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Library cardholders can access online databases for articles on specific subjects!

	Good Starting Points Biography Fine Arts History & Social Studies Good starting points; geography; government & politics (international, U.S.); history (good starting points, ancient, exploration, middle ages, 20th-century decades, U.S.) Hot Topics Language Arts Handwriting, reading, writing Languages Literature & Writing Authors, literary criticism, writing	Math Science Good starting points, animals & biology, anatomy, astronomy & space exploration, botany, chemistry, dictionaries, environment & ecology, geology, physics, school & science fair projects, weather Speeches
	See also the library's Homeschooling links and Reference links, which connect to dictionaries, encyclopedias, international information, maps, statistics, style guides and more.

Good StartingPoints;   Geography;   Government and Politics  (International,   United States);   History   (Good Starting Points,   Ancient,   Discoverers & Exploration,   Middle Ages,   20th-Century Decades,   U.S.)

• Good Starting Points
  
  

  • Foods and Recipes of the World

  • Culinary History Timeline
    Consult this timeline for information on the role of food in cultural/social history, to find international recipes from a variety of time periods or to research the history of a particular food in the chronological Food Timeline.

  • RecipeSource
    Search this site for help when your world history homework assignment is to create an ethnic dish. Over 70,000 recipes arranged by regional ethnic cuisines or by type of dish.

  • On This Day
    Designed to assist student in grades 3-12, this site offers highlights in history arranged by date, in some cases with links to articles about the subject of the day.

• Geography
  

  See also Environment & Ecology and the library's links to Maps. For additional resources in geography, see the library's list of online Geography Databases.

  
  

  • About.com : Geography Links

  • Geography World
    An excellent collection of links on all aspects of geography: geology, weather, culture, environment and conservation, maps, time and much more.

  • Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
    Contains approximately 1.3 million names, arranged in hierarchies, including vernacular and historical names, coordinates and place types.

  • National Geographic Map Machine
    Hundreds of theme-based, customizable maps for all areas of the globe.

  • Outline Maps
    An educational site providing copyright-free outline maps.

  • Worldmapper
    A collection of color-coded world theme maps, where territories are "re-sized" according to the subject; for example, map displays showing the relative global distribution of natural resources, wealth, population, education, fuel, transportation, work, etc. Each map can be printed as a full-color poster, and has links to data tables. Nearly 200 maps currently available, with more being added.

• Government and Politics
  

  See also the library's links to Politics, Elected Officials, Government Information, International Information and International Politics.

  
  International,   United States
  
  
  

  • International

    • Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments

    • Flag Detective
      Use this site to identify national flags by their design elements (such as crosses, stripes, crescents, etc.). In many cases, brief historical information on the date of adoption is given along with a full color reproduction of the flag.

    • Flags of the World
      Search for full color images of flags by country name, geographic region or keyword. Black and white outline drawings of many flags are also available in a variety of sizes.

    • Rulers
      Frequently updated, this site offers country-by-country listings of heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers "since 1700," plus a "chronicle of relevant events since 1996."

    • World Statesmen
      This site identifies heads of state and heads of government for "all countries and territories of the world;" offers brief historical timelines; links to maps, anthems, flags and constitutions; and contains information on a number of international organizations.

  • The United States

  See also the library's links to  Government Information;  Presidents from Virginia;  and Legal Information  for legislative information,  Supreme Court decisions and more.

  
  

  • Ben's Guide to U.S. Government for Kids
    Imagine a streamlined guide to the U.S. government, with material organized in an appealing format and sections arranged by grade level (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12, and Parents and Teachers). Topics include the branches of government, the making of laws, symbols of the nation and of each state, the election process, links to congressional representatives and more.

  • Facts about the States

  • 50 U.S. States & Capital Cities

  • Stately Knowledge: Facts About the States

  • Flags
    Historical flags of the United States, and current flags of U.S. states, districts, territories and possessions.

  • Flags of the Confederacy
    Specialists in the study of Confederate flags maintain this site, which features histories and images of "numerous flags of the government and armed forces of the Confederate States of America."

  • Official U.S. Executive Branch Web Sites

  • Presidents

  • American President
    Sponsored by the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs, this site is divided into two content areas: The Presidency in History and The Presidency in Action. Use the first area to find biographies of presidents and first ladies, profiles of cabinet members or timelines of significant events; use the second area to find information on the function and responsibilities of the modern presidency, including organizational charts, listings of advisers, descriptions of economic, domestic, national security policies, etc. Material is geared toward high school students.

  • Library of Congress — Presidential Images

  • POTUS — Presidents of the United States

  
  
• History

See also the library's links to the History of Virginia.  For additional resources in this subject area, see the library's list of online History Databases.

