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Arts & Entertainment
Film & Television
E Online is a general entertainment website that features the news of famous celebrities.
All Movie.com provides ratings and descriptions of over 220,000 feature movies and documentaries. Entries give plot synopsis, review, cast, director, producer, availability on video or DVD and more. The cross-referenced indexing allows searching by such factors as films with two actors in common, author or title of original works made into films, location or setting and other criteria. Quick Browse lets you look by genre or country. The site also has a film glossary and essays on films.
Academy Award Winners offers information on the Academy Awards since 1927, including more than 6,200 nominations and 1,200 Oscar awards in major categories for over 2400 motion pictures and 3900 individuals all listed by decade and specific year. Academy Award Summaries include most Oscar wins by film, most Oscar nominations by film and actors and actresses with the most nominations and wins.
Emmy Awards The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Web site lists the Primetime Emmy Award nominations and winners. It also offers Emmy 'facts and trivia' and photos from the award archives. It has a separate section on the L.A. Area Emmy Awards and links to the Web site on the Daytime Emmy Awards.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a HUGE collection of movie information. We try to catalog every pertinent detail about a movie including movie talent, production teams, trivia, to filming locations and even the locations of reviews and fan sites on the web.
TV Guide Not only does TV Guide come through with 2 weeks worth of their TV schedules, they also provide news and information on current TV, film, music and sports happenings. The hidden gem of the site is the Movieguide with its Cinebooks Database, a searchable archive of cast, credits and reviews for over 35,000 movies taken from classic reference sources. Filmographies on thousands of actors, directors and others involved with filmmaking are available.
Who 2 "Classic authors, movie stars, famous frauds, kings and queens, mythical gods, cartoon dogs--anyone famous is fair game for Who2." Each entry includes birth and death dates, birthplace, notoriety, a couple of paragraphs with assorted other biographical information and four links to good Web sites. Who2 Loops includes dozens of eclectic lists of people who share something in common, such as Death by Car, Celebrity Beekeepers and May-December Presidents.
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Books
All Readers There are a zillion book review sites out there, but ours is different! For starters, we classify books based on plot, setting, character and writing style. If you know what type of book you like you can find other authors who write similar kind of stories.
Award-Winning Children’s Literature The purpose of this database is to create a tailored reading list of quality children's literature or to find out if a book has won one of the indexed awards. The typical user is either a librarian or a teacher intervening for a child-reader, however anyone may make use of it to find the best in children's literature including parents, book store personnel and children and young adults themselves.
Book List is a digital counterpart of the American Library Association's Booklist magazine. The site annually reviews about 4,000 books for adults, 2,500 titles for children, 500 reference books and electronic reference tools, and 1,000 other audiovisual materials. This searchable site includes feature articles and bibliographies. It has a cumulative index not available in the print version for librarian use.
Bookspot.com is a free resource center that simplifies the search for the best book-related content on the Web. Featured sites are hand-selected by BookSpot.com editors and organized into intuitive categories, such as bestseller lists, genres, book reviews, electronic texts, book news and more.
The New York Review of Books In addition to selections from the current issue of the magazine, the site has an archive of several hundred articles from past issues including full text of its famous first issue (February 1, 1963).
Novelist (Get User ID & Password at the Library) is a fiction database that provides subject heading access, reviews, annotations and much more for over 135,000 fiction titles.
Overbooked This is a website for ravenous readers. Overbooked provides timely information about fiction as well as readable nonfiction.
Waterboro Public Library offers fantastic book lists.
What's Next? Adult Fiction in Series The What's Next? database helps you search series fiction.
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Music
All Music Guide From the paper copy publishers of the standard reference, All Music Guide, this site contains ratings and reviews of more than 400,000 record albums. Search by artist, album, song, style or label. Access information on new releases, music styles, music maps (guides to the evolution of a musical genre), articles and a glossary. Entries on artists include a musician/musical group's history, roots and influences, musical style, discography, guest performances and reviews.
Billboard Music News & Reviews Features such as Daily Music News, The Charts (with music samples), Reviews & Previews and Columns are available. On the road includes Tour Finder (finding current concerts) and Boxscore (top moneymakers). Fun & Games offers This Day in Music and other trivia.
Children's Music Web This is an excellent site for parents, teachers, children and professionals, that promotes music for children with unbiased, free information. The site focuses on music resources, not artists or companies. Partner sites link to more educational information, national and international radio programs and Webcasts, broadcasting resources, organizations and online music.
Rolling Stone This site is the online version of the famous music magazine.
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Visual Arts
Des Moines Art Center This website is the homepage of Des Moines’ world-class art center.
Mother of all Art History Links Pages Under the heading Research Resources you'll find an annotated collection of links to art history sites. The site is compiled and maintained by the School of Art & Design at the University of Michigan. It has especially good links to online image resources.
National Gallery of Art: Classroom The National Gallery of Art is an excellent site with educational resources for students and teachers.
Olga's Art Gallery is one of the largest and most comprehensive online collections. On their pages you will find over 10,000 works of art. They are dedicated to bringing you quality information about artists and their artwork from all around the world.
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Local Arts & Entertainment
Ankeny Community Theatre This link will take users to the homepage of ACT: Ankeny's Community Theatre.
Blank Park Zoo The mission of the Blank Park Zoo is to inspire an appreciation of the natural world through conservation, education and recreation.
Des Moines Art Center Learn about the permanent collection, current exhibits, the architecture of the building, programs, classes and workshops, the calendar of events and more.
