Arts & Leisure

• Digital Gallery Over a half million images from the collections of the New York Public Library
• All-Music Guide A guide to popular music and musicians. Search by artist name, song title, or record label and find reviews, biographies, and more links.
• LyricWiki Get reliable lyrics from any song from any artist
• Internet Movie Database Search by title, character, plot and more.
• Internet Broadway Database Search by title, people, theatre, character name, and more for shows back to the 1700’s.
• Artcyclopedia Search by artist or museum anywhere in the world
• AskART Details on almost 30,00 American artists
• Movie Review Query Engine Searches movie reviews, interviews, lists and blogs
• Encyclopedia Mythica Links to mythology, folklore and religion

Encyclopedias, Glossaries and Ready Reference

• Answers.com Search this “encylodictionalmanacapedia” for answers from hundreds of reference works
• Concise Britannica A single-volume encyclopedia from the makers of the Encyclopedia Britannica
• Infoplease Links to the Infoplease Almanac, Columbia Encyclopedia, Atlases, Fact Monster for Kids, and much more
• TechWeb TechEncyclopedia More than 20,000 IT terms defined
• TechDictionary Online computer dictionary
• Webopedia Computer and Internet technology definitions

Government and Law

• Internal Revenue Service
• New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
• NY State Unified Court SystemAccess to Do-It-yoursef Forms, Help Centers, Attorney Directories, FAQs and more.
• Where to Write How to get a hold of your local representatives.
• Firstgov A web portal for federal, state, local and tribal government information
• Thomas Search Congressional bills, Public Laws, Roll Call votes, the Congressional Record, Committee Reports, Treaties, Presidential nominations and more.
• Government Benefits Find out if you are eligible.
• Fedstats Statistics from over 100 federal agencies
• U.S. Government Organization Manual The official handbook of the U.S. Government
• Census data Demographic and economic census data for the U.S.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States Comprehensive social, political, and economic data
• World Factbook Background information on 267 countries around the globe.
• Country Studies Area handbooks for more than 100 countries
• Nationmaster Compare facts of all kinds and generate maps and graphs from nations of the world.
• Findlaw Browse legal information from ‘accidents and injuries’ to z. Download legal forms.
• Martindale-Hubbell Legal Directory An international lawyer locator. Search by geography and practice area.
• New York Laws and Regulations
   for Laws See www.gorr.state.ny.us/gorr/Reg_Guide.html for Regulations by State agency.
• United States Code Search by Section, Popular Name table, or by specific cite
• NOLO-LAW for All Hundreds of free articles on everyday legal topics. Our articles are always accurate, up to date, and written in plain English.
• Legal Information Institute (LII) at Cornell A portal for numerous law sites

Tax Information

• Internal Revenue Service IRS

• New York State Department of Taxation and Finance

Gardening

• National Gardening Association Food Gardening Guide.
• Dave's Garden Gold mine of friendly advice and knowledge shared by experienced gardeners around the world.
• The Victory Garden Accompanying website to landscape architect Jamie Durie's TV show.
• About.com: Gardening General gardening advice from Marie Iannotti and videos illustrating various garden topics.
• Garden Girl TV Urban sustainable home gardening techniques from Patti Moreno.
• Square Foot Gardening Discover Mel Bartholomew's methods for planting in raised beds.
• Vegetable Gardening in Containers Virginia Cooperative Extension presents Diane Relf's instruction for growing food in containers.
• City Farmer News Michael Levenston promotes the idea of having a garden anywhere, reporting on urban vegetable gardens around the world.
• Blotanical: Where Garden Blogs Bloom The largest collection of gardening blogs on the web.

