Searching for information is a key part of any communications job. Use these sites to get your searches started on the right track.

UNF / OTHER LIBRARY SOURCES

• UNF Library main page. Here is the place to start. Lexis-Nexis and more! 
• The UNF library search engine page is handy, too.
• Evaluating info on the Net from the UNF library staff.
• Jim Alderman (UNF librarian) BLISS page
• Noodle Tools page full of good advice about search engine selection, and also some good links from a school librarian
• Librarians' Index to the Internet (LII).This site, created by librarians, has a good directory with links they believe most helpful to patrons of public libraries who are doing basic research.
• Internet Public Library Reference desk, where you can even ask questions of a librarian.

• LibrarySpot search center -- good place for general references, such as dictionaries, almanacs and soon. Look here first.
• Xreference bills itself as an online reference library, with all the standard reference-type books available for searching. Quotations, dictionaries, thesauri -- that sort of thing.
• Encyclopedia Britannica. Not all articles are free, but still worth a look.
• CIA World Factbook is great for background information on any country. 
• InfoMine is a site created for university faculty and students by librarians in California. Well-organized and has sometimes long and helpful annotations with the results of your search query.
• ZipSkinny uses census data to give you a great summary snapshot on any Zip code. It also allows you to compare up to 20 different Zip codes. Great for demographic research.
• Public Records databases, stateby state and nationwide. Some free, some for fee. Good for business and other public records by state and even county.
• LookSmart runs a good search service, FindArticles, for full-text articles. Try it.
• Ask an Expert at this page within the Scientific American magazine online site.
• CNN is probably the best overall news site. Google News is good, too.
• InfoPlease (links to dictionaries, encyclopedias and almanacs).
• The Einet Galaxy (basicallya directory, but is organized along different lines than YAHOO!). Worth checking out if your search will take you off the beaten path.

• A disarmingly simple runthrough of seven steps in the web search process. But, hey, it may be just what you need.
• Good basic information about web searching can be found at this About.com site. Especially check out the How to Search links and the Search News links on the left side navigation bar.
• The Living Internet site is a very complete set of pages about the Net and web, their histories, how it all works, and so on. Actually, even a pretty good read.
• Here are afew good sites with information about various search engines:
• Search Engine Watch 
• Search Engine Showdown 
• Greg Notess's site 

• Let's say you have a legal question, but a lawyer is not available, and you are not a student or can't afford Lexis-Nexis searches (the way togo if you can!). Try your search at FindLaw. It is set up as a directory, like YAHOO!
• Law in cyberspace can be wild. This Stanford site can help educate you.

META SEARCH ENGINES AND MORE

• Ixquick is a relatively new one, but I like the way it presents the results it finds on a number of good search engines and directories.
• Dogpile (multiple search engines).
• All One Search has a subdivided list of specialty search engines. Worth looking into if you have a subject area already.
• Yahoo! is good, but the OpenDirectory is another good set of categories and web sites, and I like their philosophy.

JOURNALISTIC SEARCHES

• The Journalist's Toolbox is fairly new, but quite complete. Has many links of interest.
• The NewYork Times CyberTimes Navigator page. This is the start-up search page for reporters at the Times, so that should give you an idea of its value. You will have to register, but it is well worth it.
• For a more local look, the Times-Union start page is also a helpful resource. Click on "Beat Page" to get a good list of local and state links. Thanks to the T-U!
• This page from Padraic Cassidy has many journalistic links of interest especially for investigative reporters.
• JournalistExpress has links to various online media, resources, interesting sites, and more. Good place to spend some time.
• Here's a site from a UIowa journalism prof. Most helpful!
• FACSnet (Foundation for American Communications. Great links for journalists. Has searches arranged by beats. You will have to register, but it's worth it and safe. 
• Beat page links at the IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) site. (In fact, remember to back up to main site for further helpful information.)
• Drew Sullivan's Database of Databases. A good compilation of online governmental databases. 
• Bill Dedman's PowerReporting site is also a decent compilation of information to help searchers on the Web.

PEOPLE

• The T-U page has a section on People finding. Scroll down to it.
• 411Locate is  the best place to search for phone (reverse lookup, too) or e-mail, based on my experience.
• AnyWho has reverse phone and e-mail lookups and more.
• I easily found an old high school buddy at ZabaSearch.
• This page from Bill Dedman's PowerReporting site might have the link you need.
• Good sources for stories are listed at YearbookNews.
• Biographical Dictionary -- the famous or the dead are here
• The Kaiser Family Foundation has put together data on health facts state-by-state.

BUSINESS RESEARCH

• YAHOO! Finance has good general information on public companies.
• Hoovers Online is terrific if you are willing to pay, but its free info is pretty good, too.
• Bill Dedman's PowerReporting site is helpful in many ways, including a good set of business links.
• The Rutgers University library has a good business section. Some of the books referred to are available in the UNF and other libraries, and the links are quite helpful.
• Another good site for students interested in researching businesses is ReportGallery, which has all sorts of company annual reports online. Great place to research a potential employer as well.
• The Industry Research Desk gives you a number of helpful links for researching businesses and complete industries.
• And now, for something completely different. . . .take a look at labor's point of view (e.g., actual pay of workers is flat or down while corporate profits and executive pay are soaring) at Labor Research Association Online. Lots of federal statistics.
• The Census has a good summary of county and state business statistics.


• Here are some sites for non-profit organization research:


• Guidestar
• National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute:
• Grantsmart
• The Foundation Center

FLORIDA, JAX, AND OTHER GOVERNMENT

• The Federal Gov has a new site that is pretty easy to navigate. Has some state and local gov links as well.
• The T-U page is good.
• Library of Congress list of Federal Gov web sites
• Here is the Fed Consumer Info site. Lots of free information.
• The American FactFinder Census site has good search capabilities.
• ProximityOne offers another good site for census data. 
• Gov Printing Office database search home page
• Nat'l Criminal Justice reference center
• The EDGAR database, Securities and Exchange Commission
• Project VoteSmart (lots of gov and political info and just general information on our political system)
• Federal Judiciary information page. Lots of information, FAQ, search capability on the Federal Courts system.
• The Campaign for America site allows you to track donations to tax-exempt political organizations. Can even download the database.
• StateLine is a good place for recent, general information about any state.
• FL Division of Elections(with searchable databases)
• Florida Legislature Online Sunshine page (legislature, too)
• City of Jacksonville, includes Duval and a link to St. Johns County

MISCELLANEOUS

• Adobe gives us a good tool to create PDF files on their web site. You can even create PDFs of web pages. Five files for free, then you have to pay.
• Don't get fooled by the regular virus hoax -- check out this Symantec site before you pass on hysterical messages to everyone in your addressbook.
• Other Internet hoaxes are covered by Snopes. Don't be fooled -- check out this site first.
• Check out flight and airport info at the FAA site.
• Want to know more about "cookies" -- those little files that pass along personal information about you and your surfing habits? Look up the info at Cookie Central.
• Need a map? Atlapedia is a quick and easy way to get physical and political maps, as well as other atlas-type information.
• Bill Dedman has a good group of data files with his Census-o-matic Excel file approach.
• The ad and pr students are probably interested in VALS (Values and Lifestyles)research for the campaigns courses. Here, you can get more info and even take a little VALS survey yourself.
• Here is a reasonably good translation site. Type in your message, pick the language you want to translateto (French, Italian, German, Portugese and Spanish), and voila!
• Here are two good sites for finding a mailing list you can join: Topica and L-Soft. You can search Usenet archives from Google.