FCPL Curated Content: Research: General Reference

General Reference

A selection of websites containing the following types of reference information and tools:

You may also be interested in Online Resources for General Reference provided by the Library.

Additional research resources provided by Fairfax County Public Library

Dictionaries and Thesauruses

You may also like Oxford English Dictionary Online.

All Acronyms
Definitions of acronyms and abbreviations.
Free Dictionary
Simultaneously searches and returns results from multiple dictionaries, including specialized medical, legal and financial dictionaries. Additional features include thesaurus, acronym and idiom searching, and an encyclopedia. Available in various languages.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Thesaurus
WordReference
Free, online bilingual dictionaries.

Foundations and Grants

Candid (Formerly Foundation Center)
Information for individuals and nonprofits, including resources for beginning grant seekers and a Knowledge Base of frequently asked questions.
Grants Research and Training Center (GRTC)
Free access to Candid databases on grantmakers (Foundation Directory Online Professional and Foundation Grants to Individuals Online) and assistance by trained staff to get started on them. Service is currently provided at three library branches: Reston Regional Library; Sherwood Regional Library; and Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library. GRTC is supported by Candid, the Fairfax County Department of Economic Initiatives and Fairfax County Public Library.
Grants.gov
All federal agencies are required to post grant opportunities online. Grants.gov enables you to find and apply for federal grants.
SAM.gov — Assistance Listings (Formerly Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)
Public descriptions of federal programs that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance and other types of assistance awards. You may browse assistance listings across all government agencies to learn about potential funding sources.

International Information

You may also like Exchange Rates, Maps, Newspapers, Statistics, Telephone Directories, Job Search Sites and Study Abroad (under the Choosing a College tab). For additional information, see the "Nation and World" publications in Gale eBooks database.

Holidays Worldwide
Lists holidays and observances around the world.
International Travel
Worldwide travel information and advisories from the U.S. Department of State.
USEmbassy.gov
The official list of websites of U.S. embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions. From the U.S. Department of State.
World Clock
Find out the current local time in countries and cities around the world.
World Factbook
Detailed country profiles or one-page summaries, country comparisons, travel facts, regional and world maps, flags of the world and more. Provided by the CIA.

Maps

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Focuses on rare 16th through 21st century maps of North and South America, as well as maps of Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and the world. Contains over 108,000 digitized maps.
Library of Congress — Maps
The digitized map collection of the Library of Congress.
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection
This University of Texas website makes accessible thousands of modern and historical maps from their collections. Genealogists will appreciate the many city maps (search their list of U.S. Historical City Maps and additional links located under Historical Map Sites).

Newspapers, Magazines and Journals

You may also like to see current and historical issues of selected newspapers, magazines and journals in the library's Online Resources collection (check the library's Journal Locator to see if we provide online access to a specific title); find digital magazines on Overdrive Magazines; or find information about specific publications in Serials Directory database.

Chronicling America — Historic American Newspapers
Search digitized copies of American newspapers from 1789-1963, or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published from 1690 to the present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Directories
- Directory of Open Access Journals
  DOAJ is a community-curated online directory that indexes and provides access to high quality, open access, peer-reviewed journals.
- Today's Front Pages
  Each day, the Freedom Forum highlights the front pages of hundreds of newspapers worldwide.
- United States Newspapers
  Links to U.S. newspapers organized by state. Provided by 50States.com.
- World Newspapers and Magazines
  Links to newspapers and magazines by country. Provided by Worldpress.org.

Statistics

See may also like Economic Data and Virginia Statistics & Demographics.

NationMaster
Use statistics compiled from various sources to compare countries or view international statistics on a variety of subjects.
Statistical Sites on the World Wide Web
List of United States and international statistics sources. Compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
U.S. Data and Statistics
Links to sources of demographics and statistics from federal and state government sources. Provided by USA.gov.

