Best Reference Sites

Reference Tools

Select a category to view our favorite reference sites and tools:

Get Maps & Directions | Find a Phone Number, Address, or Zip Code | Search the Web | Access Free Online Reference Tools

Get Maps & Directions

	MapQuest - This is the first site we turn to whenever we need to find a map or get directions. (Yahoo! Maps is also powered by MapQuest.)
	Expedia Maps - Sometimes MapQuest's driving directions will use obscure route numbers instead of street names; if you encounter this problem, try Expedia Maps, which generally lists street names.
	MapBlast - If you don't find what you need on MapQuest or Expedia Maps, try MapBlast. (Lycos Roadmaps is also powered by MapBlast.)
	Mappy - If you're looking for European street maps, try Mappy...we've found this site to be much more helpful than American-based mapping services when we're trying to locate European addresses.

Find a Phone Number, Address, or Zip Code

	White Pages (Residential) - You can look up phone numbers and addresses via AnyWho, Verizon (see "Online Tools" in left column), Switchboard, or WhitePages.
	Yellow Pages (Business) - You can look up business listings by company name or category via AnyWho, Verizon (see "Online Tools" in left column), Switchboard, or YellowPages.
	Reverse Number Lookup - If your Caller ID or cell phone displays a phone number you don't recognize, or if you find a number you've scribbled down and can't remember whose it is, you can run a reverse number lookup on AnyWho, Verizon, Switchboard, or WhitePages.
	Area Code/International Calling Code Lookup - Try the "Find Area Code" page on the WhitePages site for both area codes and international calling codes, or the Area Codes & Local Times Lookup and Country Code & International Rate Finder on the Verizon site.
	United States Postal Service - While you can also find zip codes by using the phone number lookup sites, the USPS site has the most reliable information and provides complete zip codes (zip+4).

Search the Web

	Google - Google is our favorite search engine; in addition to delivering solid results, the search and results pages are wonderfully uncluttered. (Unlike other sites, you're never assaulted by intrusive ads on Google.)
	Other Search Engines - If you don't find what you're looking for via Google, here are a few other search engines you may want to try: About, AltaVista, AskJeeves, Dogpile, Lycos, or Search.com.

Access Free Online Reference Tools

	RefDesk - This site bills itself as "the single best source for facts on the Net"...and it is! You can access atlases, calculators, calendars, clocks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, exchange rates, statistics, and TONS more...all for free! (This is definitely a good one to add to your favorites/bookmarks.)
	Bartleby.com - This great site is like having a free library at your fingertips. Like RefDesk, it provides lots of great reference tools, but you can also access classic works of literature--searchable by fiction, non-fiction, and verse.
	YourDictionary - The home page of this useful site has a quick-lookup English dictionary and thesaurus search tool. The site also includes links to foreign language dictionaries, specialty dictionaries (business, computing , finance, law, etc.), grammar and style guides, thesauri, rhyming dictionaries, acronym and abbreviation guides, and more.
	BabelFish - An online translator tool hosted by AltaVista. You can enter in up to 150 words in French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, or Korean to have the text translated to English (or another language), or copy & paste in a URL to translate an entire web page.
	WordReference - This site is great if you're looking to translate a single word from English to Spanish, German, Italian, or French, or vice versa.
	Unit Converter - Whenever you need to convert units of measurement - for example, kilometers to miles, square meters to square feet, degrees Celsius to degrees Fahrenheit - this unit converter tool will get the job done quickly and easily. Select from area, bits & bytes, density, energy, force, length, mass, power, pressure, speed, temperature, or volume.

Do you know of any other good reference sites? Send us an email with the links...we'll check out the sites and add them to the list if we think others will find them helpful!