These are a few of my favorite things . . .

Each site described below is followed by its URL or Uniform Resource Locator, which is its "address" on the World Wide Web (WWW). Many more may be found by using the subject-oriented Internet guides developed by Rutgers librarians, which may be found on the Rutgers University Libraries Home Page. (http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rulib)

Arts and Humanities

The American Memory Collections at the Library of Congress has daguerreotypes, photographs, sound recordings, prints, and even motion pictures, mostly from the 19th and early 20th century. You can see sample images of items in the collections, and, with appropriate software, listen to excerpts of the recordings or view the movies. (http://rs6.loc.gov)

Without leaving your home (or office), you can visit art galleries and museums around the world by simply connecting to the WebMuseum network. What you will find is an ever-expanding repository of artwork organized by thematic period and by artist. (http://sunsite.unc.edu/wm/)

Should you have an interest in music or musicians, classical or popular, your starting point should be Indiana University's Worldwide Internet Music Resources. You will find hundreds of links to sites around the world, organized by name of musician, group, or ensemble, and by genre and type of music. (http://www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources/)

Business and Personal Finance

Information on more than 10,000 publicly traded companies can be found at Hoover's Online. There, you will have access to 15-minute delayed stock prices as well as corporate filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. (http://www.hoovers.com)

The HomeOwners Finance Center has a handy mortgage calculator, current mortage rates, and tips on re-financing loans. (http://www.homeowners.com/in-csites.html)

If you are planning to travel abroad, you might wish to consult the Universal Currency Converter for current foreign exchange rates for dozens of currencies. (http://www.xe.net/currency/)

But if you are planning to stay home, and still go to work, read the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) at the Telecommuting, Teleworking and Alternative Officing homepage. (http://www.gilgordon.com)

Education

The New Jersey School Report Card will give you information about public schools and their students. Some sections include comparisons with the state average, and there is a link to financial information for school districts as well. (http://www.phillynews.com/packages/njschools/)

With the proliferation of information resources on the Internet, you might wish to consider homeschooling as an alternative. A good place to begin is Jon Shemitz's Homeschool Resource Page, with links to FAQs, support groups, and Internet resources. (http://www.midnightbeach.com/hs/)

Politics and Government

Project Vote Smart is best known for administering the Congressional National Political Awareness Test. You can find out about "the record of all elected officials and the positions of candidates for public office." This website also provides links to the official (and unofficial) home pages of major candidates for the 1996 Presidential Campaign. (http://www.vote-smart.org)

For a long look at the rest of the world, refer to the University of Pittsburg's International Affairs Resources, which is a designated WWW Virtual Library. Websites and internet resources are organized by type (e.g. government, statistics), source (e.g. international agencies, universities), and topic (e.g. foreign policy, human rights). (http://www.pitt.edu/~ian/ianres.html)

Science and Technology

Remember Comet Shoemaker-Levy colliding with Jupiter? Still and animated images from that cosmic event and other space missions (including the current Galileo mission) can be found at NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab homepage. (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov)

For a comprehensive list of websites on health and medical topics, check out the Internet Health Resources home page. It also has a directory of healthcare organizations, listed by ailment or medical condition. (http://www.ihr.com)

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office offers an online search capability for patents awarded in the last twenty years. Of course, you can also place an order for a patent while online. (http://www.uspto.gov)

Of General Interest

Librarians routinely rely on the annual Statistical Abstract of the U.S. to answer questions that involve statistical data. Not surprisingly, this online version is more up-to-date, but contains fewer tables than the print edition. (http://www.census.gov/stat_abstract/)

"All the news fit to link" seems to be the motto at Virtual Daily News. News sites are organized by subject, and you can choose among dozens of media sources. There are also handy pointers to an online dictionary and a thesaurus. (http://www.infi.net/~opfer/daily.htm)

If you are looking for the telephone number for someone or some business, try the Switchboard, which has millions of listings culled from all the phone books in the country. (http://www.switchboard.com)

And if you are trying to locate someone's e-mail address, one good place is the WhoWhere database. You can list your own e-mail address (and homepage URL) for free, if it's not already there. (http://www.whowhere.com)

Ka-Neng Au (au@andromeda.rutgers.edu)
http://newark.rutgers.edu/~au/favorite.html
Revised September 6, 1996