Useful Websites

Books and Reading Lists | Consumer | Educational | Employment | Financial | Health | Hobbies | Law and Government | Local | News | Reference

Books and Reading Lists

  • Amazon.com - Purchase books and CDs from the world's largest bookstore, or just search for the latest bestsellers and award winners.
  • Alibris - Find the out-of-print books you never thought you'd find.
  • Digital Public Library of America - Brings together the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums, and makes them freely available to the world.
  • Gale Literary Sources - Cross-search Gale's premier literature databases in a new digital environment, including Contemporary Authors, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Literature Criticism Online, Literature Resource Center, LitFinder, Something About the Author, and much more! Currently referred to as "Artemis," this platform will officially change names in late 2016. 
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) - A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources, including titles such as Novels for Students, Drama for Students, and Literary Themes for Students.
  • North Texas Libraries on the Go - Cozy up with a best-selling audio book or ebook from the comfort of your home. Log in using your library card and your PIN and you can download the audio or ebooks to your computer and a host of devices.
  • Reader Resources - Check out BookNews for the latest book news and  bestsellers. Sign up to receive regular e-mails about new books!

 Consumer

  • Better Business Bureau of Wichita Falls - Local contact for consumer alerts and information about local businesses
  • Consumer Reports - 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
  • EBSCO Auto Repair Resource - Automotive repair information on most manufacturers of imported & domestic vehicles from 1945 - current (Log-in with your library barcode)
  • EBSCO Small Engine Repair Reference Center - Thousands of accurate and concise step-by-step maintenance and repair instructions for hundreds of small engine machines and their supporting components. Engines types include: motorcycles, ATVs, personal water craft, snowmobiles, lawn mowers, tractors, snow blowers, generators, and more. (Log-in with your library barcode)
  • 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

 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, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
  • Indeed.com - Search engine for job listings from all over the Internet
  • LinkedIn Job Search & LinkedIn Salary- Free resources for job-seekers to research and find career opportunities and salary information
  • 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
  • USAJobs.gov - Access to thousands of job opportunities across hundreds of federal agencies and organizations

 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 Inc. - 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

 Health

Hobbies

 Law and Government

 Local

 News

  • NewsBank - Complete full-text content of local and regional news from the Wichita Falls Times Record News (11/16/1998 - current), including community events, schools, politics, government policies, cultural activities, local companies, state industries, and people in the community. Paid advertisements are excluded. (log-in with your library barcode)
  • NewspaperArchive.com - Search this site for historic newspapers including the Wichita Falls Daily Times 1913-1923. The New York Times from 1854 to 1901 is also online as well as dozens of newspapers from throughout North America. (Available for use at the Library only)
  • Reporters Desktop - Forms for directly searching a variety of search engines, databases, dictionaries, and free news archives
  • Wichita Falls Times Record News - Official site of the city's local newspaper

 Reference

  • AnyWho.com - Online phone directory including yellow pages, white pages, and reverse lookup
  • Biography in Context - From Gale, an engaging online experience for those seeking information on the world's most influential people
  • Encyclopedia.com - The Internet's premiere free encyclopedia which provides users with frequently updated articles from the Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition.
  • Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) - Database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources, including titles such as Novels for Students, Drama for Students, and Literary Themes for Students (log-in with your library barcode)
  • Global Road Warrior - Country-based eContent on all nations of the world with up-to-date information on society and culture, communications, travel, trade, business, money and banking, and country maps (Link if you are outside the library)
  • Infoplease Almanac - Your ultimate fact finder
  • Language Learning Library - A free comprehensive guide to learning foreign languages: Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish
  • LearningExpressLibrary.com - An online database of interactive practice exams designed to help users improve their scores on academic, civil service, military, and professional licensing and certification tests. Some of the tests included are the GED, ACT, ASVAB, GRE,  SAT, postal worker and firefighter exams, and the test for U.S. citizenship. (Log-in with your library barcode and make up your own password.)
  • MapQuest - Online maps and driving directions
  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus
  • Old Farmer's Almanac - Online version of the old classic
  • Old Maps Online - Browse and search historical maps that can be viewed online, printed, and downloaded - search by entering a location, or pan and zoom around the world
  • Statistical Atlas of the United States - A comprehensive website providing demographic information on states, counties, cities, congressional & legislative districts, and more.
  • Texas Almanac - Texas facts and figures
  • The Weather Channel - Current and forecasted weather