The Des Moines Botanical Center is one of the most popular cultural attractions in Iowa, providing educational, recreational and community resources to thousands of users. Its goal is to provide botanical displays and educational services for its visitors. It is located on 14 acres along the east bank of the Des Moines River, close to downtown.
Des Moines Civic Center Performance descriptions and schedules as well as their educational programs and a variety of theater-related links are available on this site.
The Des Moines Playhouse website provides information about the theater including schedules, performances, classes, auditions, ticket purchasing, and the history of the Playhouse.
The Des Moines Symphony is a full-service professional orchestra. The orchestra performs seven pairs of classical concerts throughout the season, as well as a pops performance, family concerts, in-school ensemble performances and its annual Yankee Doodle Pops concert, a free performance on the State Capitol grounds on July 3rd.
The Drama Workshop is a long-time community drama group that focuses on producing significant, polished, and provocative theater. Check out their schedule, ticket information and volunteer opportunities.
The Fleur Cinema & Café is a local movie theater offering mostly art-house and independent films. Check here to find current and upcoming shows. Information on prices and concessions can be found in the FAQ section.
The Metro Arts Alliance provides a schedule of upcoming exhibits and performances as well as links to member artists and organizations like the Des Moines Arts Center, Botanical Center, Des Moines Symphony and many other local art, music, theater and cultural agencies. The organization sponsors Jazz in July annually.
Iowa Department of Tourism Find out what to do and see around the state.
Iowa State Fair The internationally-acclaimed Iowa State Fair is the single largest event in the state of Iowa and one of the oldest and largest agricultural and industrial expositions in the country.
Living History Farms in Urbandale, Iowa, tells the amazing story of how Iowans transformed the fertile prairies of the Midwest into the most productive farmland in the world.
Neal Smith Nature Center Home page of the Neal Smith Nature Center, this site is where you can experience the breathtaking beauty of over 5,000 acres of tall grass prairie and native Midwest.
The Science Center of Iowa is a center devoted to lifelong learning featuring six dynamic experience platforms and where visitors can explore and experiment.
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Auto Repair
Cars.com Everything cars is at Cars.com: reviews, buyer's guides, previews and a free "lemon check."
Edmunds Inc. was founded in 1966 for the purpose of publishing new and used automotive pricing guides to assist automobile buyers.
Go Local is the online study guide for student drivers.
Iowa DOT Office of Driver Services Find out where to get a license, obtain a driving record or an accident record.
Kelly Blue Book online offers pricing information for used cars, trucks, motorcycles and RV's.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration This site provides information on recalls and technical service bulletins.
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Employment
Search for a Job
America's Career Infonet This site is sponsored by the Labor Department.
America's Job Bank This site is maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor and state employment offices.
Career Builder.com lists thousands of jobs worldwide. The site is searchable by location, job type, industry, and other factors.
CareerJournal This site is provided by the Wall Street Journal.
Des Moines Register Job Classifieds lists jobs from The Des Moines Register plus job listings from career sites nationwide.
Iowa Jobs has thousands of jobs posted each business day. It provides 24-hour access to all of the job listings in IWD's statewide system and links to job listings in other states through America's Job Bank, and additional local, state and federal jobs.
Iowa WorkForce Development site allows users to file for Unemployment Insurance or Worker's Compensation.
Job-Hunt.org is the gateway to hundreds of links.
State of Iowa Jobs Find and apply for state jobs online
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Resumes, Cover Letters, etc.
Damn Good Resumes This site is an excellent resource. Highlights include answers to more than 50 job search questions, identification of skills and talents and solutions to typical tough resume problems (such as gaps in work history).
Monster.com: Resume Center is a great site for advice on building an effective resume. It includes several samples.
OWL Cover Letter Workshop This site is an excellent and easy-to-use guide to putting together a cover letter.
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Food & Recipes
Martha Stewart.com Get information about decorating, cooking and entertaining, crafts, gardening, home keeping, weddings and more. There are also links to the television shows, magazines and ideas of Martha Stewart.
Food TV is a great resource for looking up a recipe, a list of the top ten most requested recipes, looking up information about shows that you see on the Food Network, cookbooks that are available for purchase as well as other resources.
BBC Food This site offers articles, recipes and other food-related information from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It features a directory of recipes from the BBC's cooking shows, including vegetarian and seasonal dishes. In addition, it offers interviews with chefs, feature articles, program details, a glossary and sections on healthy eating, children's nutrition and cooking basics.
Food & Nutrition Information Center This directory site has links to surveys, statistics and data on food consumption in America and how it has changed over time. It includes links to information about income and food expenditures, food safety and targeted nutrition surveys of children, the elderly and minority groups. This site is provided by the National Agricultural Library and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Cook's Thesaurus Substitutions for thousands of cooking ingredients, including low-calorie and low-fat alternatives for dieters, inexpensive substitutes for gourmet cooks on a budget and innovative replacements for hard-to-find ethnic ingredients are all available on this site.
All Recipes This site has recipes, menu ideas, meal preparation tips, cooking terms and more. Sections include: appetizer, barbecue, bread, cake, Christmas, cookie, ethnic, holiday, etc., special diet recipes including diabetic; dairy-, egg-, gluten-, and sugar-free; vegan; and vegetarian. Users can create their own meal-planning resource that allows them "to store, organize, rank, review and share their favorite recipes." Recipes show nutrition facts and a shopping list can be created from a recipe.
HGTV offers a comprehensive website that has links to the shows on the popular HGTV station. The site provides resources to help you organize your home, get your house ready to put on the real estate market and properly fold a fitted sheet.
