Online Reference Materials

Browse and search the following websites to help you find the information you're looking for!

 

  • The Columbia Encyclopedia (Bartleby.com) Containing nearly 51,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references. 
    Encyclopedia.com (Gale) Provides credible answers from published reference works, including 49 encyclopedias and 73 dictionaries and thesauruses. A free online resource, offering millions of articles, pictures, facts and biographies in a large variety of subject areas including the arts, science, sports, medicine, accounting and management.
    Refdesk.com Encyclopedia’s "Since 1995, refdesk indexes quality, credible and timely resources that are free and family-friendly."  Different sections like: Fast facts.
    Wikipedia Because Wikipedia is an ongoing work to which, in principle, anybody can contribute, it differs from a paper-based reference source in some very important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles may still contain significant misinformation, un-encyclopedic content, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this in order to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation which has been recently added and not yet removed.
    The Canadian Encyclopedia  The full text of The Canadian Encyclopedia and its related resources has been made available online by the Historica Foundation as a public service since 1999. Since its publication in book form in 1985, The Canadian Encyclopedia has provided the most comprehensive, objective and accurate source of information on Canada for students, readers and scholars across Canada and throughout the world. As a first source for information on all Canadian topics The Canadian Encyclopedia has continued to grow through several iterations in print and on CD-ROM, culminating in this online version
    Dictionary.com online and mobile properties are destinations for learning. Our goal: to empower word discovery and learning. We provide resources that create success for users in their schoolwork, careers, relationships, and life.
    One Look Dictionary Search  Think of this web site as a search engine for words and phrases: If you have a word for which you'd like a definition or translation, we'll quickly shuttle you to the web-based dictionaries that define or translate that word. If you don't know the right word to use, we'll help you find it. No word is too obscure: More than 5 million words in more than 1000 online dictionaries are indexed by the OneLook® search engine.
    Visual Dictionary Online (Merriam-Webster) When you know what something looks like but not what it’s called, or when you know the word but can’t picture the object, The Visual Dictionary has the answer. In a quick look, you can match the word to the image.
  • Library and Archives Canada’s (LAC) collection is the shared documentary heritage of all Canadians and spans the entire history of our country. The collection contains materials in all types of formats from across Canada and around the world that are of interest to Canadians. This service is updated regularly and is constantly developing and expanding. Be sure to check back often to see the latest additions
  • Atlas of Canada  The Atlas of Canada provides authoritative, current and accessible geographic information products at a national level. Working with partners, the Atlas facilitates the integration and analysis of diverse data in order to increase overall knowledge about Canada. 
    The Canadian Atlas Online  from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society.  This is a mapping tool with great geography-related features, such as weather and Canada's natural regions
    Roget's Thesaurus at Bartleby.com Peter Roget’s classic structure coupled with Mawson’s modernization becomes even more user-friendly on Bartleby.com with 85,000 hyperlinked cross-references—thus fulfilling their goal of “each word being related to its neighbors and each part to the whole.” Additionally, over 2,900 proverbs and quotations from classic and modern authors illustrate the 1,000-plus entries. 
    Thesaurus.com   Every month more than 50 million users across the globe visit our online English dictionary and thesaurus, making us the world’s largest and most authoritative free online dictionary and mobile reference resource. Our selection of online and mobile products are an interactive and reliable source for word meaning and usage. Take our products everywhere and access them any time; we serve academic, business, social and recreational needs, irrespective of age or education level.  
    Bartleby.com Quotations Including over 11,000 quotations, the first new edition of John Bartlett’s corpus to be published after his death in 1905 keeps most of his original work intact.

    The Quotation Page  The oldest quotation site on the Web, established 1994. We have over 26,000 quotations online from over 3,100 authors, and more are added daily. Don't forget to stop by our Forums for answers to your questions about quotations.