Ready Reference Instructional Presentation

1. INFOPLEASE.COM
AUTHORITATIVE ANSWERS TO FACTUAL
QUESTIONS
A READY REFERENCE INSTRUCTIONAL GUIDE

2. THE SCOPE OF INFOPLEASE.COM
• Infoplease.com is an authoritative source for all kinds
of factual information.
• The site includes an atlas, dictionary, encyclopedia and
thesaurus. It also has many interactive features.
• Infoplease.com covers information on all kinds of
questions including sports, entertainment, trivia, news
and history.

3. ACCESSING INFOPLEASE.COM
• This resource is designed to provide reliable information to the
general public in a way that engages and entertains.
• It can be accessed for free at www.infoplease.com.

4. HISTORY AND AUTHORITY OF
INFOPLEASE.COM
• Information Please began in 1938 as a popular radio quiz show. In
1947 it began to be published as an annual almanac. It has been
online since 1998 as infoplease.com.
• The content is written and maintained by professional editors who
are committed to giving users the most timely and accurate
information possible. It is updated daily.
• Information Please is part of Pearson, the world’s largest integrated
education company.

5. SEARCHING FOR FACTS ON
INFOPLEASE.COM
• There are several ways to find information on the infoplease website.
• At the top of the page there are categories and a search bar.
• You can click on a category or type your search term directly into the
search bar.
• You can also select Atlas, Encylopedia, Dictionary, Thesaurus or Day
in History to be taken directly to those resources.

6. FOR EXAMPLE:
If you wanted to know when the next Leap Year will occur, you
could use the Search Bar:
• Type Leap Year in the search bar and click search:
• The search will bring up a list of results from which you could
look for the answer:

7. • Choosing the option will bring you to an article that contains
the answer to your question.

8. • Alternatively, you could select a category to find the answer:
• The category option will bring up sub-categories to choose
from. Select the one that is most likely to contain the
information you’re looking for.

9. • In this case, choosing “Calendars” will bring up a list of
calendars to choose from.
• You can scan the list for the one you need and select it, which
will take you to the same article.

10. • The homepage of Infoplease.com also contains links to articles
that provide in-depth information on current events for each
day.
• There are links provided to share or cite the information in the
articles.

11. ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE HOMEPAGE
INCLUDE:
• Links to tools for ready
reference
• Links to popular articles

12. • A Daily Almanac • A link to over
30,000
biographies
• Quick access to
the most popular
features of the
website

13. YOU CAN ALSO SEARCH FOR ALL OF THE NEWS
AND EVENTS OF A SPECIFIC YEAR. TYPE THE
YEAR INTO THE SEARCH AREA:
• For the year searched, it will provide:
• World News from that year including population and who won the Nobel
Peace Prize
• U.S. News, including President, Vice-President and U.S. Population
• Sports News including winners or major sporting events
• Entertainment news including Academy Award winners, etc.
• Science news and awards
• Notable deaths

14. JUST FOR FUN:
• Quizes
• Polls
• Top Ten Lists
• Games for Grown-ups
• Fact Monster: Kid’s reference, games and quizzes

15. FOR ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
• Contact your reference librarian by phone, chat or visit us at
the library.
Laura Antinossi
11-1-2015
Works Consulted:
1. Infoplease.com. (n.d.) In Facebook [Group Page] Retrieved
November, 1, 2015, from
https://www.facebook.com/Infopleasecom-
103369689702253/info/?tab=page_info.
2. Infoplease.com (n.d.) retrieved Novemebr 1, 2015, from
http://www.infoplease.com/.