American Heart Association (AHA): Delicious Decisions is a site for learning how to eat right, stay fit and establish good habits for a lifetime. It features the AHA Food Pyramid, grocery shopping advice, recipes, heart-healthy tips for dining out and suggestions for a fitness routine.
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Genealogy
Genealogy Spot Genealogy portals are good starting places from which to expand your search. Included at these sites are sections on how to get started in genealogy research and mistakes to avoid.
Ancestry.com is the largest collection of family records on the web. Genealogy records include the U.S. Immigration Collection, Birth, Marriage, and Death Records (SSDI), Historical Newspapers (1786-2001) and the U.K. Census Collection.
Roots Web is the oldest and largest free genealogy site.
Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints Genealogy Library (URL: /)
This site is the largest collection of free family history, family tree and genealogy records in the world.
Cyndi's List is an award-winning site with links to other genealogy sites.
Ellis Island Records Search for immigrants who came to the US via Ellis Island.
Vital Records Information Search for vital records information.
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General History
Library of Congress Country Studies The site gives very detailed information on countries' geography, society, economy, transportation, communications, government, politics and history. This site does not cover some of the world's smaller countries.
The History Channel Here you can find historical information and learning activities for all ages. Some features are the historical calendar, exhibits, quizzes and more.
Historical Atlas of the Twentieth Century This site contains a number of interactive and easy to understand maps detailing topics from government and war to art and living conditions.
BBC: History section offers an impressive array of exhibitions, activities, games, photo galleries and other resources. Major categories include: Ancient History, Archaeology, Church and State, Science and Discovery, Society and Conflict, War and Culture and Family History.
Digital History is a great new site that includes: a U.S. history e-textbook; over 400 annotated documents, primary sources on slavery, Mexican American and Native American history, and U.S. political, social, and legal history; short essays on the history of film, ethnicity, private life, and technology; multimedia exhibitions; reference resources that include a searchable database of 1,500 annotated links, classroom handouts, chronologies, glossaries, an audio archive including speeches and book talks by historians and a visual archive with hundreds of historical maps and images.
Smithsonian Education The site is divided simply into three main categories: Educators, Families, and Students. The Educators section is keyword searchable and features lesson plans -- many pertaining to history. The Students section features an interactive "Secrets of the Smithsonian" that teaches about the special collections at the Smithsonian.
Library of Congress Map Collection: 1500 - 2004 Searchable database of maps housed in the Library of Congress' collection. This site specializes in "Americana and Cartographic Treasures ".
CIA World Factbook This site features comprehensive information on countries including maps. Each country section features information on the geography, people, history and economy of the country.
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Government
International Government & U. S. Foreign Relations
American Choices: Understanding Foreign Policy Debates This "foreign policy self-assessment ... asks you to weigh some of the fundamental trade-offs facing U.S. policymakers. At the end of it, you get a summary of your beliefs, and how they compare with others." The site also includes annotated listings of foreign policy Web resources.
BBC News World Edition: Country Profiles This informative site provides an "instant guide" to news, history, politics, event timelines and economic background of world countries. It presents country overviews, basic facts, Web links and details on leaders and media. The site includes news stories and audio and video clips from the BBC archives.
Consumer Information Center FCIC provides the answers to questions about the Federal Government and everyday consumer issues.
The European Union On-Line This is the English version of the official site of the European Union (EU). The site provides current news and upcoming events, EU activities, information on the different institutions and bodies of the EU, official documents and information sources and contacts.
Government Printing Office GPO Access is a service of the U.S. Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a wealth of important information products produced by the Federal Government.
UN News Centre News from the United Nations is updated daily. The site provides an events calendar, UN statements, briefings, press releases and news conferences and UN links.
The World Bank site provides information on health, education, the environment, private sector development, poverty, urban development, gender and economic reform issues. It includes factual data on the countries that are assisted by the World Bank. The searchable WDS database of the 6,000 plus World Bank publications, select full-text reports and learning resources for teachers and students is particularly useful.
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U. S. Federal
Ben's Guide to the U.S. Government For Kids This is a fantastic site for kids in 3rd to 5th grades. The site covers topics including as law, governmental branches, citizenship and federal vs. state government.
Frequently Used Sites Related to U.S. Federal Government Information This is a directory of links to popular government documents on the Internet. The links are organized by topics including major government indexes, business, crime, census, congress, consumer information, copyright, education, foreign countries, health, impeachment, natural resources, law, scientific reports and tax forms. Information on the situation in Kosovo is highlighted.
Project Vote Smart This site tracks the performance of more than 40,000 office holders and candidates for public office. Resources include voting records, issues information, background information, campaign finances and performance evaluations made by over 100 liberal to conservative special interest groups and other directories of political information. A great feature is the ability to type in your zip code and get back information on all your representatives, state and federal, including biographical, address, committee assignments, etc.
THOMAS: Legislative Information on the Internet provides a collection of databases offering access to the full texts of bills and laws from the United States Congress, the daily Congressional Record, relevant proceedings and proposed legislation, committee reports and roll call votes available from the present back to the 93rd Congress (1973). The site includes links to major U.S. legislative Web sites.
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State & County Government
Iowa Courts Online This is the homepage of Iowa’s judicial branch.
Iowa Driver's License Manual
Iowa Official Register 1860 – 2000
Iowa State and Local Government
This site includes organized links to Iowa's legislative, judicial and executive branches, as well as its boards & commissions. This site also includes links to Iowa county and city government websites.
Polk County Government
Polk County Assessor
Polk County Recorder
State of Iowa Home Page
Stateline.org This site provides comprehensive and comparative information on the public policies of all 50 states. It contains current and archived news, a calendar of events and background information on the states and their governments. Statistical data tables include: budget and taxes, crime and prisons, environment, highways and transportation, income and poverty and population, in addition to the specific issues listed above.