Genealogy

• Access Genealogy: new to the web within the last 10 years. From what started out as a simple set of 50 state pages, with the help of volunteers, has now blossomed into over 250,000 pages and millions of records.
• Ancestor Hunt: Search for ancestors and locate your family surnames in some of the best and largest free genealogy databases online. The Genealogy Search Engines and Contents menu are found on each page so you can't get lost. Browse the free genealogy resources found throughout their pages.
• Census Online: The web's largest directory of links to online census transcriptions! This directory includes links to federal censuses and indexes, state and territorial censuses, tax lists, voter lists, military pensioner lists, etc
• Cyndi’s List A master list of genealogy sources.
• FamilySearch: The largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. For over 100 years, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide. Patrons may freely access our resources and service online at FamilySearch.org, or through over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Family Tree Magazine Get an abundance of tips and tools you need to trace your roots online.
• National Archives Search military service records, land records, and much more.
• The National Genealogical Society: Their mission is to serve and grow the genealogical community by providing education and training, fostering increased quality and standards, and promoting access to and preservation of genealogical records.
• Office of the Westchester County Clerk This site makes it easy for you to search land & legal records, in addition to 40,000 maps of Westchester County on file.
• The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc. Millions of Americans are able to find their ancestors on the passenger manifests of the ships that arrived through the Port of New York and Ellis Island. Upon arrival in New York City, the ships would dock at the Hudson or East River piers. It was there the first and second class passengers would disembark, pass through Customs at the piers and enter the United States. (The steerage or third class passengers were transported from the piers by ferry or barge to Ellis Island, where they would undergo a medical and legal inspection before being allowed to enter the country.)
• USGen Web Project: A group of volunteers working together to provide free genealogy websites for genealogical research in every county and every state of the United States. This Project is non-commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides you with links to state genealogy websites, which in turn, provide gateways to their counties. The USGenWeb Project also sponsors important Special Projects at the national level and this website provides an entry point to all of those pages, as well.
• Westchester County Genealogical Society (WCGS) Organized in September 1982 in Westchester County, New York to bring together people interested in tracing their ancestry. Here members can study methods of genealogical research and exchange information helpful in their search for family roots. Any person, whether amateur or professional, interested in genealogy or related topics is welcome to join WCGS. WCGS members range from persons just beginning to organizing their family trees to persons possessing over 20 years of genealogical research experience. Our members have research interests in a majority of the United States as well as many foreign countries.
• Westchester County Historical Society Founded in 1874 as a member-based, not-for-profit agency incorporated by the State of New York to serve the citizens of Westchester County, named as the official County Historian in 2006, the Society's mission is to collect and preserve books, pamphlets, maps, manuscripts, photographs, newspapers, periodicals, film, video and digital materials pertaining to the history of Westchester County, to promote the knowledge and understanding of that history, and to advocate for the preservation of the county's architectural heritage. The Society is located in the Westchester County Archives and Records Center in Elmsford, NY. It shares a reading room with the Westchester County Archives, which holds the historically significant public records of the County, perfectly complementing the private records held by WCHS. It is open to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9 am to 4 pm with professional staff and trained volunteers ready to assist you.

History and the Social Sciences

• Best of History Web sites A portal to over 1000 sites.
• History Matters U.S. Survey Course on the Web.
• New York Public Library Audio and Video archives.
• American Memory Numerous links from the Library of Congress, including audio and video files.
• Eye Witness to History Primary source material from the ancient world to the present.
• The History Channel For all ages.
• Presidential Timelines From the National Archives.
• U.S Foreign Policy 325 digital volumes from the U. of Wisconsin.

How to Research in Databases and Search Engines

Always look for Help links. Different databases and search engines may have different commands.

Try a keyword (anywhere in the article) search first. Narrow to a subject search especially if there is a Help link or list of subjects, which may be called a thesaurus or topic list.

Add more words to narrow your search if there are too many results.

When searching exact phrases, put them within quotation marks: “to each his own.”

Usually, the default search is AND. Entering Paris London will search for both words. Using “and” gets you less results than using “OR”

OR may need to be in capital letters: London OR Paris gives more results than London Paris

NOT may need to be in capitals or use – instead in front of word you do not want in results : Detroit –Tigers Detroit NOT Tigers

Check your spelling. A simple typo or misspelling may not bring the results you want: Antoine Fisher instead of Antwone Fisher.

Try different words for your search: copying machines, duplicating machines, copiers.

Here is a more detailed list of research tips from SUNY Albany:

• www.internettutorials.net/checklist.html
• ProQuest Help links

Librarians' Internet Index

• Librarians’ Internet Index High quality web sites in all subject areas selected by CA librarians.
• Westchester Librarians' Best Picks Your Westchester librarian's favorites sites.
• Virtual Reference Shelf Selected Web resources compiled by the Library of Congress.
• Internet Public Library Tested links in all subjects from library schools across the country. Also, global newspapers listed geographically.
• LibrarySpot A virtual reference desk of links.
• Refdesk The "single best source for facts” with links to numerous resources.

