Ready Reference

Abbreviations & Acronyms

Acronym Finder: Look up 157,000+ acronyms/abbreviations & their definitions. Type an abbreviation or acronym to read a short definition.

WorldWideWeb Acronym and Abbreviation Server. Type an acronym to read definitions.


Almanacs & Encyclopedias

Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th edition. Articles from the 2000 (6th) edition of the Columbia Encyclopedia (over 57,000 articles).

Infoplease.com. Search the contents of the Information Please Almanac online.


Atlases

Atlapedia Online. Pick a country or region to see political or physical maps.

How far is it?. Enter the names of two cities to learn the distance between them.

Maps.com. Convenient dot-com source for online maps and travel-related facts.

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection. The University of Texas offers this source of online maps of many kinds.

U.S. Gazetteer: Search for a Place in the US. Enter the name of a place to find its location and basic census data Enter the name of a place to find its location and basic census data.


Calendars & Time of Day

Date and Time Gateway. Pick a city or region to see the current time.

Perpetual Calendar. Creates a calendar for any month and year.

Reference Calendars. Enter the year to see a calendar of months and days.


Country Information

The World Factbook. Browse this well-known CIA publication for concise information about countries.


Currency converters

Currency Converter. Choose two countries to see current rates of monetary exchange.


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Dictionaries & Thesauri

Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Choose one of four dictionaries (Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, or Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs); then enter a word to read a definition.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Enter a word to read a definition.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus. Enter a word to read synonyms.


Dictionaries: Foreign Language

ARTFL Project: French-English Dictionary Form. Type a word to read a brief definition.

LEO German-English Dictionary. Type a word to read definitions.

Babblefish: Free Translation Service.Translates phrases and sentences into any language.


Dictionaries: Scientific & Medical

Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing. Concise definitions of terms related to computers and computing.

Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. Reliable, easy-to-use medical information.

On-line Medical Dictionary. Enter terms to read definitions.


Footnoting & Bibliographies

Chicago/Turabian notes from the The University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center. This set of web pages covers: Chicago Style: Works Cited, or References.

Using American Psychological Association (APA) Format. A lengthy guide with examples, from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Format. A lengthy guide with examples, from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.


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Footnoting & Internet Sources

A Brief Citation Guide for Internet Sources in History and the Humanities. This source follows Turabian.

Electronic Reference Formats Recommended by the American Psychological Association. Discussion and examples for citing Internet sources, according to the APA.


Periodic table

Chemicool - Periodic table from MIT.

Armes Research Group Periodic Table. Click on an element symbol to see "key data. "


State Information

State Profiles from Infoplease.com. Concise summaries from a major almanac source.

Statistical Abstract: State Rankings. Over 40 different rankings in table form


Statistics

FedStats. Browse statistics from seventy United States government agencies.

Texas: Population and Demographics. Official figures about the state.

USA Statistics in Brief. A supplement to the Statistical Abstract.


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Tax forms

Forms and instructions for distribution:

Copies of many of the most popular federal forms can be found in the Randolph C. Watson Library

Forms and instructions by phone:

You can call and request that specific forms be mailed to you. These numbers can be hard to reach later in the season. Federal Tax Information Line: 1-800-829-1040 Federal Tax Form Request Line: 1-800-829-3676

Forms and instructions on the Internet:

For Federal Government tax forms which are not available on campus, or for additional tax information, please see the following web site: http://www.irs.gov/formspubs/index.html


Telephone & Address Directories

AnyWho: Telephone Number, Email, Home Page URL, FAX, Toll Free, and Address Directory. Enter the names of businesses or individuals.

Superpages - Online Yellow Pages and Shopping Guide. Enter business names or categories for cities or states.

WorldPages.com. Enter the names of businesses or individuals.


Weights & measures

A Dictionary of Units. Definitions, formulas and conversion tables.

Interactive Units Converter. Enter units of length, area, volume, weight or temperature for conversion to and from metric units.

Metric Conversion Chart. Tables for the US and metric systems.


ZIP codes

City State / ZIP Code Associations. Enter a ZIP code to identify the area it serves.

ZIP+4 Code Look-up. Look up ZIP codes for cities and addresses.


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These sites include academic, government, and commercial sources: the Randolph C. Watson Library provides these links for convenience, and cannot guarantee access or control their content.

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