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City Government
City of Ankeny
Official City Sites leads to a wealth of governmental information arranged by country, state, county and city/town. Currently, it contains links to the following countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
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Social Services
Iowa Department of Health & Human Services offers information about Iowa's Child Support, Medicaid, SSI, Foster Care, Food Stamp and other programs.
Social Security Administration provides information about Medicare, Disability and SSI, Social Security Cards, Social Security Benefits and more. Site includes online forms.
United States Department of Health & Human Services is an excellent and easy to use site with information about healthcare, social services and more.
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Health & Medicine
American Heart Association (AHA): Delicious Decisions is a site for learning how to eat right, stay fit and establish good habits for a lifetime. It features the AHA Food Pyramid, grocery shopping advice, recipes, heart-healthy tips for dining out and suggestions for a fitness routine.
Discovery Health site includes links to Diseases and Conditions, Sexual Health Center, Pregnancy Center and Berman & Berman. There are also links to the other Discovery websites, Discovery Kids, BBC America, Discovery Science, Discovery Home, Discovery Wings, Discovery en Espanol, Discovery HD Theater, FitTV and Discovery School.
Healthfinder is an award-winning Federal Web site for consumers, developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services together with other Federal agencies.
HealthInfoIowa is the result of a grant provided by the National Network of Libraries, Greater Midwest Region. The grant provided funds to support access to electronic health information for the public.
Eat Right With nearly 70,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being.
Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic's three main Web sites provide information and services from the world's first and largest integrated, not-for-profit group medical practice.
Medline--National Library of Medicine MedlinePlus will direct you to information to help answer health questions. MedlinePlus brings together authoritative information from NLM, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other government agencies and health-related organizations
Nutrition This website is geared toward educating the public on healthy eating tips and facts about nutrition. Site includes information on health management, food assistance, research, food safety, food facts and special life cycle sections.
OB Focus includes: prenatal diagnosis (targeted ultrasound, genetic counseling, and prenatal diagnostic procedures), management of medical complications of pregnancy (including diabetes, hypertension and pre-eclampsia, lupus, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal diseases), and management of complicated pregnancies (including diagnosis and management of poly- and oligo-hydramnios, fetal anomalies, intrauterine transfusion, and percutaneous umbilical blood sampling).
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics is recognized as one of the best hospitals in the United States and is Iowa's only comprehensive academic medical center.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
The FDA is responsible for protecting the public health by assuring the safety, efficacy and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, medical devices, our nation’s food supply, cosmetics and products that emit radiation.
The Virtual Hospital: A Digital Library of Health Information This site provides educational content for patients, health care providers and students interested in the health sciences. It includes textbooks, pamphlets and images at both the professional and lay levels. Users may search either the adult or children's hospital content or browse by topic to find information about anatomy and physiology and conditions and diseases. All materials on the site are peer-reviewed. The site is maintained by the University of Iowa.
WebMD New features of the website include: the WebMD Weight Loss Clinic, the WebMD Health Manager and the WebMD Fertility Center. You can also search using general terms about specific health conditions.
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History by Region
Africa
Africa Focus This online collection contains digitized visual images and sounds of Africa contributed over the years to the African Studies Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The digital files are stored in an accessible database and provided for personal use or educational presentations.
Africa South of the Sahara This is a collection of sites pertaining to many topics and the countries and regions of Africa. Topics include: Current Events/News (including African newspapers), Art, Religion, History, Music, Maps, Film, Culture, Sports, Libraries and Archives, Journals and Journal Indexes, Weather, Travel and Women. Along with individual countries, the regions featured are Central, East, Southern and West Africa, as well as the Indian Ocean Islands and the Horn of Africa.
Congo Expedition 1909-1915 This site offers materials relating to the 1909-1915 expedition of Herbert Lang and James Chapin to the Belgian Congo, including maps, photographs, watercolors and music.
African History Sourcebook This site covers African history from human origins until modern times. It links to both pages within and outside of the site. Some sections of the site are organized by time and others by country or subject. This can be a little confusing, but the list of contents near the top of the page is helpful.
Life in Ancient Egypt is an excellent site on ancient Egyptian society.
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Asia
Asia Source is an online resource developed by the Asia Society to meet the need for timely, reliable, unbiased information and assistance regarding the cultural, economic, social, historical and political dimensions of Asia.
Dreams of Tibet created in support of the PBS documentary of the same name, discusses the fate of Tibet under Chinese rule. It includes interviews, book excerpts, maps, a historical chronology, links to other relevant sites and even a discussion of Tibetan Buddhism. The site also covers how Tibet and Tibetan culture are perceived by Westerners.
East Asian History Sourcebook covers primary source materials for researching the history of China, Japan and Korea from ancient to modern times.
Ancient Japan is designed as a learning module in the form of a "research textbook." The module provides more information and in more detail than the average freshman level world cultures/history/civilizations textbook. It is meant to be a resource for students to extract overall background but with enough detail so that students can approach sophisticated and creative assignments on the culture or history of ancient Japan.
Korean History is a comprehensive guide to Korean history. Sections include: ancient history, Koryo Dynasty, Choson Dynasty, colonial period, liberation and the Korean War and contemporary Korea. Information given includes chronologies of events and rulers, cultural achievements and essays.
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Australia
Australia Department of Foreign Affairs, Historical Documents Branch is a source of information from and about the records of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and its predecessors.
Documenting a Democracy is attractive and easy to use site that gathers together key founding documents of Australian democracy.
