Online Resources
Online resources for finding books, articles, useful websites, and helpful information
Reputable sources for information about health and medicine in Illinois and nationally.
- MedlinePlus: A medical super-site from the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. Includes extensive information and links on hundreds of conditions and health issues, drug descriptions, a medical encyclopedia, surgery videos, and more.
- HealthFinder.gov: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ guide to health information.
- NIH SeniorHealth: Information for older adults, from the National Institute of Aging.
- Illinois Health & Wellness: Official guide to state government programs and resources.
- Health-E Illinois: Directory of healthcare providers, facilities, and services.
Find product and auto reviews, shopping tips, information about recalls, and consumer-protection agencies.
Buying Guides & General Advice
- Consumer Reports: A lot of free and useful information is available, but a paid subscription is required for product reviews and ratings.
- ConsumerSearch: “Reviewing the reviews.” Compiles and analyzes product reviews from magazines and websites. Great starting point.
- Goodguide: Rated and reviewed products based on safety and health.
Cars & Trucks
- Car & Driver: Includes the magazine’s road tests and reviews, interactive vehicle comparisons, and Kelley Blue Book values.
- Edmunds.com: Reviews, comparisons, price and value information, and tips for buying new or used vehicles.
- The Truth About Cars: Detailed reviews, written with a sense of humor.
Consumer Protection & Complaints
- AnnualCreditReport.com: The place to get a no-obligation, free copy of your credit report from all three major reporting companies.
- Better Business Bureau: Includes complaints against companies, fraud alerts, and general tips.
- Consumer Protection Division: Part of the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
- Recalls.gov: Product recalls and safety information from the federal government.
If you have a Library Card, we’ll borrow items from other libraries for you! Delivery from most Illinois libraries is free.
- PrairieCat: Catalog for approximately 200 libraries in northern Illinois and eastern Iowa.
- WorldCat.org: A catalog of more than a billion items in libraries worldwide.
- Every Library in ILLINET (ELI): Directory of hundreds of Illinois libraries.
- Digital Illinois: Catalog of electronic collections of documents, photographs, etc., made available online by Illinois libraries.
- Open-Access Text Archive: Thousands of public-domain books and other free books, for online viewing or downloading in plain text or scanned formats. Part of the Internet Archive site.
- Library of Congress Digital Collections: A large number of pamphlets, letters, historic documents, pictures, early films and recordings, and other items are available online.
- Digital Public Library of America: Images,texts,videos, and sounds from across the United States.
Online documents, photos, articles, and other information about the history of Illinois and the local area.
- Illinois Digital Archives: A portal to online exhibits and collections from libraries and museums across the state. A project of the Illinois State Library. Additional online collections are searchable through the Digital Illinois catalog.
- Illinois History Resource Page: Dozens of links, compiled by the Illinois State Historical Society.
- Cyndi’s List – Illinois: Directory of genealogy and history websites. Also includes links for specific Illinois localities.
Online archives and search engines for finding articles from magazines and newspapers.
- BNET Research Center: (Formerly called FindArticles.com.) Index of magazine articles which doesn’t require a login. Many articles are available online for free, but “premium” articles carry a pricetag. Subjects covered include: arts, autos, business, health, home and garden, news, sports, and technology.
- Google News: Search for articles from newspaper, TV news, newswires, and other reporting websites.
- Topix: Find local news published on websites and blogs.
Encyclopedias, almanacs, dictionaries, statistics, and other sites for quickly looking up facts.
- Infoplease.com: Information Please Almanac, atlases, and more.
- Wikipedia: “The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.”
- OneLook Dictionary Search: Look up words in almost 1000 online dictionaries at the same time.
- IllinoisAtlas.com: A collection of Illinois and U.S. statistical maps.
- World Factbook: The CIA’s book of country profiles.