Last Updated: 6/27/06

Our Favorite Websites

Arts & Entertainment	For Kids	Job and Career
Consumer Information	General Reference	Readers' Resources
Education	Health Information	Tax Information

Arts & Entertainment

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Consumer Information

Web Site	Description
Better Business Bureau	As an advocate for the consumer, the BBB offers information on over 2 million organizations and provides a database of articles that inform consumers on how to make wise purchasing decisions.
Bankrate.com	This website "provides free rate information to consumers on...mortgages, credit cards,...automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees."
AnnualCreditReport.com	Get your free credit report through this official website.
Consumer Product Safety Commission	Use this website to get product recall and safety news information.
ConsumerSearch.com	PC World named this website "the best source of expert product reviews on the Internet."
Epinions.com	Find out what other people think about a product and where to go to buy it.

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Education

Web Site	Description
College Source Online	This database is "A virtual library representing 34,527 college catalogs in full cover-to-cover, original page format with 2-year, 4-year, graduate, professional and international schools."  This resource is accessible for library card holders only.
Testing and Education Reference Center	The Testing & Education Reference Center "offers the supplemental resources they need to take exams and improve their scores. Users can access college and graduate school entrance exams, plus certification and professional license exams — utilizing full-length, interactive online practice tests, as well as a variety of easy-to-read online books, ranging from comprehensive guides to quick-references."  This resource is accessible for library card holders only.
Highschoolgraduate.com	For high school students looking for information about certain professions and programs offered by local colleges and universities.
PreK-12 Schools Statistics	This web page from the Pennsylvania Department of Education website provides information on enrollment, high school graduates and personnel for private, nonpublic and public schools in Pennsylvania.
PSSA Resource Materials	This web page from the Pennsylvania Department of Education's website provides practice tests of the PSSA exam.
Pittsburgh Foundation Scholarships	This searchable database gives students access to "scholarships [that] focus on both academic ability and financial need...[A]nd run the gamut from athletics to religious studies, community service, adult education, agriculture, archeology, speech therapy and law enforcement."

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For Kids

Web Site	Description
Facts for Learning	FactsforLearning is "a reference database for elementary and middle school students and professionals. It is produced by Facts On File News Services, in conjunction with Weekly Reader, Gareth Stevens, Inc., and World Almanac Books. Together these companies have more than 300 years' experience publishing reference and curriculum material."  This resource is accessible for library card holders only.
Kids Search	"Ebsco Kids Search is designed especially for youth in grades K-5. Kids Search makes it easy for students to search by keyword or by topic to find the most useful search results. Results can be easily sorted by source type - -magazines, reference books, photos, flags, etc."  This resource is accessible to library card holders only.
SIRS Discoverer	"SIRS Discover® is an award-winning database designed with the young researcher in mind. This interactive tool strengthens research, reading, writing and computer skills. Articles and graphics from more than 1,400 U.S. and international magazines, newspapers and U.S. government documents are carefully selected for their educational content, interest and level of readability."  This resource is accessible to library card holders only.
Funschool.com	Watch your kids learn while they play with these fun, interactive computer games for all age levels.
Learningplanet.com	Fun, interactive learning games for preschoolers through sixth graders.
Prongo.com	Free educational and fun games for kids of all ages.
Yahooligans!	A fun website geared toward 7 to 12-year-olds with games, jokes and links to evaluated websites on virtually any topic.
The White House for Kids	The official site of the White House...for kids!  Learn all about the President, Vice President, First Lady, and Mrs. Cheney.  Also, get a tour of the White House with Spotty, the President's dog, as your guide.