Europe & the British Isles
The European Enlightenment provides an extensive and attractive overview of 17th and 18th century Europe.
Power, Politics, and Protest This interactive UK National Archives Learning Curve exhibition investigates the political changes that took place during the 19th century. Students examine nine different investigations that tell the story of the political history of Britain between 1800 and 1914.
The British Monarchy This is the official site for the British Royal Family. Searchable site includes information on the history of the monarchy and members of the current family as well as a gallery of the Royal Collection, castle fact sheets and information about accession, coronation and succession.
Face of Russia "Who are the Russian people? How have they expressed their character and inner conflicts in their art and culture? And, as Russia¹s long-awaited democracy develops, how will the Russian people redefine themselves culturally, spiritually, and politically?" Explore these questions and more through the site's timeline of Russian history and reference section, which includes a bibliography and a history of the Cyrillic alphabet.
Renaissance This informative site focuses on the forces that drove this rebirth in Italy and throughout Europe.
Renaissance Secrets This is an interactive BBC Web site about Gutenberg, Venice, Renaissance medicine and the process of studying history.
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The Middle East
Life in Ancient Egypt is an excellent site on ancient Egyptian society.
Islamic History Sourcebook by Paul Halsall are wonderful collections of public-domain and copyright-permitted historical texts for educational use. The Islamic Sourcebook's documents are well organized and the breadth of the collection is impressive
About the History of Iraq provides a collection of sites and articles about the history of Iraq.
Muslims This recent PBS addition examines Islam through stories of diverse Muslims. The “Frequently Asked Questions” is like “Islam 101” as it concisely explains the basic principles of Islam, including the most widely accepted definition of “jihad.” This site provides an abundance of fascinating facts about Islamic history, basic beliefs and various other topics through its portrayal and interviews of various Muslims.
Middle East: Centuries of Conflict Part of the CNN.com Archives, this site is an excellent introduction to strife in the Mid East, past and present
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North America
Peopling North America: Population Movements & Migration An historical overview of migratory movements, this tutorial focuses on Diasporas to and within Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean from Europe, Asia and Africa. It examines the demographic, economic, cultural and political nature of major movements and considers their growth and development, their regional and global causes and their impact.
Canadian Heritage Gallery aims to promote the accessibility, knowledge and research of Canadian Heritage by publishing via the Internet an extensive collection of historical photos, original documents, Canadian artwork, maps and illustrations, fully documented and researched for historical authenticity and presented in a "user friendly" format.
Mystery of the Maya is a comprehensive site covering Mayan society and includes several images and links to related sites.
History Matters is a wonderful online resource for US history teachers and students. Among the many digital resources are lesson plans, syllabi, links and exhibits.
Digital History includes an up-to-date U.S. history textbook; annotated primary sources on United States, Mexican and Native American history and slavery in addition to succinct essays on the history of ethnicity and immigration, film, private life and science and technology. The site's Ask the Hyper Historian feature allows users to pose questions to professional historians.
Our Documents offers 100 milestone documents, compiled by the National Archives and Records Administration and drawn primarily from its nationwide holdings that chronicle United States history from 1776 to 1965. The site features a teacher's toolbox and competitions for students and teachers.
Mexican History Directory includes information on Mexican history: famous battles, constitutions, treaties & documents, heroes and missions.
Latin American Network serves as a gateway to all kinds of online information about Latin America.
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South America
Conquistadors is a PBS overview of the conquistadors.
Mesoweb is devoted to ancient Mesoamerica and its cultures: the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, Teotihuacano, Toltec, Mixtec, Zapotec and others. This site includes an encyclopedia of Mesoamerica and a number of multimedia video exhibits.
Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport is an excellent and comprehensive site that covers all aspects of South American history.
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History by Time
Prehistory
Evolution (PBS) This rich and impressive PBS Web site features videos, simulations, animations, interactive timelines, expert commentary, primary sources and extensive links to evolution-related learning resources worldwide. There is also a free, 40-page teacher's guide available and an eight-session course for high school teachers.
Becoming Human presents human evolution in "a broadband documentary experience" and offers news and debates in paleoanthropology, as well as a Web guide.
The Human Origins Program (Smithsonian) Hosted by the Smithsonian Institution, offers a "Hall of Human Ancestors" featuring movies of fossil skulls in the Smithsonian's collection.
Human Evolution Overview contains an overview of human prehistory, a hominid species timeline and human physical characteristics. This is the website of a World Civilizations class from Washington State University.
Mystery of the Maya covers the history of Mayan society and includes several images and links to related sites.
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Ancient & Biblical History
Life in Ancient Egypt is an excellent site on ancient Egyptian society.
Tradition and Memory: World Cultures to 1500 A terrific overview of Ancient and Medieval History can be found at this site. It offers maps, a photo gallery, timelines, links to relevant sites and more.
Collapse: Why Do Civilizations Fall? explores what happens when a society collapses. The four civilizations explored are the Mayans, Mesopotamians, the Anasazi and the Mali and Songhai civilizations of Africa.
The Ancient Greek World is an online exhibition that uses artifacts and photographs to help illustrate aspects of life in ancient Greece.
Illustrated History of the Roman Empire offers a comprehensive history of the Roman Empire. It covers the founding of Rome, its kings, emperors, government and religion, as well as the decline of Roman society and the rise of Constantinople.
From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians explores archeological clues to Jesus' life, paints a portrait of his world, examines the gospels and first Christians and discusses why Christianity has survived.