Good Starting Points,   Ancient,   Discoverers and Exploration,   Middle Ages,   20th-Century Decades,   United States



• Good Starting Points




• AlternaTime
  Offers timelines in the areas of history and cultures, science and technology, arts and literature, popular culture and science fiction. Assembled and maintained by a college librarian, the links are for the most part drawn from substantial sources such as professional organizations, universities (.edu's), governmental agencies, PBS, the History Channel, NASA and the Library of Congress.

• Calendars through the Ages
  Describes in detail human endeavors to organize time in calendar form according to Christian, Jewish, Chinese, Islamic, Mayan and other tenets. Includes an interesting "Timeline of Calendar Facts."

• Earth Calendar
  Well designed and easy to search, this site enables you to browse for significant celebrations worldwide by date, country, religion or lunar phase.

• HyperHistory Online
  A color-coded tableau of clickable links covering 3000 years of world history, addressing significant people and events in science and exploration, technology, politics and war, literature, culture, theology and religion.

• The Media History Project Timeline
  For periods from prehistoric time to the present, including separate timelines for each decade in the 20th century. Includes some images.

• Teacher Oz's Kingdom of History
  Extraordinarily detailed coverage of world history from ancient to modern times, with sections devoted to topics as diverse as timelines, legends, religions, wars, fine arts, inventions, royalty, flags/maps, etc.

• Tudor History
  Basic information on life in Tudor England, with a focus on biographical sketches of monarchs and important personalities, plus architecture, food, chronologies and maps.

• Victorian Web
  Includes literature, social context, economics, religion, visual arts and philosophy.

• Ancient History

• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

• Egypt

• Ancient Egypt
  Visually stunning, with well-organized information. This Web site is supported by the Trustees of the British Museum.

• Ancient Egypt
  Links to Internet resources.

• The Ancient Egypt Site

• Greece

• Bulfinch's Mythology
  Stories of Greek and Roman gods and heroes.

• Overview of Classical Greek History
  Explore ancient Greek culture.

• Rome

• LacusCurtius: Into the Roman World

• The Romans
  From the British Broadcasting Company.

• Discoverers and Exploration
  These links tie in with Virginia's Standards of Learning for eighth graders, but many of the sites are also suitable for older or younger students.

• American Journeys
  Primary documents about the exploration of North America are offered in this digitized collection (including text and images) drawn from 17th- 20th-century books. Emphasis is on eyewitness accounts contained in original manuscripts, valuable geographic and cultural information and chronological listings of highlights. All material is searchable by keyword or can be refined by using drop-down topic menus.

• Discoverers Web
  A comprehensive set of links to online resources about explorers, the Age of Discovery and related information.

• Explorers: A Research Guide
  Our librarians have prepared this guide to help you find information in books, magazines, encyclopedias, Web sites and other sources.

• Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga
  Images on this Web site are drawn from materials that were featured in a traveling exhibit at the National Museum of Natural History in the summer of 2000. The site presents information about the Norsemen by looking at archaeological artifacts, by studying their sagas and their history and by investigating clues from the environment. (Copies of the companion book, "Vikings: The North Atlantic Saga," by Fitzhugh and Ward, are owned by the library.)

• Middle Ages



• The Middle Ages
  Co-sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, this educational site offers well-organized, introductory information on various aspects of daily life in the Middle Ages. There are sections on feudal life, health, clothing, homes, arts/entertainment, religion and more. The material, which is suitable for upper elementary and middle school students, includes text as well as images, plus links to more information.

• Twentieth-Century Decades

• Good Starting Point

• American Cultural History: The Twentieth Century
  This top-notch site provides information, links and bibliographies for every decade from 1900 through the 1990s.

• 1920s

• The Roaring 20s
  From the "Best of History" Web sites; coverage includes cultural, literary, economic and biographical material for the era.

• 1930s

• America in the 1930s
  Audio and video clips of the period greatly enhance the effectiveness of this site, which offers coverage of art, film, radio, publishing, popular culture and a timeline of landmark events.

• 1950s

• The Beat Begins: American in the 1950s

• The Literature and Culture of the American 1950s

• 1960s and later

• YAHOO's links for the 1960s,  1970s and  1980s.

• U.S. History

See also the library's links to Virginia history.




• 100 Milestone Documents
  Three organizations (National Archives and Records Administration, National History Day and USA Freedom Corps) have joined in a cooperative initiative to present this online collection of documents representing significant milestones in American history between 1776 and 1965. Scanned images of the original documents enrich the text; each document is transcribed and accompanied by an annotation placing it in historic context.

