THE INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY
© Roxianne Moore
Last time, I talked about using software to keep track of your reference materials. For the next few weeks, I'd like to take an in-depth look at some of the excellent reference resources available on line. Using just a few well-chosen sites, you can find information on almost any topic. Of course, you'll still need specialized sites related to your area of interest, but these general sites will often point you in the right direction. Even fiction writers — or maybe, especially fiction writers — need quick access to reference material. Whether you're writing crime fiction and need a list of poisons, or you need a map of downtown Chicago, you don't want to have to wade through pages of data.
The first site we'll examine is Internet Public Library. While I did talk briefly about this wonderful site when I covered general resources, I'll give you more detail this time around.
If you need up-to-date information, you'll find a good collection of periodicals in Online Serials. Topic headings include Arts and Humanities, Culture, Business, Health and Medicine, Leisure and Travel . . . .
Under each subtopic, you'll get a list of magazines, and you can ask for abstracts if you're not familiar with the titles. Under history, for instance, you'll find magazines devoted to the history of America, the railroad, New Zealand and Australia, Classics and mythology, England, medieval and renaissance Europe. Not all of the periodicals are searchable, but you'll find at least a table of contents and occasional abstracts.
Even if you're not looking for reference material, many of these periodicals also post style sheets and writers guidelines. Some of these I haven't seen anywhere else, so it's worth a look.
At Newspapers, you'll find newspapers for all fifty states, more than one hundred countries, and most major cities. Many of the papers have interactive news sites that let you check local weather, top headlines and classified ads. In the novel I'm working on, my character is in Albany, N.Y. So I checked out The Times Union, an Albany, N.Y. daily. I found top headlines, classifieds, a contest, dining guide and real estate ads. If your character is headed for the sunny Caribbean (or if you're just daydreaming about that trip you'll take when you get your huge advance) The Jamaica Gleaner has news, sports, and, of course, leisure.
Online Texts will search other sites for online texts. Some of these are huge, and you may want to set aside some time for downloading. A Revelation of Love by Julian of Norwich, a medieval text, had subtitles and is searchable by word or phrase. This is a good way to find quotes, provided you can find the text you want. (I'll discuss other places to find online texts in the next few weeks.) You can also view the entire text in HTML. Not all texts are HTML; many are ASCII, and thus a bit smaller.
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