Current Events &
Contemporary Studies
Asia Source (Asia Society)
Provides information pertaining to Asia including; food, business, events, news, holidays, maps and statistics. Contains specific sections on holidays, chronologies, country comparisons, embassies, biographies, languages and more. Includes a searchable glossary and dictionary.
Altapedia Online (Latimer Clarke Corporation Pty. Ltd.)
Full color physical and political maps from around the world, plus facts and statistics on geography, climate, people, religion, language, history and economy.
Background Notes (United States Department of State)
Presents online publications about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty around the world. Prepared by the regional bureaus of the US Department of State.
BBC News (British Broadcasting Corporation) (Contains advertising.)
The largest news broadcaster in the world presents extensive, in-depth coverage of the world’s current events. Offers a good alternative perspective to that of American-based news media. Specific sections focus on world regions, business, health, science and nature, technology. Includes links to supplemental video and audio coverage.
BLS Career Information (US Bureau of Labor Statistics) For all ages.
Provides vocational guidance for young people interested in a variety of fields.
CIA World Factbook (Central Intelligence Agency)
Quick reference to information for all countries including: geography, maps, people, government, economy, military, communication, travel, and international issues.
Constitution Finder (University of Richmond)
Features the constitutions of more than two hundred countries in both the original language and English.
Distinguished Women of Past and Present (Distinguishedwomen.com)
Provides biographical information (indexed by subject or name) of women writers, educators, scientists, heads of state, civil rights activists, artists and entertainers. Features bibliography links to Amazon.com.
Earth Trends: The Environmental Information Portal (The World Resources Institute)
A collection of online databases that provide access to massive amounts of data relating to the environment, geography and economics of countries around the world. Topics covered include: coastal and marine ecosystems, climate and atmosphere, agriculture and food, energy and resources.
Ethnologue (SIL International)
Information about over 6,900 languages with over 40,000 different dialects from around the world. Specific information for each language includes population, region and classification.
Federal Resources for Educational Excellence (US Department of Education)
Lists hundreds of educational websites supported by US government agencies. Subjects include arts, history, health and physical education, language arts, mathematics, science, and world studies.
The Federal Web Locator (Villanova Center for Information Law and Policy)
A comprehensive guide to federal government information, with links to major government agencies, departments and offices. [most links seem to be bad; may need to replace w/ something else]
Girls Health (The National Women’s Health Information Center, Washington, DC)
Covers a wide range of health topics specifically for young women, such as fitness, nutrition, relationships, bullying, drugs, smoking, and others.
Healthfinder (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion/US Department of Health and Human Services)
Serves as an all-purpose source of free medical and health information for the general public. Features a health library, a section on doctors, dentists, and hospitals, and a directory of selected health information websites from government agencies, clearinghouses, nonprofits, and universities.
Homework Center (Multnomah County Library)
A selection of internet resources, organized by topics most commonly requested for homework assignments. Selected and annotated by librarians.
How Products are Made (Thomson Gale) Contains advertising.
Each entry includes background, history, diagrams, descriptions of raw materials and the manufacturing process, future projections, a bibliography, and (be warned) advertising links for the products described.
Iemily (iEmily Inc.)
Includes information on herbs, natural remedies, beauty tips, yoga, sexuality and other matters of lifestyle. Offers essays written by girls about a range of issues, including grief, self-image, self-injury and disabilities.
INFOMINE (Regents of the University of California)
Provides access to a collection of resources (many free) like databases, electronic journals, bulletin boards, mailing lists, online library catalogs, articles, directories of researchers, and other types of information assembled by librarians at 30 contributing universities. Sometimes this site is slow to load – it may take a few attempts, but it’s worth the effort!
Ipl2 (The Internet Public Library 2) (iSchool at Drexel University in partnership with several other universities)
A virtual library providing easy access to many reference resources, books, magazines and other websites selected by librarians. Organized by subject. Also has a section especially for teens.
The Library of Congress (Library of Congress)
Provides access to Library of Congress digital collections of text, audio and graphics. Collections include American Memory; Global Gateway: World Cultures and Resources; THOMAS (for legislative information) and more.
NationMaster.com (NationMaster.com; Luke Metcalfe, a web publisher and data miner from Sydney, Australia) (Contains advertising)
A vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, United Nations, World Health Organization, World Bank, World Resources Institute, UNESCO, UNICEF, and OECD. Also includes quizzes on a wide array of subjects.
OFFSTATS (Ranier Wolcke, University of Auckland Library)
A metasite that pulls together links to official statistics from countries, government agencies and intergovernmental organizations.
US Census Bureau (US Census Bureau)
Complete US data listed geographical (by region, county, city, etc.). A surprising number of details about daily life, trends, and demographics is measured by the Census Bureau and presented on this site.
Urban Legends Reference Pages (Barbara and David P. Mikkelson) (Contains advertisements)
A searchable archive offering insight into urban legends, suspect news stories, rumors, gossip, and common fallacies.
USA.gov (Office of Citizen Services and Communications, US General Services Administration)
Official US government gateway for citizens, visitors, business and government employees. Provides access to federal, state, local, tribal and international government information.