Heritage: Civilization and the Jews is a great PBS site on historical and present-day Judaism that features an interactive timeline, primary sources, lesson plans, teacher sources, images and more.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World offers a compact list of the seven wonders of the ancient world with images and historical background information.
The Ancient World Mapping Center is developing a collection of free digital maps for educational use. This effort will give teachers and students an expanding set of small-scale reference maps for classroom and personal use.
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Medieval History (300ad-1500)
Secrets of the Lost Empires: Medieval Siege Learn about life in medieval castles and how to operate a catapult.
The Internet Connection for Medieval Resources provides access to an impressive array of scholarly resources on medieval times.
Internet Medieval Sourcebook The Internet History Sourcebooks are wonderful collections of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts for educational use by Paul Halsall. The site and its documents are well organized and the breadth of materials is impressive.
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Renaissance History (1500-1650)
Exploring Leonardo is a great site by the Boston Museum of Science on Leonardo da Vinci. Designed for teachers and students, it offers images, designs, history and more.
Renaissance focuses on the forces that drove this rebirth in Italy and throughout Europe.
Renaissance Secrets is an interactive BBC Web site about Gutenberg, Venice, Renaissance medicine and the process of studying history.
The End of Europe's Middle Ages The University of Calgary's End of Europe's Middle Ages is designed to assist those students studying the Renaissance, Reformation and Early Modern studies who lack a background in medieval European history. Intended to provide an overview of the conditions at the end of Europe's Middle Ages, the site is presented in a series of well-organized chapters that summarize the economic, political, religious and intellectual environment of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
Center for Reformation and Renaissance Studies Hosted by the University of Toronto, this list of bookmarks contains links to web sites which are useful for researchers working in the Renaissance and the Reformation.
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Enlightenment & Early Modern History (1650-1900)
The European Enlightenment provides an extensive and attractive overview of 17th and 18th century Europe.
Power, Politics, and Protest This interactive UK National Archives Learning Curve exhibition investigates the political changes that took place during the 19th century. Students examine nine different investigations that tell the story of the political history of Britain between 1800 and 1914.
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20th Century History
Learning about the Holocaust Produced for the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., this site includes sections on teaching about the holocaust, children and the holocaust, Nazi rule and the rise and fall of National Socialism in Germany, 1933-1945.
Cold War: From Yalta to Malta (CNN) This CNN Perspectives series explores the Cold War experience. Included are interactive maps, rare video footage, declassified documents, biographies, picture galleries, timelines, games and simulations, interactive activities, a search function, book excerpts, an educator's guide and more.
People's Century is based on a 26-episode PBS television series and features a teacher's guide, a timeline, a thematic overview and RealAudio excerpts.
CNN.com Specials (current events) The CNN Archives feature special reports on many key World and American events, issues and personalities of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
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Law
Everybody's Legal Dictionary offers legal terms explained in plain English from Nolo, a well-known publisher of legal information for the lay person.
Find Law offers a comprehensive collection of legal forms. The federal forms collection contains court forms for federal appellate, district and bankruptcy courts and the state forms collection includes court forms on topics such as adoption, civil harassment, divorce, landlord/tenant, support and traffic.
Wills and Estate Planning Part of the Nolo Legal Encyclopedia, this site provides basic guidelines for preparing a simple will, with advice on whether a lawyer needs to be consulted. Topics include: guardianship, life insurance, probate and funeral planning.
Lawyers.com Search for a lawyer by location and type of case.
Iowa Judicial Branch is a comprehensive and easy to navigate site with all kinds of information about Iowa's justice system.
Iowa Code
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Maps
World Maps
CIA World Factbook features comprehensive information on countries including maps. Each country section features information on the geography, people and economy of the country plus much more.
Perry-Castañeda, World Maps is an excellent site with links to maps of all kinds.
Nat'l Geographic Map Machine Hosted by National Geographic, this site is searchable and includes all kinds of maps and links for educators.
World Sites Atlas offers a series of maps of continents/regions, countries, states and provinces nicely organized by continent.
United Nations Cartographic Section is an easily navigable site with a variety of maps brought together by the UN.
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United States Maps
Library of Congress Maps: 1500 - 2004 is a searchable database of maps housed in the Library of Congress' collection. This site specializes in "Americana and Cartographic Treasures."
Perry-Castañeda, United States Maps is an excellent site with links to maps of all fifty states as well as historical, topographic, census and other types of maps of the United States.
The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States.
US Geological Survey National Mapping Info offers links to Geographic Names Information, Global Land Information, National Atlas of the United States, TerraServer, Digital Backyard, National Spatial Data Infrastructure, U.S. GeoData and much more.
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Iowa Maps
Iowa Maps and Geographic Files offers census maps of Iowa from the State Library of Iowa website.
Iowa Counties offers a map of Iowa from the U.S. Census Bureau and includes U.S. Census data for each county.
Driving Directions
Google Maps
Mapquest
Yahoo Maps
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Money
Big Charts offers historical stock data.
Choose to Save develops user-friendly, multimedia materials to help individuals plan and save for their financial future.
Edgar Homepage contains annual & quarterly reports for publicly traded companies.
Google Finance is an early beta product that offers a broad range of information about North American stocks, mutual funds and public and private companies along with charts, news and fundamental financial data.
Money Magazine offers a list of financial websites.
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News
National and International News
• ABC
• BBC
• CBS
• CNN
• The Economist
• MSNBC
• National Public Radio
• National Weather Service
• New York Times
• Reuter's News Network
• Time Magazine
• White House Daily Press Briefings
• USA Today
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post
• Weather Channel
Local News Sources
• Ames Daily Tribune
• Des Moines Business Record
• Des Moines Register
• Iowa Public Television
• KCCI
• KDSM
• WHO Radio
• WHO TV
• WOI Radio
• WOI TV
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Schools, Homework & Education
Information for Students
ALA Parent Guide offers links to homework help, preschool activities and general parent guide.