• America's Story
  Brought to you by the Library of Congress, this site provides selective images and highlights from American history. It is not designed for in-depth research, but would be suitable for elementary school students needing brief, straightforward coverage of milestones, eras or themes in our country's past.

• Archiving Early America
  Look at historical documents or pages from 18th-century newspapers and almanacs, view a portrait gallery or read the original text of selected early American biographies.

• Black History Month
  The LearningNetwork has compiled a rich collection of facts and diverse themes for study through timelines, headlines, biographies (over 400 brief sketches) and milestones in civil rights history. The material is authoritative, though condensed, offering good starting points for report writing.

• A Chronology of U.S. Historical Documents
  This collection features selective material from pre-colonial times to the 21st century. Contents include such key items as the Mayflower Compact, Virginia Charters, the Stamp Act, the Monroe Doctrine, Constitution of the Confederate States of America, inaugural addresses of the presidents, Japanese Surrender Documents of WWII and many more.

• Civil War@Smithsonian
  Civil War images and artifacts from the Smithsonian's extensive collections are the basis for this presentation produced by the National Portrait Gallery.

• Colonial Hall: A Look at America's Founders
  Over 100 biographical sketches are offered here of individuals involved in American history as signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation or the U.S. Constitution. The material is drawn from 19th-century resources, with slight editing to "modernize" language usage and spelling.

• Documenting the American South
  Primary sources from the 19th century including diaries, memoirs, autobiographies and narratives on slavery.

• Images of American Political History
  More than 500 public domain images related to American political history from the colonial era to the present. Browse by keyword or by special topic area. Some of these copyright-free images have identifying captions.

• New Perspectives on the West
  Sponsored by General Motors, and produced by PBS working in conjunction with Ken Burns, this site contains material based upon an eight-part documentary television series. Archival photos, biographical sketches and interactive maps are incorporated into a survey of people, places and events involved in the exploration and settling of the American West.

• The Salem Witch Trials
  An electronic collection of primary source material, including transcriptions and images of original court documents, historical maps and biographical profiles of notable people.

• Supreme Court: The Oyez Project
  Using sound, text and panoramic graphics, the creators of this Web site (sponsored by Northwestern University) have fashioned a comprehensive tool for accessing Supreme Court cases focusing on constitutional law. One can scan biographies of the justices, listen to oral arguments, search the "On the Docket" component to see listings of cases currently before the Court, review abstracts of historic decisions and more.

• We Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movement
  Based upon files in the National Register of Historic Places, several government agencies have collaborated to present a chronicle of the memorable civil rights events associated with over three dozen places.

• Almanac of Policy Issues
  Useful for background information on a number of controversial issues. Enriched by links to news articles, associations and U.S. public policy organizations.

• Best Information on the Net — Hot Paper Topics
  Pros and cons on controversial issues.

• Consumer Health and Safety Information
  Data on topics such as AIDS, alcohol, motor vehicle safety, air quality and more.

• Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in Science
  Selected topics for middle or high school students.

• Ethics Updates Home Page
  The "Applied Ethics" section has excellent links on abortion; bioethics, cloning, and reproductive technologies; euthanasia; punishment and the death penalty; race and ethnicity; gender and sexism sexual orientation; poverty and welfare; world hunger; animal rights; and environmental ethics.

• Government Documents in the News
  From the University of Michigan Documents Center.

• Politics1: Hot Political Debates and Issues
  Links to organizations and publications representing a wide range of political ideologies, and to advocacy organizations.

• Public Opinion Polls

• Polls and Surveys
  The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press publishes the results — and, in some cases, the methodology — of selected polls on political and social issues.

• Public Agenda Online
  For over a quarter of a century, this organization has engaged in conducting public opinion research for the purpose of educating both citizens and leaders. Key social issues are studied and presented with complementary headlines, statistics and additional links to expert information.

• World Public Opinion
  "Covers national, cross-national and international surveys" to garner public opinion from around the world. Searches can be focused on a topic or on a region. To view U.S. public opinion on international issues, check out the section "Americans and the World Digest."

• Social Issues
  Provides links to diverse but reputable sources of pro and con viewpoints on important contemporary social issues. Includes references to related statistics. This is a debater's gold mine!

• Terrorism

  See also the library's Emergency Preparedness links.

  
  Various political viewpoints are represented by the Web sites listed below. Material may include fact sheets, position papers, news articles and/or primary documents.

• The Brookings Institution

• Council on Foreign Relations

• International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism
  (See the sections on International Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism.)

• National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism

• U.S. Department of State, Counterterrorism Office
  (Includes Country Reports on Terrorism.)