This document provides summaries of many free online resources for education, career and job searches, health, history, science, math, literature and more. Some highlighted resources include CareerOneStop for career and job information from the Department of Labor, O*NET Online as the primary source for occupational data, College InSight to compare colleges, and FinAid! as a one-stop shop for financial aid questions. Free courses and lectures are available from universities like UC Berkeley, MIT and McGill. Literature resources include Project Gutenberg, LibriVox for audiobooks, and the Poetry Archive. History collections cover topics like the Holocaust, Vietnam War, African American history and September 11th. Health sites like Medline

1. Five-Star Resources, one-Star BudgetFree databases and electronic resources for your library

2. College, Career and Job Searches

3. Jobs and CareersCareers and Career Information - CareerOneStop“CareerOneStopis a U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored Web site that offers career resources and workforce information to job seekers, students, businesses, and workforce professionals.” O*NET OnLine“The O*NET system serves as the nation's primary source of occupational information, providing comprehensive information on key attributes and characteristics of workers and occupations.”

4. College bound?College InSightCollege InSight provides information on college affordability, diversity and student success, allowing students to compare colleges and make informed decisions.College Majors 101College Majors 101 provides detailed information about college majors to enable students to better choose majors to match their career goals. Back to CollegeBack to College is “an all-in-one resource for the adult returning to college.”FinAid!FinAid! is a one-stop shop for questions about student loans, financial aid, scholarships, & FAFSA assistance.

5. Lifelong LearningThe library is the people’s university.

6. Free lectures and courses from universitiesWebcast.Berkeley: from UC-Berkeley, podcasts and video webcasts of current and archived coursesMIT OpenCourseWare: From MIT, this site contains audio, video, lecture notes, worksheets and handouts for a variety of current and archived courses. COOL McGill: Lectures and notes from current and archived classes at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. Academic Earth: Academic Earth provides access to video lectures from a number of universities including Harvard, Stanford, Yale and Princeton.

7. Books & LiteratureMore relevant than ever with the meteoric rise of e-book readers, these websites provide free access to many, many books in the public domain and beyond.

8. BooksThe Online Books PageThe Online Books Page “facilitates access to books that are freely readable over the Internet.” It currently lists over 35,000 books that are available for free via the web. The Humanities Text InitiativeThis site contains a number of collections, all created and maintained by the University of Michigan’s Digital Library Production Service. Of note is the Making of America collection, which is an extensive collection of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction.

9. BooksLibrivoxLibrivox provides free public domain audiobooks. It is a completely volunteer-run organization, so the quality of the readings may vary, but they provide a surprisingly high quality product. ScribdScribd is perhaps best described as “YouTube for documents.” Called a “social publishing company,” It allows people to upload and “publish” original writings, artworks, games, and other documents. It is used by everyone from first-time writers to major publishing companies like Simon & Schuster.

10. Language and Literature

11. Language and LiteratureMark Twain Project :: HomeThe Mark Twain Project online contains authoritative digital texts, documents and research about the work and life of Mark Twain. The project’s goal is to create a “digital critical edition, fully annotated, of everything Mark Twain wrote.” ICDL - International Children's Digital LibraryThe ICDL provides access to children’s books from around the world. It contains books in a variety of languages. British Women Romantic Poets, 1789 - 1832 Poetry ArchiveThe Poetry Archive is a collection of recordings of poets reading their own works. Both contemporary and historical poets are included in the archives; it also includes guides for classroom use and an archive of children’s poetry.

12. Language and LiteratureBBC - Languages – HomepageThe BBC Languages page will help you learn one of a variety of world languages through a series of online tutorials and videos. It is an amazing site!The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)OWL is one of the best writing and grammar resources on the internet. It features a wide variety of writing resources, including style guides and tutorials. Guide to Grammar and Writing This easy-to-navigate guide provides basic information on common grammatical and writing questions and problems. Using simple drop-down menus, one can find everything from basic definitions of grammar terms to organizational structures for research papers.

13. Music, Film and Pop Culture

14. Music and recordingsArchival Sound RecordingsArchival Sound Recordings is a database of recordings from the British Library which have been digitized and made available to the public. The collection includes music, oral history recordings, accent and dialect recordings, and sounds of nature and the environment. Global Music ArchiveThe Global Music Archive is a “multi-media reference archive and resource center for traditional and popular song, music, and dance.” It provides access to indigenous music from Africa and the Americas, and is supported and housed by Vanderbilt University.

