Other Online Resources

Sources within the Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institution:

• http://www.si.edu - contains general information about the Institution and links to museums, research centers, and Encyclopedia Smithsonian.

Other sources helpful for answering commonly asked reference questions:

• http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/ - "Aircraft of the Smithsonian" lists all aircraft housed by the National Air and Space Museum.
• http://newsdesk.si.edu - contains a variety of Smithsonian general information. Click "SI history," click "Smithsonian Awards/Medals" for a comprehensive list of SI awards and winners.
• http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/start.htm - direct link to Encyclopedia Smithsonian.
• http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/MIND_Search_Basic.aspx - Lemelson Center MIND Database that identifies the locations and contents of invention-related archival materials in the United States.
• http://www.sil.si.edu/ - Smithsonian Libraries home page.
• http://www.si.edu/visit/ - the Smithsonian's general information address.

Sources outside the Smithsonian

History of Science:

• http://gort.ucsd.edu/ds/initial.html - This is the University of California at San Diego's library catalog which is helpful for finding monograph titles and locations of archives/manuscript collections regarding the history of science.

Media Information:

• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/FilmRefMenu.html - University of California at Berkeley. Contains links to searchable film/video and television programming databases.

Reference questions regarding the Washington, DC, metro area:

• http://dclibrary.org/ - DC Public Library (MLK Library), Washingtoniana Division.
• http://www.historydc.org/ - DC Historical Society/City Museum.
• http://www.co.arlington.va.us/lib/sites/history.htm - Links to history and archives sources in the U.S. Also includes links to famous biographies, African-American history, the presidency, Native Americans, the Civil War, and local DC metro area history. Also includes links concerning women's history, first ladies, and the WWI document archives.
• http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/sitelist.htm - Washington, DC, list of sites. Provides links to webpages for most indoor and outdoor historical sites in DC. Divided into geographical areas of the city. Includes links to maps of DC.

United States government resources:

• http://www.whitehouse.gov - The White House. Information on White House history and the First Family. Includes short statements regarding the president's most recent official decisions and activities. Also contains link to http://www.usa.gov which provides contact information and other important information for federal and state agencies, bureaus, and courts.
• http://www.senate.gov and http://www.house.gov - U.S. Congress. All information for contacting members and reviewing legislative activities including up-to-date information on House and Senate daily business. The House page includes free access to the U.S. Code as well as links dedicated to education, other government sites (including the U.S. Supreme Court), and information helpful for tourists and others planning to visit DC.
• http://thomas.loc.gov/ - THOMAS. Updated information regarding U.S. Congressional official activities.
• http://www.loc.gov - The Library of Congress. Search holdings online.
• http://www.loc.gov/coll/nucmc/nucmc.html - National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections. Cataloging program operated by the Library of Congress. Lists repository locations for thousands of manuscript collections in the United States. Contains all information concerning visiting and research at LC.
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/voices/vfsabout.html - Slave Narratives
• http://www.loc.gov/vets/ - Veterans History Project
• http://www.archives.gov - The National Archives and Records Administration. Search NARA online. Contains all information concerning visiting and research at NARA. To contact a reference archivist directly use inquire@nara.gov.
• http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html - Military Service Records
• https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ - CIA Factobook. Contains country information.

Other, basic reference sources:

• http://www.wikipedia.org/ - Wikipedia. Online encyclopedia.
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Reference/ - Yahoo.com Reference. Contains thousands of links to useful reference sources of the "commonly asked questions" type including almanacs, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, flags, journals, libraries, phone and address information, and statistics.
• http://www.lib.purdue.edu/reference/ - "The Virtual Reference Desk" at Purdue University Libraries. Links to maps, area codes, news archives, selected dissertations, science data including conversion tables and the Periodic Table of the Elements, calendars, postal information including international country codes, and selected federal government documents including census information.
• http://www.biography.com - A&E television network. Short blurbs including birth and death dates for thousands of well-known individuals.
• http://www.refdesk.com/ and http://www.refdesk.com/facts.html - refdesk.com. Contains links to reference information on almost all imaginable topics including links to major U.S. newspapers.
• http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president/ - Lists links to information about presidential libraries, presidents, and first ladies.
• http://geography.about.com/science/geography/library/misc/blpostal.htm - U.S. state postal abbreviations.
• http://libraryspot.com - LibrarySpot. Information page for the latest in reference issues. Also lists a variety of libraries available online. The "Reference Desk" feature includes links to business associations, almanacs, biographies, government, law, genealogy, encyclopedias, etc.
• http://www.appraisers.org - The American Society of Appraisers. A referral service is offered.
• http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/ - WorldCat
• http://www.jstor.org/ - JSTOR
• http://www.archivegrid.org/web/index.jsp - ArchivalGrid

Revised 1/11/2008