Our Favorite Links


our favorites
  • Books and Reading
  • Canadian Information
  • Entertainment
  • Farming and Agriculture
  • Finance & Investmenting
  • Free E-mail Accounts
  • Fun
  • Genealogy
  • Government (Federal and Provincial)
  • Health
  • Hobbies and Recreation
  • Internet & Computers
  • Job Hunting
  • Legal Information
  • Parents
  • Quick Reference
  • Searching the Internet
  • Sports
  • Weather

Books and Reading

If you’re looking for more information on a book that you already know something about (author, title, etc.), try searching at the online bookstore Amazon.com. For Canadian books, you may have more luck at McNally Robinson (a Manitoba company) or Chapters. If it’s an older or out-of-print book, search the ABE Books web page to see if it’s in stock at any of hundreds of used book stores worldwide.

Book Browser is an excellent source of information and reviews for popular fiction and authors, especially series. AllReaders.Com is another great source for reviews of mysteries, romances, and science fiction. BookWire is a publishing industry news site which includes bestseller lists and forthcoming titles. If you enter some of your favorite books into its database, Alexandria Digital Literature will recommend others you might enjoy as well.

Canadian Information
see also: Government

The full text of the Canadian Encyclopedia (2000 edition) is now online.

Canadian Information By Subject arranges web sites in the Dewey decimal subject order that most libraries use, so that you can browse Canada’s internet just like browsing the library shelves to find hundreds of Canadian sites on various topics. (Looking for a job? Try the online Canadian job listings section.) Canadiana is another collection of links to Canadian information on everything from weather to politics. You can also search Canadian web sites for a specific phrase or topic at AltaVista Canada.

Do you want to know what happened on This Day in Canadian History? A great source for Canadian history information is Early Canadiana Online, a full text online collection of thousands of books and pamphlets dating from the first European contact to the late 19th century.

The Parliamentary Internet provides information on current MPs plus lists of previous Governors-General and Prime Ministers. Population, crime, and other basic statistics are available from the Statistics Canada web site. At the Natural Resources Canada web site, you can look up mountains, towns, lakes, etc. in the database of Canadian Geographical Names and get a map of their locations. Or try creating your own map of Canada at the online National Atlas.

At Canada411, you can look up telephone numbers and addresses for people and businesses in every province.

Entertainment
See also: Fun

The Ultimate Band List and Pollstar are all you need to keep track of music on the web. The Band List is a guide to radio stations, record companies and (of course) bands on the net. You can search Pollstar’s concert database to find out where in the world your favorite band is touring, or who’ll be playing Winnipeg in the near future.

Cinemedia is a vast collection of TV and film information on the web – shows, actors, networks. The Internet Movie Database gives full cast, crew, and production information about almost every movie ever made. You can also search for an actor, director, writer, etc., to get a complete list of their movies. Coming Attractions has extensive reports on movies-in-the-making, from casting and production staff to filming locations and predicted release date.

At the Mr. Showbiz and Entertainment Weekly web sites, you can keep up with current entertainment news and gossip.

Farming and Agriculture

The Canadian government offers all kinds of online information for ag producers. Check the weather forecast for Manitoba at Environment Canada. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has created a great resource called AgriWeb Canada. They also provide a biweekly Market Analysis.

Provincial governments are also online, including:

  • Manitoba Agriculture
  • Saskatchewan Agriculture & Food
  • Alberta Agriculture, Food & Rural Development

Futures quotes are available online from the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. More on-line trading can be found at Canada Grain.

Finance and Investing

PC Quote allows you to look at current stock prices, past performance, and company profiles. Check up on your mutual funds through GlobeFund.

An excellent set of online calculators can help answer your home financing questions. You fill in the loan amount, interest rate and other variables; the program calculates how much the payments will be, whether it’s worth refinancing, or one of many other formulas available. Other home-buying information is available online from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Kelley Blue Book gives both retail and trade-in prices for used cars.

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (Revenue Canada) provides tax information and downloadable forms on its web site.

Free E-mail Accounts

Due to privacy, security, and computer maintenance concerns, we cannot allow patrons to use the library’s Internet account to send or receive “outlook express” based e-mail (pop3). However, they are free to use the library’s Internet access computers to sign up for web mail accounts, which allow them to send and receive e-mail through a World Wide Web interface. No separate software is required, and you can access your account from any computer that is connected to the Internet – at school, at work, or at the library. Several companies provide these accounts for free; the service is paid for through web site advertising which all subscribers are exposed to.

Most free e-mail providers require you to follow these steps in order to sign up:

  1. Accept the provider’s usage agreement;
  2. Choose your own login name and password;
  3. Provide some personal information.

There are many free e-mail account providers from which to choose; listed below are those the library knows about. If you have any questions about these services, ask library staff.