15. Film and TelevisionThe Archive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television contains hundreds of interviews with television pioneers. Their goal is “to chronicle electronic media history as it evolves.”Filmsite: The Greatest FilmsThis site contains detailed information on great films of the last century. It includes plot synopses, reviews, film analysis, and many other features. The Moving Image ArchiveThe Moving Image Archive has thousands of movies archived for free use and viewing.

16. History collections

17. World HistoryWOMEN IN WORLD HISTORYThe Women in World History website is “an online curriculum resource center to help high-school and college world history teachers and their students locate, analyze, and learn from primary sources dealing with women and gender in world history.” Holocaust Encyclopedia The Holocaust Encyclopedia is a project of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. It provides a wealth of information about the Holocaust. The Vietnam Center and Archive, Texas Tech UniversityThe Vietnam Center and Archive provides information, research and educational resources about the Vietnam War and the American experience with and of Vietnam.

18. U.S. HistoryThe Black Past: Remembered and ReclaimedThe Black Past is essentially an online guide to African-American history. It contains an online encyclopedia of figures in African American history, primary source documents about the African American experience, and speeches of activists and leaders from the last 300 years. Welcome to the Civil Rights Digital LibraryThe Civil Rights Digital Library contains primary sources and educational materials about the struggle for civil rights in the United States. Make History | National September 11 Memorial & MuseumMake History is a collective archive of stories, photographs and documents related to the September 11 attacks “through the eyes of those who experienced it, both at the attack sites and around the world.”

19. U.S. HistoryArchiving Early America: Primary Source Material from 18th Century AmericaArchiving Early America contains a variety of newspapers, maps, portraits, and writings from 18th century America, as well as games and discussions about the time period. Early Americas Digital ArchiveThe Early Americas Digital Archive is “a collection of electronic texts originally written in or about the Americas from 1492 to approximately 1820.” Open Collections Program: Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930One of several great digital collections from Harvard University, this collection focuses on immigrants and their migration to the United States.

20. Health and WellnessHealth and wellness are common search topics. Make sure your patrons are getting reliable and authoritative information.

21. Health and WellnessMedline PlusMedline Plus is a website maintained by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health which brings together authoritative and up-to-date information on medicine, health and wellness to help answer health questions. Drug Information Portal - U.S. National Library of Medicine - Quick Access to Quality Drug InformationA clearinghouse of reliable information on drugs compiled by the National Library of Medicine. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine [NCCAM] - nccam.nih.gov Home Page The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine provides research and information on non-traditional medical practices, and disseminates that information to the public. They are a part of the National Institutes of Health. Guttmacher Institute: Home PageThe Guttmacher Institute was formed to “advance sexual and reproductive health in the United States and worldwide through research, policy analysis and public education.” The site contains a variety of resources on reproductive health and related topics.

22. Science and Math

23. Science Discovery Now: Explore the newest advances from NASA and the aerospace community.Discovery Now focuses on video, audio, photography and educational resources for teaching and learning about aeronautics and space. ChemiCool: Periodic Table of Elements and ChemistryThis site provides a detailed Periodic Table of the Elements, with photographs, drawings and video clips, plus a chemistry dictionary.The Photographic Periodic Table of the ElementsA pictorial version of the Periodic Table of the Elements, with information and photographs for each element.

24. ScienceImagine the Universe! and StarchildThese websites, from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, provide information on astronomy and the universe for children and teens.Be Out ThereA website on nature for parents and children from the National Wildlife Federation. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Digital Library

25. MathematicsThe Math Forum - Ask Dr. MathThis site provides answers and assistance with math problems for students of all ages. There is information and homework guides for everything from arithmetic to calculus. It is maintained by Drexel University. MathVidsMathVids provides free math help and video tutorials for the math-challenged.

26. Staying currentFinding it hard to stay up on all the newest info? Here are a few sites which may help you learn about the latest and greatest.

27. Staying currentiLibrarianiLibrarian’s tagline is “News and resources on Library 2.0 and the information revolution.” It’s an invaluable resource for librarians trying to stay on top of technology and information online. Stephen’s LighthouseStephen Abram’s blog, featuring the latest in library technology and research.MashableMashable, the “Social Media Guide,” has frequent articles and posts highlighting the latest and greatest in web technology. Download SquadDownload Squad provides lists, links, stories, information, and the occasional time-waster, all to help you “enhance your digital lifestyle.”

28. Staying currentWebJunctionWebJunction has a little bit of everything for librarians trying to keep up with current trends. EduCause Learning InitiativeAlthough primarily focused on technologies for teaching and learning, EduCause is a great resource for learning about new technologies and finding out what’s coming next. Reviews from Choice, Library Journal or othersLibrarians and library websites???