Ankeny Community School District is the official website of the Ankeny Community School District.
Ask for Kids (formerly known as Ask Jeeves for Kids) is a fast, easy and kid-friendly way for kids to search online.
Fact Monster website is grouped in areas of subjects, reference materials and skills.
GED is the official GED site and provides information on the high school equivalency exam.
Homework Center offers a collection of Internet resources selected to assist students, grades 4-12, with their homework assignments.
High School Hub includes Reference Desk and Daily News links.
Kids Click! offers a web search for kids by librarians.
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Information for Teachers
Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site "This is a collection of reviews of great books for kids, ideas of ways to use them in the classroom and collections of books and activities about particular subjects, curriculum areas, themes and professional topics." The site is focused on pre-kindergarten to eighth grade educator's needs and has lesson plans, display ideas and a free quarterly newsletter. Carol Hurst is a consultant and author.
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education Discover ‘Digital Dozen,’ 12 key sites, awarded monthly, for K-12 teachers and students; ‘ENC Focus,’ specific topics for K-12 teachers; and lesson plans and activities. Browse or search ‘Curriculum Resources,’ a database of thousands of teaching materials. Search by topic, resource type, media type, grade level, and cost. Site also includes links to topical issues in education and professional development.
Free Government Resources for Educational Excellence All the free information and sources government agencies have available to educators and it's all in one place!
Lesson Plans Library offers a searchable collection of hundreds of lesson plans. Browse by grade level or subject. Each plan includes objectives, materials, discussion questions, procedures, evaluation, suggested readings and related links. Additionally, quizzes, puzzles and a glossary are included.
Schools Online is a searchable collection of study units for both students and teachers. Areas include plant science, incubation and embryology, worm anatomy, natural resources and the environment, apples, aging, sports and nutrition and social development.
US Department of Education Get information in the form of publications from the U.S. Department of Education. Some available publications include: help your child learn to write well, help your child learn science and help your child use the library.
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University & College Information
Access America for Students offers information on state & federal student aid. Register for Selective Service, careers, taxes, passports, change of address and more.
College Board.com from the College Board, takes you through practicing for, scheduling and taking the SAT I and II, PSAT/NMSQT, CLEP, and AP tests. There is also information on planning for college including choosing, getting accepted and obtaining financial aid. Use the site map to access vocational guidance through the Career Browser. CB Code Search has codes for countries, college majors, college and scholarship programs, test centers, and high schools.
Colleges, College Scholarships, & Online Degrees offers comprehensive information on Iowa colleges, universities, career colleges, technical colleges, vocational colleges, technical schools, vocational schools and online degree programs.
Des Moines Area Community College
Financial Aid provides advice on and links to sources of information about student financial aid. Site covers topics such as loans, scholarships, military aid, federal and state aid, fellowships, grants, prepaid tuition plans, study abroad, financial aid consultants and scholarship search services. Site offers financial aid resources for specific student populations (for example, international, disabled, female, minority, gay and lesbian) and programs of study (such as law school and medical school).
Mapping Your Future Choosing a career, selecting a school, and paying for higher education are all part of preparing for the future. This page is aimed at parents and is a public service project. Site includes a financial aid calendar and scholarship resources.
Research Guide for Students provides links to style guides and more.
Send Your Child to College This superb annotated directory is "a place parents can use as a source of solid information about colleges and financial aid, as well as all the steps students and families need to take to reach their goals." This site provides all the information necessary to successfully complete your college search. Site is maintained by Jan A. Maas, librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, NY.
US Department of Education
US News & World Report
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For Homeschoolers
A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling Web Site will help you homeschool your kids with free online education, home-friendly lesson ideas, educational websites, helpful articles, top homeschool programs, books, materials, curriculum... and best of all... homeschool friends!
Home Education Magazine presents homeschooling information, support and encouragement, resources and reviews, free newsletters, networking and discussion lists and the online archives of Home Education Magazine
Home Schooling contains links to a variety of homeschooling resources online.
Homeschool World is the official site of Practical Homeschooling magazine and The Big Book of Home Learning/Mary Pride's Complete Guide to Homeschooling.
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Science & Technology
Athena: Earth & Space Science engages students in observing phenomena using remote-sensed data to construct knowledge about the world. Data sets and instructional pieces are related to oceans, the atmosphere, Earth resources and space/astronomy. The material is intended for direct use by students with appropriate assistance from teachers. The goal of Athena is to enhance the K-12 science curriculum and facilitate use of the powerful computational tools in classrooms networked to the Web.
Cool Science for Curious Kids Targeted at elementary school students, this site features science projects from some of the best museums in the country.
How Stuff Works From cars to cameras, electronics to the entertainment industry, use this site to find out how stuff works.
NASA Kids This NASA-hosted website is a great resource for kids.
National Inventors Hall of Fame offers hundreds of inventions and inventors, biographies, pictures, indexes of inventions and inventors.
Science Center of Iowa Explore the sciences at Des Moines' science center: find out about their programs, exhibits, planetarium, schedules and more.
Scientific American Ask a question or read the experts' answers to other people's questions about computers, chemistry, astronomy, physics, medicine, the environment and other areas of science.
Tech-Encyclopedia provides more than 20,000 definitions of computer terms and concepts.
The Why Files explores the science behind the news by providing in-depth but accessible articles about science and how it affects everyday life. "The Why Files in Education" classifies the stories according to science education standards.