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General Reference

Web Site	Description
The World Factbook	A great source for country profiles, maps and flags.
Facts on File	"FACTS.com delivers the full text of 52 years of the print edition of Facts On File World News Digest, from January 1950 through the end of the most recent weekly issue, along with overview materials, primary source documents, photographs, maps, biographies, and country profiles, and newswire updates from Reuters."  This resource is accessible to library card holders only.
Dictionary.com	A simple online dictionary with an audio pronunciation tool and a thesaurus.
OneLook Dictionary.com	A reverse dictionary that allows you to "describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept."
Webopedia.com	"The only online dictionary and search engine you need for computer and Internet technology definitions."
Wikipedia	This free, online encyclopedia is a starting point for basic information about a person, place or thing.
iTools.com	This website provides all types of language tools, such as dictionaries, thesauruses, language translators and puzzle solvers.
Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia	"For students and adults alike, the Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia database indexes over 25,000 records, covering an array of topics. Full text for each record may be easily accessed by double clicking on the topic from the display. The database contains various images, offers brief biographies as well as information in a variety of subject areas. This database is updated annually."  This resource is accessible to library card holders only.
World Book Online	"The premier online reference source--containing every article from the 22-volume encyclopedia print set plus thousands more. With state-of-the art multimedia, editor-reviewed Web sites, and more!"  This resource is accessible to library card holders only.
Mapquest	This website helps people find places, get there, and find places nearby.
Yahoo! Maps	Offers maps, driving directions, local information, yellow pages and real estate information.
Google Maps	Offers maps, satellite views and hybrid maps.
Anywho	This website is for finding addresses and phone numbers.  Offers white pages, yellow pages and reverse look-up services.
International White and Yellow Pages	This website connects to phone and address directories throughout the world.  Also offers a list of worldwide universites and country calling codes.
Zip Code Look-Up	Find a ZIP code by entering an address.
iTools Currency Converter	Get exchange rates and convert currency from any of the world's 164 currencies.  Find out the rates in the present or any time in the past.
Roman Numeral and Date Conversion	Is it Super Bowl XXXX or XL?  Find out on this website.
Conversion and Calculation Center	This website provides links to measurement and currency converters, date and financial calculators and other general reference resources.

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Health Information

Web Site	Description
MedlinePlus	The place to go for accurate, up-to-date information about diseases and conditions, medications and health news.  This website also includes a medical dictionary, encyclopedia and directories to health professionals, organizations and institutions.
Clinical Trials	This website "provides regularly updated information about federally and privately supported clinical research in human volunteers.  ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details."
National Organization for Rare Disorders	A good resource for links to organizations for specific disorders that provide information and support for someone dealing with a particular illness.
Clinical Pharmacology	The Clinical Pharmacology database provides access up-to-date, concise and clinically-relevant drug monographs for all U.S. prescription drugs, hard-to-find herbal and nutritional supplements, over-the-counter products and new and investigational drugs.  This resource is accessible to library card-holders only.
Health Source Plus: Consumer	Search for information on many health topics including the medical sciences, food sciences and nutrition, childcare, sports medicine and general health. Features searchable full text for nearly 160 journals including Consumer Reports on Health and Men’s Health, as well as abstracts and indexing for nearly 180 general health, nutrition and professional health care publications.  This resource is accessible to library card-holders only.
Health Source Plus: Nursing/Academic	Provides nearly 540 scholarly full text journals focusing on many medical disciplines. Also featured are abstracts and indexing for over 570 journals.  This resource is accessible to library card-holders only.
AMA DoctorFinder	Find any licensed physician or specialist using this database provided by  The American Medical Association.
Consumer and Patient Health Information Section's Top 100 Websites	This annotated list of websites provides links to accurate, reliable information on health topics pertaining to men, women and children.

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Job and Career

Web Site	Description
Novelist	Novelist is a guide to fiction.  Ever wonder what to read next?  Need to know the next book in a Series?  What would be a good book for my 4th Grader?  Here is your source.
Literature Resource Center	Literature Resource Center provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Combining Gale Group's core literary databases in a single online service, the Literature Resource Center covers more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.
Lauri Ann West Memorial Library Online Catalog	Visit this catalog to search for items within our library or to search for items at any of the networked libraries.
Sunday New York Times Book Review	Reviews popular and newly-released fiction and non-fiction titles.
Book-Clubs-Resources.com	This "guide to book clubs and reading groups" provides links to online sources for book discussion guides and summaries.
Bookreporter.com	This website provides brief biographical information and/or an interview or discussion for each fiction or non-fiction author listed.
Caldecott Award Winners	The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.
Newbery Award Winners	The Newbery Medal was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.

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Tax Information

Web Site	Description
Federal: IRS	Find and print out forms and publications or file your taxes online.
State: Pennsylvania Department of Revenue	Find and print out forms or file your state income taxes online.