Research Tools: A PCL Pathfinder

The tools listed below will help answer many of the questions that can be answered by a quick reference to an encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, or by a telephone call for information. Resources listed below help you find area codes, zip codes, translations, time zones, and currency conversions. This guide introduces researchers to some of these basic informational sources. If you need further assistance, please ask a librarian.

555-1212.com
www.555-1212.com
Looking to match an area code with the name of a city? Look no further.

Google Maps
http://maps.google.com/
Offers several unique features, including "My Maps," a way to create and share maps, and "Street View," which allows you to view a photograph of a location at eye level.

Mapquest
www.mapquest.com
Easy access to driving directions from one point to another, customized maps, road trip planner, and local traffic reports.

MSN Maps and Directions
www.mapblast.com
Offers directions and maps internationally. Search by address or place name.

Yahoo! Maps
http://maps.yahoo.com
Simple searches for maps and directions.

ConvertIt: Conversion and Calculation Center
http://www.convertit.com/Go/ConvertIt/
Provides measurement conversions, currency converter, world time clock, and links to a variety of calculators.

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Bartleby.com—Great Books Online
www.bartleby.com/reference/
Search the following reference books simultaneously: Columbia Encyclopedia , World Factbook, American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language , Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, and many more classics.

Britannica.com
http://www.britannica.com/bps/home
Searchable encyclopedia entries, expert reviews of the Web's best sites, timely articles from leading magazines, and related books.

Dictionary.com
http://dictionary.reference.com/
Gives pronunciation, part of speech, definition, and history of the word from a variety of traditional print dictionaries. Includes thesaurus.

Free Translation
www.freetranslation.com
Translates English to Spanish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Portuguese. Just type your text and press “Translate!”

Information Please
www.infoplease.com
Facts, dates, names and information on the following categories: world, history, government, biographies, sports, entertainment, business, and weather.

Old Farmer's Almanac
www.almanac.com
Gives weather updates for your region for this month and the next. Find the rising and setting sun times, gives best fishing days, and records information on gardening, astronomy, weather, food, and more.

Wordsmyth
www.wordsmyth.net
Combines the functions of a dictionary and a thesaurus by retrieving pronunciation, definition, synonyms, and grammatical information.

World English Dictionary
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx
Provides definition and audio file of the spoken word to help you with pronunciation.

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The Official U.S. Time
www.time.gov
Gives the official time for all zones in the United States.

World Time Server
www.worldtimeserver.com
Provides current local times by country or state in one click. Makes real time adjustments for Daylight Saving Time.

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus
www.bartleby.com/62/
Contains 35,000 synonyms in an easy-to-use format. Part of the Bartleby.com collection.

Thesaurus.com
http://thesaurus.reference.com/
Search or browse by word or category to retrieve similar words. Also includes antonym finder.

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Canada Post
http://www.canadapost.ca/splash.asp
Look up postal codes for any address in Canada and find postal rates. Also look up address ranges for given postal codes.

International Zip Codes
http://www.zipcode.org/#International
Need help finding a postal code in another country? Visit this site. Lists official Web sites of the postal authorities around the world. Includes rate calculators.

U.S. Postal Service
www.usps.com
Find zip codes or find the city or state associated with a zip code.

Internet Public Library
http://www.ipl.org
Begun in 1995, the IPL is the first public library for the Internet community. Created by staff and students at the University of Michigan, this site organizes the best of the Web into subject categories, including research tools, and sites for teens and children. IPL has moved to Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology. Now, a consortium of colleges and universities with programs in information science is developing and maintaining the IPL! You may also e-mail your questions to the IPL staff. A very high-quality resource.

Librarian's Index to the Internet
http://www.lii.org
" Our motto: "Information You Can Trust." Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII) offers two services: a searchable, browsable collection of over 16,000 high-quality Websites, and a weekly newsletter, available by email or RSS, of high-quality Websites related to current events, holidays, and popular and important issues." --from the web site.

Michigan Electronic Library
http://www.mel.org
Created and maintained by Michigan librarians who are experts in their respective fields, this site provides two types of research tools. First, you can find high-quality web sites indexed by subject (especially all things Michigan) -- access this by clicking the "MeL Internet" link on the homte page. Second, you can access magazine, newspaper, health, genealogy (and many more) databases FREE OF CHARGE. You may log on at your school or library, or you may log on at home using any Michigan drivers license number. Click the "log on in your library or school" or the "log on at home or work" links. MeL is one of the best-kept secrets in Michigan -- help us spread the word about this wonderful resource!

Ref Desk
http://www.refdesk.com
The format of this site is more cluttered than most, but it offers a very large selection of links -- the patient researcher will be sure to find valuable web sites here.

Internet Use (see the Search Engines section)
Science Experiments