Literature and Humanities

• Bartleby Links to thousands of out-of-copyright e-books as well as quotation books, Gray’s Anatomy, Shakespeare, and much more.
• Literary Resources on the Net Resources from Biblical and Classical to the Twentieth Century.
• American Religion Data Archive (ARDA) American and International religious articles and data
• American Rhetoric Over 5000 full text, audio and streaming video public speeches, interviews, debates, sermons and interviews. Includes the top 100 American political speeches of the 20th century.
• Ask Philosophers A panel of philosophers comment on topics from abortion to war. Also contains links to two encyclopedias of philosophy
• Arts and Letters Daily The Chronicle of Higher Education’s links to articles of note, literary reviews, magazines, newspapers, columnists, etc.
• LitCrit Critical and biographical websites from the Internet Public Library.

Consumer Information

• Federal Citizen Information Center Information on consumer issues and government services
• Consumer.gov A resource for consumer information from the federal government
• Consumer Guides and Protection An alphabetical list of consumer protection information
• Federal Trade Commission The FTC handles issues of fairness in the marketplace.
• OnGuard Online Practical tips from the Federal Government to help consumers guard against Internet fraud.
• National Association of Consumer Advocates A non-profit group of attorneys and other consumer advocates.
• EComsumer.gov A joint effort of twenty nations to share international ecommerce complaints.
• Epinions Reviews by real people
• Free Credit Reports Request a free credit report once every twelve monthes
• Consumer Search Reviews from the Internet and print publications
• Kelley Blue Book The online version of the Blue Book for car prices
• Edmunds New and used vehicle information from Edmunds
• NADA Guides Cars, motorcycles, boats, and RVs
• Car Talk Click and Clack, the Tappit Brothers (aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi). – online
• My Simon Comparison shopping for online merchandise
• Shopzilla Another comparison shopping site
• Freecycle Join a grassroots group in your area to recycle items – free- instead of supplying landfills
• Better Business Bureau Check up on a company or charity, or file a complaint.
• Savvy Consumer Information Center Sign up for a free weekly newsletter with links to consumer sites in all categories.
• Westchester County’s Department of Consumer Protection Links to local heating oil and gasoline prices, "renegade renovators", identity theft, phone and online "phishing" awareness, and other consumer alerts.
• Government Benefits GovBenefits can help citizens find out what state or federal benefits they may be eligible to receive by filling out a free, confidential, online questionnaire.

Business

• Better Business Bureau The authority on trust in the marketplace, setting and upholding high standards for ethical marketplace behavior.
• Hoovers This website, a subsidiary of Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), features a database of information on more than 65 million corporations and organizations, and more than 85 million people.
• Market Watch From the Wall Street Journal, latest news and comentary.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook
• Score Westchester Co. Counselors to America's Small Business.
• Thomas Register Online access to Thomas Register of Manufacturers. Free registration needed.
• Westchester County Association A business-based membership organization committed to addressing public policy issues with respect to business advocacy and economic development on behalf of Westchester's corporate and not-for-profit organizations.
• Westchester County Business Journal A focus only on the local business community with news and information that are helpful to business people and profiles on local entrepreneurs and professionals.

Career and Employment

• Greenburgh Job Blog Four student interns working along with Paul Feiner and Town Clerk Judith Beville have created a job blog advising of job openings.
• Indeed Search job sites, newspapers, associations and company career pages.
• Jobs and Careers Career Links on the Web compiled by the Westchester Library System.
• SimplyHired Job search thousands of job boards and classifieds at once. Post your resume to multiple job boards. Receive an email message with a match for your qualifications.
• USA Jobs Federal jobs available
• Westchester County Jobs Westchester's number one Local Job Board. Serving local jobs in NY since 1999.

En Español

• ACCESO COMPUTARIZADO DE LA SALUD EN NUEVA YORK, NOAH Su conexión temas de Salud en Nueva York, NOAH
• MEDLINEPLUS INFORMACION DE SALUD Informacion de Salud para usted
• Recursos en Español: un servicio en línea del Sistema de Bibliotecas de Westchester.

