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Best Free Reference Web Sites: Start Here

This is in an index of the websites included in the 1999-2015 annual lists by the MARS Best Free Reference Web Sites Committee of ALA to recognize reference sites on the World Wide Web.

Art, Architecture, Art History

Art & Architecture Thesaurus
Art Project
Artcyclopedia
The Fine Art Search Engine
The Big Cartoon Database
Great Buildings Online
LIFE photo archive hosted by Google
morgueFile
NASA Images
The NYPL Picture Collection Online
SAH Archipedia
Classic Buildings
SkyscraperPage
Timeline of Art History
Web Gallery of Art
WikiART : Visual Art Encyclopedia

Chemistry

Economics

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Big Charts
Census Bureau: Economic Indicators
Compare50
Comparing Economic Performance Across the United States
Current Value of Old Money
Economist Country Briefings
EDGAR
FedSpending.org
FedStats
Liber8™
An economic information portal for librarians and students
State of Working America
U.S. Economy at a Glance

Feminist Studies

glbtq
An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture

History

AMDOCS
Documents for the Study of American History
The American Civil War Homepage
American Family Immigration History Center
American Memory
Historical Collections for the National Digital Library
The American Presidency Project
AmericanPresident.org
American Presidents: Life Portraits
American Women's History: A Research Guide
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774- Present
Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers
Densho
Digital History
Discovering American Women's History Online
Documenting the American South
Encyclopedia of Chicago
Family Search Internet Genealogy Service
History Channel
History Matters: The U.S. Survey Course on the Web
American Social History Project
The Holocaust - Yad Vashem
Holocaust Encyclopedia
HyperHistory Online
Internet History Sourcebooks Project
In the First Person
An index to letters, diaries, oral histories, and other personal narratives
The Making of American Project
Maps of War
New York Times Article Archives 1851-1995
Old Maps Online
Picture History
Political Graveyard
POTUS: Presidents of the United States
The Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Database
University of Michigan Documents Center
The Valley of the Shadow
World Digital Library

Latin American Studies

Latin American Network Information Center

Literature & English

Modern Languages

Forvo
All the words in the world. Pronouced
Google Translate
Lexicool
MDBG Chinese-English Dictionary
Travlang
WordReference.com

Race & Ethnicity Studies

Black Voices: African American and Black Culture Community
BlackPast.org
Densho
The Japanese American Legacy Project
Documenting the American South
Famous Race Trials
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project
In Motion: The African-American Migration Experience

Theater

Biology

Encyclopedia of Life
BAMONA
Butterflies and Moths of North America
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Genetics Home Reference
Genome.gov
Human Genome Project Information
Internet Bird Collection

Classics

Perseus Digital Library

Education

50 States and Capitals
Best of History Web Sites
The BookHive
Child Care and Early Education Research
College and University Ranking
College Navigator
Cyberschoolbus
Education Research Information Center (ERIC)
Fact Monster™
FastWeb
Scholarships, Financial Aid, and Colleges
NCES: National Center for Education Statistics
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Online! Citation Styles
Wordsmyth: The Educational Dictionary-Thesaurus

Food Studies

International Studies

Law & Legal Resources

American Law Sources On-line (ALSO!)
Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy
Famous Trials, UMKC School of Law
Findlaw
LII: Legal Information Institute
Nolo.com -Law for all
Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law
A multimedia archive of the Supreme Court of the United States
PLoL: Public Library of Law
Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics
United States Courts

Mathematics & Computer Science

Codecademy
Pew Internet & American Life
Shodor.org
A national resource for computational science education
STATS
We check out the numbers behind the news
TechEncyclopedia
Webopedia
Wolfram|Alpha

Music

IMSLP/Petrucci Music Library

Political Science

Background Notes
The Bill of Rights Institute
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
City Mayors: Running the World's Cities
Constitute
Fact Check
FirstGov.gov
Follow the Money
GPO Access
The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials
1952-2008
National Archives and Records Administration
Office of the Federal Register
Opensecrets.org
PollingReport.com
Public Opinion Online
State and Local Government on the Net
A guide to government internet sites
State Agency Database
The Supreme Court Database
Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet
Project Vote Smart

Religion

Psychology

Sociology

Philosophy

Business & Accounting

American Time Use Survey
Bankrate
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
CareerOneStop
CI: Corporate Information
Doing Business
EDGAR
Export.gov
Helping U.S. Companies Export
Foundation Center Online
The Gallup Organization
globalEDGE
GuideStar
Industry Research Desk
International Business Statistics Database
NCES
National Center for Education Statistics
NSSN National Resource for Global Standards
OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web
Practical Money Skills
Financial Literacy for Everyone
SCORE: Counselors to America's Small Buisness
ThomasRegister

Communication Studies

American Rhetoric
In the first person
An index to letters, diaries, oral histories, and other personal narratives
Ad*Access
AdViews: A Digital Archive of Vintage Television Commercials
Media History Digital Library
ProCon.org
Pros and Cons of Controversial Issues

Environmental Studies

General Science

Eric Weisstein's World Of Science: A Wolfram Web Resource
NASA
NASA Images
How Products are Made
Public Library of Science
Science Daily Magazine
U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department: Data Services
Dino Directory

Kinesiology & Exercise Sports Science

Library Sources

Medicine & Health