  • Eudora WebMail
  • HotMail
  • LycosMail
  • Netscape Webmail
  • Yahoo Mail

Fun

The Bozo Criminal of the Day Report collects “what were they thinking?” stories of inept criminals from around the world.

At Canadian World Domination, learn the cunning plans for Canada’s future tyranny of kind and loving brutality.

A webcam is a live video camera hooked up to the Internet, so that you can see (for example) Vancouver’s Inner Harbour, as it looks right now. EarthCam is a directory that lists dozens of webcams located all over the world, even in Antartica.

The Big List of Movie Mistakes showcases bloopers from dozens of famous and not-so-famous movies.

Genealogy

More and more Canadians are becoming involved in tracing their roots, or searching for birth relatives. If you’re a beginner, Getting Started in Genealogy and Family History and the National Archives are good places to start.

For local information, try these sites:

  • Red River Descendants Reunion 2005
  • Manitoba GenWeb Project
  • Provincial Archives
  • Manitoba Legislative Library
  • Manitoba Genealogical Society

The Aboriginal Peoples’ Guide to Government Records can help you track down useful information in government documents.

For international family tree searches, the Genealogy Home Page or the massive (26,000 links and counting!) List of Genealogy Sites are excellent starting points. The Familyrecords.gov.uk site provides easy access to United Kingdom family history on the web. The largest single source of genealogical information on the Internet, the Mormons’ Family Search site, indexes more than 4000 million names.

Government
See also: Canadian Information | Legal Information

Start out at the official home page of the Canadian government, which links to individual departments and/or agencies and offers a search engine.

Some of the most frequently accessed federal websites are:

  • Department of Justice the statutes of Canada are available online here
  • Parliament
  • Statistics Canada
  • Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (Revenue Canada)

Of course, the Manitoba government has its own home page as well. For other provinces, consult this list of all provincial and territorial home pages.

Health

There is a lot of excellent medical information available on the Internet, but just as much that is inaccurate or even harmful. Remember to look at the source of any medical information – does it seem like this organization or person would know what they are talking about? And, of course, always consult your doctor for further information.

The Canadian Health Network is a national network of health information providers which gives easy access to health information you can trust from over 600 organizations across the country. One of the most popular American health sites is MedlinePlus, maintained by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The Mayo Clinic has an excellent website, which is particularly strong in diet and nutrition information. A health news site called InteliHealth comes from Johns Hopkins University, another well-respected American health institution. And Healthopedia is a wealth of knowledge for almost any topic you may be wondering about.

Parents and caregivers will be especially interested in the ABC’s of Safe and Healthy Child Care and the Ontario Association of Pediatricians’ website; both have information on common medical conditions in children, plus links to other children’s health sites.

There are search engines dedicated solely to medical sites as well. Try MDChoice or CliniWeb, but remember that you may have to know some medical terminology to be able to conduct a successful search.

Hobbies and Recreation
See also Sports

Pet lovers should check out web pages which answer frequently asked questions about all breeds of dogs and cats. Pet Education contains informative articles, written by veterinary experts, on healthcare for birds, fish, and exotic small pets as well as for dogs and cats. Or, consult the Electronic Zoo, which includes domestic animals as well as wild.

Cooking is a popular topic on the Internet; Epicurious is a great site where you can search for recipes from Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines and save your favorites in a personal “Recipe Box”. The Recipe Archive is another great source for that hard-to-find recipe.

Those interested in all kinds of crafts will find lots to visit on the net. About.com offers a wide variety of crafting sites under their Hobbies & Games section, including scrapbooking, woodworking, and many more. The Craft Site Directory will help you locate even more project ideas on the web.

Outdoor pursuits are well-represented on the net. World Golf links to golf web sites from all over the world (including every Canadian province). Fishing in Canada has links to gear, chartering, and much more. Jim Powlesland, a Calgarian, maintains a collection of hunting links.

Gardeners should take a look at the Garden Gate and ICanGarden (from the Canadian gardener’s perspective). Many commercial sites also offer useful gardening tips, such as Burpee’s “Garden School”. See PlantCare.com for information on hundreds of houseplants, searchable by plant type and room condition or browsable by common and Latin names.

Internet and Computers
See also: Searching the Internet

One of the best ways to learn about the Internet is to make use of the many tutorials available right on the web. University of California Berkeley offers a quick introduction to the Internet. Learn the Net covers beginner to advanced topics, including the absolute basics. Parents who want to keep up with their children on the net will also benefit from the Parents’ Guide to the Information Superhighway.

How to write HTML and create your own web documents is a more specialized topic. The best place to start learning on the net is HTML Help, with a collection of frequently asked questions and (most importantly) common mistakes for new web authors to avoid. If you’re a beginner who just wants a simple introduction to what HTML is and how to create a web page with it, try the HTML Primer. The HTML Station covers both the basics and more advanced topics.

