Updated 04/21/08

REFERENCE INTERNET LINKS

TEXSHARE AND OTHER RESEARCH DATABASES
Need journal articles or other reliable information?  The Texshare Databases are available from your home or office if you have a current WFPL library card.  Contact the Information Desk at 767-0868, ext 234 to request Texshare passwords for remote access.

RESEARCH DATABASES | BOOKS AND READING LISTS | CONSUMER | EDUCATIONAL | EMPLOYMENT | FINANCIAL| HEALTH | HOBBIES | LAW & GOVERNMENT | LOCAL | NEWS | REFERENCE

Books and Reading Lists

Consumer

• AutoZone - free online car repair manuals

• Better Business Bureau of Wichita Falls  - contact them for consumer alerts, and information about local businesses.

• Consumer Reports on-line - current articles are free, but you must subscribe to get ratings for cars, appliances, etc.

• Consumer World - contains excellent links to consumer-related sites, such as product ratings and car prices

• Edmund's New Car Prices - Shopping for a new car?

• ePodunk - profiles more than 25,000 communities across America. Search for the town/city of your choice and you'll get a brief profile, followed by links to local events, genealogy, government, statistics, museums and colleges, festivals, historic sites and neighborhoods, moving guides, postcards, churches, politics, etc.

• Kelly Blue Book - get the blue book value of your car.

• NADA guides - find out the value of your car, motorcycle, boat, RV, or aircraft.

• Sperling's Best Places - Compare cities in housing, costs of living, crime, education, economy, health and climate.  Choose any two cities and see them displayed side-by-side.

• Texas Attorney General's Office - for consumer complaints, victims' rights, and child support information

• Thomas Register - the world’s leading resource for information on industrial products and services. Sign up for free membership.

Educational

• College Board Online - financial aid and information about the SAT and other admissions tests

• FAFSA on the Web - Apply for federal student financial aid.

• Home Educators Around Texoma (HEAT) - Wichita Falls' local home school association

• Midwestern State University - links to all academic programs offered

• Peterson's.com - comprehensive educational site with listings of colleges, distance education sites, summer camps, and ESL sites

• RWM Vocational School Database - provides information on business, trade, and technical schools in all 50 states

• Vernon College - with campuses in Vernon and Wichita Falls

• Wichita Falls Independent School District - includes information on the school district and links to area schools

Employment

• CareerOneStop - provides national, state and local career, labor market, and workforce information using online tools, videos, and maps to a range of local services. CareerOneStop is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.

• Occupational Outlook Handbook - Locate salary information and find out about qualifications and working conditions for thousands of jobs.

• Texas Workforce Commission - TWC Job Express includes public and private sector jobs listed with the Commission.

• USA Jobs - The U.S. Government's official site for jobs and employment information provided by the United States Office of Personnel Management.

Financial

• BigCharts - provides instant quoting for all currently traded stocks. This site can also provide daily and historical charting for designated stocks. Industry analysis, intraday stock screeners, and daily market news are also provided on this site. One of the largest and most respected free research sites on the Internet.

• Hoover's On-Line - company information

• Investor Guide - the leading guide to investing on the web - great for beginning investors

• Kiplinger Online - business forecasts and personal financial advice, with stock and mutual fund quotes

• Morningstar.com - data, analysis, and candid editorial commentary for mutual funds, stocks, and variable-insurance investments

• Motley Fool - investment advice for small investors

• Wall Street Research Net - resource for investors with research reports on companies, mutual funds and stocks

Health

• Dr. Koop's Community - great site for health information

• Health A to Z - another good health site with keyword index

• HealthFinder - "your guide to reliable health information" from the U.S. government

• IntelliHealth - from Johns Hopkins University

• MEDLINEplus - a service of the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health

• Merck Manual Online Medical Library - based on the world's most widely used textbook of medicine—The Merck Manual—but written in everyday language by 300 outstanding contributors.

• RxList - Internet Drug Index for prescription medicines

• WebMD - comprehensive, one-stop source for all your health information needs

Hobbies

• Card Games Website - bringing you rules and information about card and tile games from all parts of the world

• Curioscape Directory for Antiquing and Collecting - hundreds of links to antique dealers and collectors

• Ebay - the world's online marketplace

Law and Government

• American Fact Finder from the US Census Bureau - your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data

• Bureau of Labor Statistics - check the consumer price index and other useful statistics

• Chambers of Commerce - your gateway to a world of resources

• FedStats  - Access official statistics collected and published by more than 100 Federal agencies

• Findlaw Internet Legal Resources - includes many useful legal links, including the full-text of Supreme Court decisions

• GPOAccess.gov - The U.S. Government Printing Office disseminates official information from all three branches of the Federal Government. Includes links to the U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Register, and other official information

• Municipal Codes online - to access the City of Wichita Falls code, select the link to "Online Codes" under "Free Resources".  Select "Texas", "Wichita Falls", and "View in the Frames Mode" unless using a Netscape browser.

• State of Texas Government Page - includes links to all available state agencies, institutions of higher education, and legislative home pages

• Tax Forms from the IRS - print the forms you need

• TexasLawHelp.org - free online legal assistance for low-income Texans

• Texas Legislature Online - full-text of all Texas laws, bills, and the Constitution from the 74th Legislature to the present.  Also includes a search tool to find your incumbent

• Thomson Gale Legal Forms - Database containing hundreds of legal forms to download. Available within the library, or remote access with password provided by Reference staff.

• USA.gov - the official site for U.S. Government information, services, transactions, and forms

• Wichita Appraisal District -responsible for the property tax appraisals on all real and business personal property for the taxing units in Wichita County.