Quick Reference

Acronyms
AcronymFinder- Database of more than 145,000 acronyms, abbreviations and initialisms.
Internet Acronym Server - Search by acronym to see what it means or search for a word to see what acronyms it is used in.
Scientific and Technical Acronyms, Symbols, and Abbreviations - Searchable database of technical acronyms and abbreviations plus reference tables on math/chemical symbols and signs, non-letter symbols, mathematical notation and more.

Almanacs, Magazine Indexes & Encyclopedias
Access Science - Full-text of McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, Research Updates from the McGraw-Hill Yearbooks, the latest Science News headlines, biographies and more.
Canadian Encyclopedia Online - Full text encyclopedia with links to related articles, interactive maps/graphs, biographies and events in Canadian history.
Columbia Encyclopedia - Full text encyclopedia with brief coverage of topics, plus dictionary, thesaurus, quotations and English usage.
Encyclopedia Mythica - Searchable encyclopedia of mythology, the supernatural, folklore and legends.
Findarticles.com - Index to the full text of  articles from more than 300 magazines and journals.
Infoplease.com - Presents brief facts and figures on a wide variety of topics such as countries, population, world records, etc.
LoveToKnow: 1911 Edition Encyclopaedia Britannica - Online encyclopedia useful for historical perspectives of topics. Remember when searching that the terminology used will reflect the time the encyclopedia was written.

Biographies
Biographical PolySearch Engine - Searches many biographical web sites at one time for biographical sketches and information.
Biography-center - Index to biographical (lots of European) sites on the web.
Biography.com - A & E's biographies of more than 20,000 personalities.
Canadian Who's Who - Biographies, searchable by name/birthdate/city, of living prominent Canadians.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online - Extensive information on notable Canadians who died between the years 1000 and 1920.
science.ca: Scientists - Profiles of more than 150 Canadian scientists.
Nobel Prize.org - Biographies of Nobel Prize Laureates searchable by category, nationality, etc.

Calculators & Measures
Calculators On-Line Center - An amazing number of calculators in many fields (medicine, music, science, HR, banking, etc.).
Inflation Calculator (Bank of Canada) - Calculate what a dollar from any specified year (1914 to the present) would be worth in another year plus the percentage change.  This calculator uses the Canadian Consumer Price Index.
Math.com Calculators and Tools - A variety of calculators including basic and scientific plus converters, formulas, tables, a grapher and applet function plotter.
OnlineConversion.com - Extensive list of calculators in many fields that claim to be able to "convert just about anything to anything else". 
PDFconverter.com: Unit Conversion - Convert units, times zones, temperatures and more.
Universal Currency Converter - Converts any denomination of any currency into another currency.
Webmath - Calculates and shows step-by-step solutions to math problems.

Dates & Time
Earth Calendar - Lists holidays by country, date, religion and lunar phases.
NRC Time Services - Canada's official time service with a web clock, an explanation of how the atomic clock works, plus information on Canada's time zones and daylight saving time.
This Day in History - Lists news/historic events and famous birthdays for any date.
time and date.com - Lists time zones, world clock and customized calendars by country.
Virtual Perpetual Calendars - Calendars for the years in the 19th-21st centuries, including Canadian and American holidays.
WhoWhatWhen - Interactive timelines showing the famous people/events/cultural trends for any date from 1000 AD to the present.

 

Dictionaries, Thesauri & Translators
Cambridge Dictionaries Online - Four online dictionaries of English, American English, idioms and phrasal verbs.
Dictionary.com - Online dictionary plus a text translator.
Encarta World English Dictionary - Type a word in and hear the pronunciation.
Symbols.com - Dictionary of symbols, searchable by words or a description of the symbol.
SYSTRAN: Information and Translation Technologies - Translates web pages or text from one language to another language.
Thomson Gale Glossary of Literary Terms - Dictionary of literary terms plus links to other resources.

