Online Reference Shelf
The tools listed below include standard reference works such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, and directories, as well as more specialized reference databases.
Key:
Restricted use. Available only from networked Museum computers and off-site via the proxy server. Please see the off-site access instructions for more information. Also, please be aware of the usage restrictions that apply to licensed resources.
Unrestricted use. Freely available to anyone.
A digital library of images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences.
Atlases, Gazetteers, GIS, and Maps
Directory of links to atlas, map, and gazetteer resources compiled by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Library staff.
Biodiversity Informatics from the AMNH Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
Provides resources for utilizing information technologies in biodiversity research and applications.
BioInformation Science Consortium (BISC) eReference Directory
A directory of web resources from many areas of the natural and biological sciences collected by library reference staff at BISC member institutions.
Comprehensive resource covering the life histories of North American Birds.
Business and Company Resource Center
Database providing detailed company and industry news and information. (Available from
)
A database of names, descriptions, and characteristics of over 165,000 places in the world.
Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Encyclopedia covering a wide range of topics.
Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Contains information about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States.
Presents a database of foreign geographic names, approved by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (US BGN).
Searchable list of generic and specific names applied by authors to animals from 1758 to 1850.
Contains all the animal, plant, and virus names data found within the Thomson BIOSIS literature databases (Zoological Record, BIOSIS Previews, and Biological Abstracts).
International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
Provides rules and guidelines for assigning scientific names to animals.
Directory of federal and private funding opportunities.
Natural History Guides to the Web/Portals
Directory of links to natural history resources compiled by the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Library staff.
Natural History Reference Sources
Directory of links to natural history resources compiled by Adam Schiff at University of Washington Libraries.
A searchable database of the names of genera and subgenera in zoology from the tenth edition of Linnaeus (1758).
Open Access (Free) Resources in Science
A list of links to sites with free ejournals, ebooks, databases, etc.
Authoritative dictionary of the English language that includes etymological analysis for each word.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Directory of links to map and gazetteer resources compiled by the Map Library at the University of Texas.
Primary Search via Searchasaurus
Database for elemetary school students with information on a variety of topics, including an encyclopedia of animals.(Available from )
Science Tracer Bullet (from Library of Congress)
Contains research guides that help in locating information on science and technology subjects.
Gateway to over 50 million pages of authoritative selected science information provided by U.S. government agencies, including research and development results.