent resource for anyone seeking accurate, up-to-date medical information. 

20. Monster (www.monster.com). TMP Worldwide 
An extensive site that helps workers locate a job or advance within a 
profession. This site offers services such as resume help, salary data, and industry information. Useful for all levels of employees and 
employers. 

21. Resource Discovery Network (www.rdn.ac.uk). RDNC, coordinated by staff from UKOLN (University of Bath) and Kings College London. This site is a searchable web directory that links to over 35,000 Invisible Web sites and other excellent Internet resources not found by conventional search engines. Ask a librarian is another useful feature.

22. RxList: the Internet Drug Index (rxlist.com)
The Internet Drug Index is a resource for in-depth drug information 
covering more than four thousand U.S. products. 

23. Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet (thomas.loc.gov)
This easy-to-navigate site, sponsored by the Library of Congress, provides access to a wealth of congressional information on bills under consideration, public laws, committee reports, etc. 

24. Webopedia (www.pcwebopedia.com). INT Media Group, Inc. 
Similar to a concise encyclopedia for computer and Internet technology, this site features a searchable database of terms, short articles on topics such as The Science of Color and Term of the Day, which can be sent to your e-mail address. A list of the Top 15 Terms provide starting points for the casual browser. 

Additional Recommended Website

1. Financial & Mortgage Calculators (www.mortgageloan.com/calculator)
Provides over 100 personal finance calculators including mortgage, home equity loan, auto loan and lease, CD and investment, debt and credit, tax, and retirement calculators.