Links to Online Resources
The following web sites give you quick facts and ready reference information on a wide range of topics. When your research requires more in-depth information, you may want to use other electronic resources or printed publications. Check with a reference librarian for assistance. If you have suggestions for additions to this list, please contact the Library at peter.hepburn@canyons.edu
ACRONYMS
Acronym, Abbreviations, Initials (this is a list of acronyms by subject, and not a dictionary listing)
ALMANACS
BIOGRAPHIES
Biographical Dictionary (includes more than 27,000 persons from ancient times to the present day)
POTUS: Presidents of the United States (includes biographies, speeches and writings, election results, odd facts and presidency highlights)
BOOKS ONLINE
Internet Archive (includes full text for several million books, documents, and other print materials that are public domain or otherwise without copyright restriction)
On-line Books Page (lists thousands of books and documents in full-text at the University of Pennsylvania)
Project Gutenberg (a huge library of electronically stored books, mostly classics)
BUSINESS/CAREER
Occupational Outlook Handbook (describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of occupations; searchable by occupation. Also available in paper copy in the Library.)
CENSUS
COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES
California State University (home page for the entire system; includes links to all campuses)
University of California (home page for the entire system; includes links to all campuses)
Guide to California Colleges & Universities (Web site of California Postsecondary Education Commission, contains detailed information about California's public and private postsecondary educational institutions)
Peterson's Education and Career Center (a comprehensive resource on higher education)
US News & World Report College & Careers Center (to find a college and compare colleges)
CONSUMER INFORMATION
California Department of Consumer Affairs (provides many publications in full-text online - some are available in Spanish)
COUNTRY INFORMATION
CIA World Factbook (an overview of all countries of the world; includes statistical data and maps)
Library of Congress Country Studies (a series of in-depth country studies prepared under the Country Studies/Area Handbook Program sponsored by the Dept. of the Army; presently contains studies of 91 countries)
DICTIONARIES & THESAURI
Internet Public Library Reference--Dictionaries (lists Web resources about various aspects of languages)
Law.com Legal Dictionary (Search legal terms and definitions)
Onelook Dictionary (allows you to look up words in several different dictionaries)
ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopedia.com (contains more than 57,000 articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, 7th edition)
GOVERNMENT INFORMATION / OUR REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNMENT:
United Nations (official web site locator for UN organizations with links to other governmental and non-governmental international organizations)
USA.gov (provides one-stop access to all online US Federal Government resources)
Congressional Research Service (provides non-partisan analysis of issues of public debate)
Vital records - Where to write for birth/death/marriage/divorce records (lists all state agencies to contact for these documents) California Easy Voter Guide (a nonpartisan resource for voters - also in Spanish)
CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT (general information about California and its agencies)
California Secretary of State home page, including election results (March 1996- )
OUR REPRESENTATIVES:
U.S. Senate:
Dianne Feinstein (D)
Alex Padilla (D)
U.S. Congress: 25th District: Mike Garcia (R)
California State Senate:
21st District:
Scott Wilk (R) (represents the northeastern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley and includes the Canyon Country Campus) (represents the northeastern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley and includes the Canyon Country Campus)
27th District:
Henry Stern (D) (represents the southwestern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley and includes the Valencia campus)
California State Assembly
36th District: Tom Lackey (R) (takes in part of the northeastern corner of the Santa Clarita Valley and includes portions of Saugus)
38th District: Suzette Martinez Valladares (R) (includes most of the Santa Clarita Valley)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: 5th District:
HEALTH & MEDICINE
CDC - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Health Central (a comprehensive coverage of health/medical issues)
National Institutes of Health (the U.S. Government's premier source for health information)
OncoLink, University of Pennsylvania Cancer Center (contains comprehensive information about specific types of cancer, updates on cancer treatment and news about research advances)
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
Calisphere (200,000 digitized primary sources from California libraries and institutions)
INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS
Refdesk.com (links to hundreds of Web sites with fast facts, current news stories, etc. A one-stop online information desk)
Virtual Reference Shelf (selected Web resources compiled by the Library of Congress on various topics, including links to other Web reference resources)
LIBRARIES
Los Angeles County Public Library (with links to branch libraries in the Santa Clarita Valley)
MAPS
David Rumsey Map Collection (extensive digitized gallery of maps, globes, atlases, charts, school geographies, and material in other cartographic formats)
Map and Geography Library (comprehensive collection of resources on maps and geography including current and historical maps at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Perry-Casteneda Library Map Collection (collection of current and historical maps at University of Texas at Austin)
NEWS/NEWSPAPERS/MAGAZINES
ABYZ News Links (comprehensive list of news sources by region, country, etc.)
The Signal (newspaper of the Santa Clarita Valley)
QUOTATIONS Bartlett's Quotations (10th ed., 1919)
STATISTICS
Consumer Price Indexes (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics information on consumer price indexes)
STYLE MANUALS/WRITING AIDE
Chicago Manual of Style Online Quick Guide
Elements of Style (the classic writer's guide)