Style Guides and Resources for Writers

Purdue Online Writers Lab (OWL)
Purdue University offers their set of guidelines on various aspects of writing, including

The Writing Center — Tips & Tools
Information and videos to help write everything from book reviews and papers to business letters and resumes. Includes tips on the writing process and writing style, and provides citation tutorials and a Citation Builder to format citations using MLA, APA, CSE and Chicago styles. Provided by the Writing Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Telephone and Address Directories

You may also like AtoZdatabases, for residential and business directory information, or the Virginia Room's collection of historical city directories and telephone books.

International Calling Codes
Select the country you are calling from and to, and any calling codes you need will display.
People and Business Finders
- Infobel International Telephone Directories
  Search telephone directories for nearly 200 countries. Available in multiple languages.
- Verizon Phone Books — Print Editions in Digital Format
  Digital images of Verizon business and residential (yellow & white) page listings for Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC and other states. For local directories, select Virginia to choose from the Northern Virginia East, West or South editions; or select a specific county region. Provided by TheRealYellowPages.com.
Zip Code Lookup
Input an address to find a ZIP+4 Code, search for a ZIP Code using city and state, or find a location by its ZIP Code. Provided by the United States Postal Service.

Online Resources for General Reference

Fairfax County Public Library offers online resources for education and enjoyment. The resources below require a library card for use outside the library:

AtoZ Databases
Provides information about 30 million business & executive profiles and 240 million residents using data available from public records. Ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, employment opportunities, finding friends and finding relatives.
Biography in Context
An engaging online experience for those seeking contextual information on the world's most influential people, past and present, providing reference content alongside newspaper and magazine articles, video and audio recordings, and images. Search by name, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, gender, and birth or death date or place.
Current Biography Illustrated
Offers the up-to-date biographies, images, and obituaries of persons of contemporary importance across all fields of influence since 1940. Users can search by occupation, activity, gender, place of origin, birthday, lifespan, or any combination of these criteria, or browse by name, ethnicity, geography, nationality, occupation, place of birth, etc.
Digital Magazines
Borrow and read hundreds of popular magazines in digital format including TThe New Yorker and National Geographic.
Foundation Directory Online Professional (Available at GRTC)
Foundation Directory Online Professional (Available at GRTC)
Provides a searchable database of foundations, charities and corporate giving programs for nonprofits, with information from recently awarded grants, recently filed IRS 990 forms, and recently announced requests for proposals (RFPs).
Gale Directory Library
Use search, sort, filter, and export options to access and organize relevant data from directories of organizations, businesses, educational scholarships and loans, brands, and print and broadcast media.
Gale eBooks
Offers a variety of general nonfiction and specialized reference ebooks for curiosity and research, across all subjects and levels of study.
Gale Literature
An integrated research experience that brings together a variety of literary databases in a digital environment, allowing researchers and students to search across resources to discover and analyze content in useful ways. A combination of literary content and dependable searchability enriched by database features and design to advance the study of literature.
Gale OneFile: News
Provides access to major U.S. and international local, regional, and national newspapers, magazines, and trade journals, as well as images and broadcasts and transcripts from radio and television.
Grants to Individuals Online (Available at GRTC)
Profiles foundations and public charities that offer scholarships, fellowships, grants, and other financial support to individuals, including students, artists, and researchers.
Literature Resource Center
Provides readers, students, and researchers with full-text and multimedia biographies, overviews, analysis, reviews, and criticism, including primary sources, on authors and works from around the world, past and present.
LitFinder
Offers poems, short stories, speeches, and plays alongside information on authors past and present, with biographies, summaries, images, and references to additional resources.
MasterFILE Complete
A comprehensive collection of popular full-text magazines and journals, reference books, documents, videos, images, maps, and flags, covering almost every interest and subject, including business and personal finance, health and fitness, sports and leisure, science and culture, DIY and fashion.
Oxford English Dictionary Online
Provides the meaning and comprehensive history of the English language, alongside quotations for examples of usage.
Serials Directory
An international database of serial publications, including newspapers and newsletters, magazines and journals, catalogs and directories, corporate reports and government publications, etc., with publication, contact, and classification information.
US Major Dailies (formerly National Newspapers Core)
Provides access to the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, with content updated every morning, and archives back to 1985.