Skip to navigation
ONLINE REFERENCE TOOLS
These free, online reference tools can help you find the answers to quick, factual questions. Remember to cite the website if you use any of the information you find.
Topics On This Page:
City of San Diego Open Data Portal
- Provides access to data collected by the City of San Diego
Data.gov
- Provides access to government statistics by topic
UNdata
- Provides access to all the data collected by the United Nations, including demographic, environmental and economic information from almost every country around the world
Wayback Machine | Internet Archive
- An online archive of web pages as they were way back when. The Internet Archive saves copies of web pages periodically so that you can go back to a previous version.
ACT Architectural Glossary
- Defines approximately 200 common architectural terms
- Includes a picture in every definition
Merriam-Webster Visual Dictionary Online
- Provides visual definitions alongside the traditional text definitions; for example, the definition of a house frame includes a diagram of the frame with other relevant terms (rafter, ceiling joist, stud, etc.) labeled and defined
Collins Dictionaries
- Includes dictionaries, thesauruses, and an English for Learners section with additional information on how to use words
- Includes bilingual dictionaries for English-Spanish, English-French,
English-German, and English-Italian
Oxford Dictionaries
- Includes the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford Concise Dictionary of First Names, and an abbreviated version of the Oxford Companion to Western Art
The Vocabulary.com Dictionary
- Includes basic dictionary definitions as well as help choosing between similar-sounding words such as affect and effect, or faze and phase
Dictionary.com
- Includes definitions from the American Heritage and Webster’s dictionaries
- Covers medical and legal terms
TheFreeDictionary.com
- Includes definitions from the American Heritage and Collins dictionaries
- Features "Starts with" and "Ends with" search options
Free Thesaurus from TheFreeDictionary.com
- Includes entries from The American Heritage Roget’s Thesaurus and the Collins Thesaurus of the English Language
- Features both synonyms and antonyms
Thesaurus.com
- Includes entries from Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus
- Features both synonyms and antonyms
WordReference.com – Online Language Dictionaries
- Bilingual dictionaries including English-Spanish, English-French,
English-German, and many more
Encyclopedia.com
- Includes articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Oxford World’s Encyclopedia, Webster’s New World Dictionary, and other sources
Encyclopedia Smithsonian
- Covers a broad range of subjects
- Includes links to other excellent sites
Reference.com
- Includes articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and other sources
Wikipedia
- Covers a broad range of subjects
- Many articles include links to related resources in the Notes,
References, and External Links sections
Open Access Theses and Dissertations
- Provides access to nearly 2 million graduate theses and dissertations published around the world.
PQDT Open
- ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Open provides the full text of open access dissertations and theses free of charge.
Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
- Features excellent information about writing academic papers
- Covers citations using APA, Chicago and MLA styles
Citing Primary Sources | Library of Congress
- Provides guidelines for citing websites, cartoons, films, maps, photographs, audio files, and other types of digital information, from the Library of Congress
- Features citation examples in APA, Chicago and MLA styles
Research and Documentation Online, 5th Edition / by Diana Hacker and Barbara Fister
- Includes information about citing every type of source, from books to blogs
- Covers MLA, APA and Chicago citation styles
Writin Resources | The Writing Center at Harvard University
- Features quick guides to every stage of the writing process, from selecting a topic and developing a thesis to organizing your paper and preparing the final draft
- Includes information on citing sources
Citation Styles & Tools | University Libraries | University of Washington
- Features quick guides to citing sources in APA, Chicago and MLA styles
- Includes links to other online style guides and to citation-generating tools
BBC Country Profiles
- Features information about countries around the world
CIA World Factbook
- Features information about countries around the world
History World
- Features articles, images and timelines
- Covers world history from prehistoric times to the present
U.S. Census Bureau
- Includes demographic and economic information for all areas of the
United States
Bartleby.com
- Includes full-text poetry, fiction, nonfiction, quotations, and reference works
- Features inaugural addresses by United States presidents
- Covers a wide range of writing, from the Bhagavad-Gita to Charles Dickens
Project Gutenberg
- Includes the full text of approximately 10,000 books
- Covers a wide range of writing, from the Bible to modern fiction
- Features almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, poetry, drama, fiction,
and nonfiction
The Oxford Shakespeare on Bartleby.com
- Includes the complete works of William Shakespeare
Encyclopedia Mythica
- Covers mythology, folklore and religion
- Includes an image gallery of deities, heroes and mythical creatures
MedlinePlus (start here!)
- This is THE place to start your search for reliable health information.
- Provides excellent information about the complete range of health, wellness, and medical topics.
- Search the whole site, or browse by topic, by drug or supplement, or by population (children, men, women, or seniors)
- Includes links to reliable information on the websites of other trusted organizations.
Evaluating Health Information | MedlinePlus
- Provides excellent information about how and why to carefully evaluate heatlh information.
Finding and Evaluating Online Resources on Complementary Health Approaches
- Provides excellent information about how and why to carefully evaluate heatlh information, with a particular focus on alternative and complementary medicine.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Provides excellent information about the complete range of health, wellness, and medical topics.
- Includes statistics, research findings, and information about diseases, environmental health, workplace safety, injuries and violence, emergency preparedness and response, and much more.
- Search the whole site, or browse by topic or by population (children, the elderly, travelers, etc.)
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
- Provides excellent information about complementary and alternative medicine.
- Includes links to reliable information on the websites of other trusted organizations.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
- Provides excellent information about mental health, psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.
- Search the whole site, or browse by topic, treatment, or population (children, men, women, or seniors)
- Includes links to reliable information on the websites of other trusted organizations.
World Health Organization (WHO)
- Covers the complete range of health, wellness, and medical topics.
- Includes research data and statistics related to a wide range of health topics and countries around the world.
OnlineConversion.com
- Converts measurements from one unit (for example, inches) to another (for example, centimeters)
Science.gov
- Includes information from a variety of governmental departments and research agencies
- Covers all areas of science, including climate change, energy, air
quality, and physical geography
- LIBRARY HOURS
-
RENEW YOUR BOOKS
Log in to renew your books
-
DISD LIBRARY CATALOG
See what we have in our Library
-
OMNIFILE ON EBSCOhost
Online articles from magazines and journals (requires login)
-
INFORMEDESIGN
Research summaries for designers
-
IIDA KNOWLEDGE CENTER
Online articles for designers
-
LOG INTO KRAVET’S WEBSITE
Fabrics, wallcoverings and more
-
MEDLINE PLUS
Your first stop for health and medical information
-
UCSD LIBRARY CATALOG
If we don’t have it, check UCSD - your Librarian goes every week
-
RECOMMEND IT
Recommend a book, magazine, film, tool or website
- EMAIL THE LIBRARY
- SEARCH FOR IMAGES
Close
Recommend a book, magazine or website
Please fill out as much information as you can to recommend a resource. If you are recommending a book, feel free to include an Amazon or Google Books link.