Ready Reference Encyclopedias






General Encyclopedias

Chamber's Book of Days
Hosted by the U. of Wisconsin Library, the Book of days is a PDF version of the paper edition. Searchable by a calendar and includes "on this day in history" type of info.

Columbia Encyclopedia
This is the 6th Edition, published in 2000.

Encyclopedia Louisiana
Mish-mash collection of links to Louisiana information.

Encyclopedia of Law & Economics
From the people at FindLaw.com.
"The Encyclopedia of Law & Economics attempts to provide a survey of the whole law & economics literature, with a total number of pages of approximately 3,000. Each entry contains two elements: a review of the literature written by an authority in the field followed a quasi-complete bibliography (not just a selection)."

Encyclopedia.Com
More than 17,000 articles from the Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition.

Encyclopedia Smithsonian
Features answers to frequently asked questions about the Smithsonian and links to Smithsonian resources from A to Z.

50states.com
For each state, essential information about the state (capital city, area, population, etc.), economic information, political information, license plates, weather, etc.

Fugitive Fact File
Locate hard-to-find and elusive information on thousands of topics using this database. Since it's maintained and regularly updated by Hennepin County Library staff, many of the files are Minnesota specific.

Infoplease.com
Search engine that searches dictionaries, almanacs and encyclopedias. Produced by the Family Education Network.

Investopedia
Searchable database of finance and investment terms. Categories for terms include mutual funds, options and futures, retirement plans as well as acronyms, buzz words, and new economy terms. Also features the Investopedia University, a sizeable collection of tutorials and articles from the editors of Investopedia and outside sources.


Humanities-Related Encyclopedias

Artcyclopedia
List of online exhibits of thousands of artists.

Catholic Encyclopedia
A wealth of information from the 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia is available at this site.

Cambridge History of English and American Literature Encyclopedia
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature is considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published on writings in the English language. Compiled over fourteen years, from 1907 to 1921, the Cambridge History contains over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages, with essay topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama, and essays to history, theology, and political writing. The set encompasses a wide selection of writing on orators, humorists, poets, newspaper columnists, religious leaders, economists, Native Americans, song writers, and even non-English writing, such as Yiddish and Creole.

Encyclopedia Mythica
Extensive listings of myths, folklore, and legends.

Encyclopedia of the Orient
Online resource specializing in North Africa and the Middle East.

Encyclopedia of the Celts
This encyclopedia exists "to give the reader access to a fragment of the contents of some of the greater and lesser know works of Celtic literature, including works of mythology, legend, fiction and history."

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Search or browse through this encyclopedia. Articles tend to be long and written in one of three manners: Adapted from public domain sources, written by the editor, or written by professors of philosophy.


Health-Related Encyclopedias

Medterms.com
Published by MedicineNet.com, this site includes over 9000 terms, abbreviations, syndromes, eponyms, and more related to the bio-medical sciences.

Merck Manual of Medical Information - Home Edition
The full-text, searchable consumer edition of the famous Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy ("the textbook of medicine most widely used by health care professionals in the U.S. and worldwide"), written in everyday language for non-health care professionals.

Nutri-Facts
A free source for nutrition information on almost six thousand different foods, Nutri-Facts has taken the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 13 and put it into a form anyone can use.


Technology Encyclopedias

PC Webopedia
Computer Hardware and Software concepts and terms.

IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology
Put together by the Royal Society of Chemistry and hosted by Chemsoc, this is a searchable online version of the "Gold Book", including over 7000 terms.


Entertainment Encyclopedias

Enature.com
From the people of the National Audubon Society, includes field guides to flora and fauna, habitat guides, ask-an-expert, and a monthly article.

GardensOnline
An Aussie site, so most of the info is Australia specific. Fortunately, these folks are quickly expanding the site to include the rest of the world, includes a glossary, a plant search engine, and a monthly featured article on some aspect of growing the perfect garden. A commercial site who's purpose is to sell garden items, but has so much other "stuff" it is worth a stop for gardening information.