Electronic Resources: Reference Resources

STLS provides access to several subscription products for our member library cardholders, accessible 24 hours/day with a valid library barcode.

We are pleased to recommend the following web-based resources, however STLS is not responsible for the content of linked sites.

Bartleby.com: Reference	This site has a combined database of more than twenty respected reference works and several anthologies and individual works of poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. In addition to out-of-copyright editions of classic works such as Bartlett's, Bulfinch, and the Cambridge History of English and American Literature the collection also includes recent editions of the Columbia Encyclopedia, The World Factbook, Roget's II: the New Thesaurus, the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and much more. Searchable.
Internet Public Library Reference Collection	Excellent, annotated collection of ready reference resources available via the Internet. Maintained by the Internet Public Library.
Librarian's Index to the Internet	Recommended sites for ready reference and quick facts.
LibrarySpot	This is a no-brainer ready reference Web site. Among other features it offers a one-stop link to several business, medical, legal, and government Web sites. Great links to reference materials in categories such as quotations, dictionaries, statistics, and encyclopedias are also offered. Though limited in scope, it can get you to often used sites quicker than multiple bookmarks. Check out their monthly features of sites on a special topics and their tools for librarians page.
RefDesk.com	An enormous, searchable collection of links "on three levels: quick, studied and deep." Facts-at-a-Glance has links to ready reference sites with everything from college rankings to a zip code finder. Current News/Weather/Business/Sports includes links to newspapers, magazines, headline news, etc. Refdesk Subject Categories is an alphabetical directory of links by subject. Top Reference Tools links to encyclopedias and other sources of facts. Fun, help and advice sections round off the site.
Virtual Reference Shelf	This site gathers a collection of links to Internet sites organized into about thirty subject divisions, including public and university library links organized by state, city, and county. If you don't find an answer among the links, click Ask a librarian for e-mail help from a division, specialized reference service, or reading room in the Library of Congress.
Wikipedia	A Web-based free content encyclopedia.
xrefer	Search a combined database of over fifty reference books including dictionaries of art, biology, business, economics, medicine, music, psychology, science, and sociology; books of quotations; a twentieth century who's who and a biographical dictionary of women; an encyclopedia of places; and a companion to English literature. The search interface is simple (search all, facts, quotes, or words), but the cross-references and adjacent entries to the right of a result are what make it a fascinating resource. Be sure to read the Help page for full use of this database of authoritative full-text reference works.
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