Call for Help is a great site for intermediate and advanced users that has fantastic information and links about todays technology. Check the free files section for the latest free programs.

Computer not running all that well anymore? If you are connected to the internet you have a very good chance of being infected with spyware. Spyboy: Search and Destroy is a great free program that scans your computer and removes thousands of types of spyware.

Job Hunting

Many Canadian government sites are useful for this, including the Human Resources Development Job Bank, similar to the kiosks seen everywhere. Try out their Work Search site as well, for help in career planning, job searching and applications, funding, and training program information.

The Electronic Labour Exchange will help you create a profile of your skills and advertise it to potential employers; you can also check to see employers’ profiles of positions they need filled.

The National Library also maintains a good collection of links to other online Canadian job listings.

Legal Information
See also: Government

Canadian Legal FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) offers legal information on common situations, ranging from divorce and child custody to shoplifting. The Access to Justice Network has law and justice resource materials from across Canada, including FAQs on common topics such as family law and the Young Offenders Act.

At the Department of Justice website, you can read Canadian laws and statutes. Manitoba provincial legislation is also available online. [Important: Remember that these may not be the most up-to-date versions.]

The Internet Law Library collects American federal and state laws, laws of other countries, and international law, with an excellent index of laws by subject that allows you to compare (for example) the immigration and citizenship laws of various countries. It also has a Canadian law section which includes both federal and provincial links.

Parents

Family.com, a Disney-owned site, includes activities and crafts, parenting tips, and articles on child development, to mention just a few of the things available. Parent Soup and Parents Place are other practical parenting sites with all kinds of common sense advice from other parents.

Looking for a good book to read to your kids? The Children’s Literature Web Guide is a great site, with lists of award-winning books, movies and television shows based on children’s books, and much, much, more.

The Canadian Paediatric Society’s Caring for Kids website offers information on topics parents often ask questions about – everything from healthy eating to how to take a child’s temperature.

Many parents have concerns about their children using the Internet. Child Safety on the Information Highway (a brochure published by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) puts the issues in perspective and offers tips to help ensure that your child’s online experience is a positive one. If you feel that you need to learn more about the net in order to keep up with your children, try the library’s selection of Internet tutorials.

Quick Reference

Canadiana will point you to all sorts of Canadian information on the web, from news to weather. You can also find out what happened on This Day in Canadian History.

HeadlineSpot.com is a guide to thousands of the best American news sources on the web, including newspapers, magazines, TV, and radio. Or try NewsConnect (a Canadian site) to locate newspapers published all over the world in dozens of different languages.

The Internet Public Library and Refdesk.com are excellent sources for hundreds of links to useful websites – online calculators, dictionaries, fast facts and more. MegaConverter calculates equivalents for everything from kitchen measures to hardware. The Information Please almanac is a great source for statistical information and current events. Try Fast Facts when you’re looking for a quick overview on a topic.

You can look up Canadian postal codes on the Internet, courtesy of Canada Post. For worldwide postage information, try PostInfo, which has an international list of postal authorities, postal code search tools, rate calculators, and everything else you need to know about mail.

Canada411 includes business and personal telephone directories for every province.

Searching the Inernet

“Search engines” help you to find web sites which contain certain words that you’ve entered into a search form or box. The following engines are the ones used most often by the library staff, but there are lots more to try if these don’t appeal to you. NOTE: Most search engines have a “Help” or “Tips” page; it’s always a good idea to consult this before typing in any search terms. Or try NoodleQuest, which helps with Internet searches by pointing to the the best search engines for your needs, after you answer a few short questions about what you’re looking for.

  • AltaVista
  • Canada.com
  • Google
  • HotBot

Google has an image search engine that will let you seach for pictures.

“Internet directories” are collections of Internet links organized by topic (Health, Recreation, etc.) The largest and best known is Yahoo; there’s a Canadian edition of Yahoo as well. About.com and Suite 101 are other excellent directories.

Wikipedia is an innovative new free online encyclopedia that has been created by people all over the world. You can even sign up to be a regular contributor.

Sports
See also: Hobbies and Recreation

Most professional sports leagues have official web sites, including the NHL, the NBA, the NFL and CFL, and major league baseball. The Western Hockey League and the Canadian Curling Association are also online.

For local teams, try Hockey Manitoba, or visit the Selkirk Steelers online.

Canadian Sport links to hundreds of amateur sports organizations in Canada. The International Olympic Committee maintains a site with information about upcoming Olympic games until 2006.

Type in your team and Office Pools will keep track of your points.

Check out the Sports category of the World Wide Web Virtual Library, which offers links to sites about everything from croquet to martial arts. Sports broadcasters like TSN or ESPN are other good places to look.

Weather

Wondering what the weather holds in store for the next 5 days anywhere in the country? Check out the weather office for a 5 day forecast.