Directories & Phone Books
Brant Business Information Network - Directory of Brant area businesses.
Canada 411 - Canadian directory of phone numbers/addresses of people and businesses, includes a reverse look-up by telephone number.
Canadian Company Capabilities - Industry Canada's directory of companies/products/services with links to company web sites.
Canadian Trade Index - Directory of Canadian manufacturers, distributors and industrial service companies.
Halton Region Business Directory - Directory of Halton area businesses.
Hamilton Business Directory - Directory of businesses in the Hamilton area.
Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Community Care Access Centre - Information on community care services and organizations, careers and research. It also features the Hamilton Health Neighbourhood Profiles.
Infobel World: Telephone Directories - Links to international telephone directories.
Inform Hamilton (The RED BOOK) - Directory of community, government, voluntary sector, non-profit and health sector programs/services/organizations in Hamilton (searchable by name or organization, keyword or type of service).
Legislative Assembly of Ontario Library Catalogue - Links to government documents in electronic full-text. (Hint: Click on 'set search limits' at bottom right of search box, choose limits, eg. 'location or type' electronic documents).
Municipalities in Ontario - Links to Ontario municipalities.
Postal Code Look-up - Canada Post's directory of Canadian postal codes.
Volunteer Canada - Information on volunteering, working with volunteers, plus a directory of organizations, research, statistics and more.
Yellow.ca - Canadian directory of people and businesses, includes a reverse lookup by phone number.

Geography & Maps

Canadian
Atlas of Canada - Maps of Canada including outline maps and thematic maps on a variety of topics such as the environment, population, history, economy, climate change, health determinants and water resources.
Canadian Distance Guide - Distances between any 2 Canadian cities in miles and kilometers.
Canadian Geographical Names - Origins of Canadian place names and information about physical features.
Google Maps - Provides street maps, driving directions and satellite images for Canada/US for people and businesses. Searchable by address, business keyword and more.
Live Search - Provides street maps for many cities internationally (including Canada) plus driving directions from one address to another address.
Toporama - Allows users to generate topographical maps for different regions of Canada.
Yahoo! Maps - Driving directions from one address to another with maps for addresses in Canada and the US.

International
Atlapedia Online - Detailed information on countries of the world including history, statistics, climate, colour maps and more.
CountryReports.org - Country information from around the world including weather, flags and anthems.
Economist.com Country Briefings - Profiles of various countries including a factsheet, forecast, political structure/forces, economic structure and data.
Bing Maps - Provides street maps for many cities internationally (including Canada) plus driving directions from one address to another address.
MapQuest: World Atlas - Maps for countries, continents and regions around the world (with a printer-friendly option).
Outline Maps (Education Place) - Dozens of outline maps, to print or download, of various countries/regions and the world.
World Factbook - Brief facts, figures and maps of many countries supplied by the C.I.A..
Yahoo! Maps - Driving directions from one address to another with maps for addresses in Canada and the US.

Handbooks
Driver's Handbook Online - This guide for Ontario includes information on the rules of the road, safe driving practices, how to get your licence to drive a car, van or small truck, traffic signs, signals, lights and more.

Quotations
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations (1901 ed.) - Index to quotations searchable by author or keyword.
Columbia World of Quatations (1996) - Index to quotations searchable by author or keyword.
Simpson's Contemporary Quotations (1950-1988)- Index to contemporary quotes.

Statistics
Canadian Economy Online - The most recent statistics (population, inflation rate, unemployment rate, federal debt, etc.) on the national economy plus explanations of key economic concepts and events.
Crime Statistics and Data - Links to various statistical bureaus in different countries.
E-Stat - Comprehensive source of Statistics Canada data, much of which is not available on their public web site. Main components are Census data and CANSIM time series data. Data comparisons and customized graphs can be generated.
GDSourcing Research & Retrieval - Indexes Canadian statistics from both government and private sites.
Infonation - United Nations database of current statistical data for member nations.
NationMaster.com - More than 400 statistics on countries including health, education, crime, environment, Internet users, TVs per capita and much more. Visitors can select data for certain countries and click to create a graph.
Performance Plus (Strategis) - Business ratios (operating expenses and revenues) for more than 600 types of businesses across Canada.
Statistical Resources on the Web - Links to statistical databases arranged by a wide variety of subjects.
Statistics Canada - Statistical data on the population and economy of Canada.
Statistics Canada downloadable publications - Full text of selected publications.
Statistics Canada 2006 Census - Statistical profiles of the Canadian population including data by city, CMAs, towns and more.
Statistics Canada: 2006 Community Profiles - Statistical data on Canadian cities, towns and other communities from the most recent census. Data includes population, incomes, occupations, education and more. Links to community profiles from previous census years.
U.S. Bureau of the Census - Statistical data on the people and economy of the United States.
World Bank Group - International data for various economic indicators.