Health and Medicine

• New York Online Access to Health (NOAH)- Links to numerous health topics and local area resources, in both English and Spanish.
• CAPHIS- Consumer and Patient Health Information Section of the Medical Library Association
  
• Consumer health web sites covering general health, women's health, men's health, parenting and kids, seniors, specific health problems, drug information, and links for health professionals.
• MEDLINEplus This site contains authoritative consumer health information on over 600 topics from the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine. Interactive health tutorials, drug information, clinical trials, a medical encyclopedia and dictionary, and directories to healthcare facilities and physicians are also available.
• Pubmed Over 16 million citations and abstracts from medical journals from the National Library of Medicine. Also links to a few dozen full text medical textbooks.
• Merck Manual Full-text online of the Merck Manual Home edition. also links to Merck’s Manuals of Geriatrics, Health and Aging, Veterinary Manual, and Manual of Diagnosis & Therapy.
• Centers for Disease Control Public health and safety information. Look here before traveling abroad.
• New York Doctor Profiles Lists all licensed doctors of medicine and osteopathy registered in New York State
• DisabilityInfo.gov Your online connection to the Federal Government's disability related information and resources.

Computers/Online Tutorials

• Digital LiteracyA portal for digital literacy and coolaboration for practitioners devoted to enhancing digital opportunity for all Americans.
• Mousing Around From Palm Beach County Library
• Advanced Mousing From the Rutgers Writing Program
• LearnTheNet Topics include computer basics, e-mail and multimedia
• AARP Basic Web Lessons Also available, intermediate web lessons and How To guides.
• Seniornet Look for the Courses tab to find Internet and other computer related tutorials
• Security 101 Discusses passwords, cookies, firewalls, viruses and more
• Web Search Strategies
• Freeskills Over 650 free tutorials from Internet to computer applications and languages.
• UC Berkeley’s Guides
• Ebsco Tutorials
• Learnthat A wide variety of free tutorials and courses, not limited to computers
• PubMed Search the National Library of Medicine’s professional journals.
• ProQuest Training Guide
• Microsoft Word Tutorials
• Microsoft Office Tutorials Includes Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Outlook

Newspapers and Magazines

• Online newspapers from around the world From the Internet Public Library
• Online magazines on numerous topics From the Internet Public Library
• FindArticles Over 10 million free articles from thousands of publications.
• BBC News Reliable news in 33 languages from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

People Links – Biography

• Biography.com Search over 25,000 lives past and present.
• Biography Database Over 33,000 names from ancient times to now
• Behind the Name The etymology and history of first names.
• Popular Baby Names Lists of popular names by year and by state, with useful information from the Social Security Administration.
• Rootsweb Obituary Index An index to obituaries in newspapers across the Untied States and Canada. Not the obituaries themselves, but a starting point for genealogy searches.

Phone Numbers/Addresses/Maps

• White Pages Find people pages, reverse phone and addresses, yellow pages.
• International Phone Numbers Find people in 216 countries.
• Google Maps Get directions, find a business (e.g. pizza near Greenburgh), and show a location in a map and/or satellite view
• Toll free Toll free numbers
• Maps On us Another good map and directions site
• The Ultimates Searches several online phone directories, map searches or reverse searches at once.

Science and Technology

• How Stuff Works Explanations on auto stuff, computer stuff, health stuff, electronics stuff, etc.

• How Products are Made From the accordion to the zipper.
• Firstgov on Science Authoritative links from the U.S. Government’s firstgov.gov, covering Agriculture and Biology to Science Education and Technology Transfer.
• Ask a Scientist from Cornell University
• SciTechDaily Breaking science news from a portal to many publications.

Search Engines

There are thousands of search engines. Become comfortable with one or two, and remember that you will retrieve different information from each. Many search engines have tabs to limits searches to the web, images, news, audios, videos, maps, local information, shopping and more.

• Google is so popular, it has become a verb.
• Yahoo! Another long time favorite.
• Ask AskJeeves and Teoma merged here.
• Clusty Cluster your results into similar topics.
• MetaCrawler searches several search engines at once.
• Dogpile "fetches" for you from several search engines.