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Sports
General Sports Links
Big Ten offers detailed coverage of all Big Ten sports.
ESPN offers sports news network including scores, chats, fantasy games, and radio.
International Olympic Committee is the official site of the Olympics.
Sports Illustrated provides complete sports coverage including current scores, news and commentary and chat communities.
Football
NFL is the official NFL web site, with full news and statistics.
Women's Professional Football League is the official site for America's Football League for Women features scores and schedules, game recaps, team information and more.
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Baseball
Baseball Almanac is a good source for "baseball history, awards, records, feats, humor, lists, quotations and stats." The site can be searched and is easy to browse.
Major League Baseball is the official site for Major League Baseball including scores, schedules, and an impressive library.
National Baseball Hall of Fame is the official web site of the Baseball Hall of Fame includes information about visiting the museum, photos and biographies of the 253 Hall of Fame members, information about the museum's exhibits and collections, web-based exhibits, games and activities and information about the museum's Research Library.
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Soccer
FIFA is the official site of the World football's governing body.
Planet Football This nicely organized site offers links to news and information about soccer teams around the world.
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Basketball
NBA is the official site of the National Basketball Association.
WNBA is the official site for the Women's National Basketball League includes news and features, player and roster information, schedules, results and chat.
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Local Teams
University of Iowa provides information about the Men's and Women's athletic programs, including schedules, scores and more.
Iowa State University is the official site of Cyclone Athletics.
Drake is the official site for Drake Athletics.
University of Northern Iowa is the official site for Panther Athletics.
Iowa Cubs is the official site of the Iowa Cubs.
Des Moines Buchaneers is the official site of Des Moines' hockey team.
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Outdoor Recreation
Iowa Parks, Recreation, & Preserves Division provides information about camping rates at Iowa state parks and recreation areas.
Travel Iowa: Recreation Find information on Iowa's Public Campgrounds, RV Parks & Independent Campgrounds, Trails, Ski Resorts and Golf Courses.
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Travel
Fodors Travel Online A complete list of Fodor's travel guides can be found at www.fodors.com, along with up-to-the-minute trip planning information, bargains and advice from the most knowledgeable travel community on the web.
Lowest Fare Finder for Travel and Lodging Lowestfare.com is a leading provider of discount travel products and services for the leisure travel market.
Orbitz is a leading online travel company offering leisure and business travelers a wide selection of low airfares, as well as deals on lodging, car rentals, cruises, vacation packages and other travel. The site was created to address consumers' need for an unbiased, comprehensive display of fares and rates in a single location.
State Departments of Tourism provides links to state department of tourism in all 50 states.
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Statistics
Census 2000: Your Gateway to Census 2000 Data from the 2000 United States census available here includes summary tables focusing on age, sex, households, families and occupied housing units; general demographic profiles; and redistricting data for state legislature redistricting and congressional apportionment. There is also a schedule of release dates for additional data, a directory of regional and local sources for Census 2000, lesson plans and other material for classrooms use and information on how the census is taken.
Fed Stats More than 70 agencies in the United States Federal Government are represented in this site maintained by The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy to provide easy access to the full range of statistics and information produced by these agencies. Search by keyword, browse by subject or agency.
Info Nation User-friendly interface to data collected by the United Nations Statistics Division allows users to search for geographic, social, demographic and economic indicators for your choice of up to seven of 185 countries and four of 37 variables. Data is limited to the most current year.
International Data Base IDB, was created in the Census Bureau's International Programs Center to provide demographic and socioeconomic statistics for all countries of the world. The interactive interface allows users to select one of 26 demographic, ethnic and economic variables and any or all countries of the world and receive a table for that variable for the latest year, selected individual years as far as 1950 and as far ahead as 2050 or for a range of years.
Librarian's Index to the Internet: Statistics offers a comprehensive collection of trusted Internet sources for statistics on a variety of topics, including crime, health, education and demographic information.
State Data Center is the official United States census information for the state of Iowa.
United Nations CyberSchoolbus offers statistical data for the Member States of the United Nations
United States Historical Census Data Browser provides data from census records and other government sources for 1790-1970. Users can view extensive population and economic-oriented statistical information at state and county levels, arranged according to a variety of categories. Site also includes an essay on the history of the census.
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Taxes
Federal
Federal Tax Forms Find the tax form you are looking for in a variety of formats at the IRS website.
Free Online Filing from the Internal Revenue Services is about Free File. The site explains eligibility requirements for this free service, steps to get started and a list of related FAQs.
GovSpot.com's tax center Find tax forms (Federal and all 50 States), common questions and advice on how to deal with "tax headaches."
NOLO: Taxes & Audits includes tips on dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, filing returns, audits, appeals, tax bills and tax crimes and has links to the Nolo information on small business taxes, estate and gift taxes and homes as tax shelters.
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Iowa State & Local
Iowa Taxes Find Iowa tax forms and file online.
Polk County Assessor's Office Property Search is the source for information relating to properties and property taxes in the Des Moines and Polk County Area. They also have online maps, property data, and forms.
Pay Property Taxes Online
Web Site Directories
Internet Public Library Lists web sites by category and subcategory. The IPL was founded at the University of Michigan's School of Information. Michigan SI students almost exclusively generated its content. Since January 1, 2007 it is being run by the "IPL Consortium", a group of 15 colleges still including the University of Michigan.
Librarian's Index to the Internet Librarians' Internet Index (LII) is a publicly-funded website with over 20,000 entries, by librarians and organized into 14 main topics and nearly 300 related topics.