Below is a list of web sites recommended by the joint public library. Check them out and if you find them useful for your purposes, consider bookmarking them or adding them to your list of favorites! Please note, however, that use of all sites listed on this page, are the responsibility of the user. The sites will remain posted for a minimum of one month from the date listed after each entry. The list is arranged by general topic; topics will come and go, as sites become known. Sites are current as of the date of posting. Some sites require the use of Adobe Acrobat, RealPlayer, or other tools that can be downloaded for free to your computer. Additionally some sites are best viewed with higher end versions of Internet Explorer or Netscape browsers that are also available as downloads. (Copyright notices are provided at the end of this page.)

New additions are noted with NEW following the listing.

Appleton Public Library's QuickRef (quick reference) page is a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics ranging from books to consumer to education to government to health, to jobs, to travel information, and much, much more. It's THE place to start for your informational needs. (continued 5/4/09)

Community
Fox Cities Online (FOCOL) is the official website for the communities in the Fox River Valley, Wisconsin. Information can be found for individual communities as well as combined activities and events. Included on this site are links to many organizations and groups in the Fox Valley such as the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Fox Cities Economic Development Partnership, and United Way Information & Referral. (continued 5/4/09)

DataMine is provided by the Post Crescent and gives links to a wide variety of miscellaneous information on topics such as consumer, health, government, business, charities, education, the environment, and much more. The links provide quick answers to commonly asked questions. (continued 6/5/08)

Little Chute Windmill has a website to show the progress toward the construction and funding of the windmill project in the Village of Little Chute. (continued 5/4/09)

Consumer
Annual Credit Report is another site that allows consumers in Wisconsin and elsewhere to receive a free annual credit report, as of March 1, 2005. The site is a joint effort by 3 national credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union. Privacy and security features have been built in to the website. (continued 10/3/08)

StolenID Search is a website for people who want to check and verify that personal information has not been stolen. The site has built-in layers of privacy, but interested users can check up on the site by selecting their "About Us", "Privacy", and "FAQ" sections before entering any personal information. (continued 10/3/08)

New Rules Requiring an Automated Voice or Keypress Opt-Out for Recorded Message Telemarketing Calls is a site from the Federal Trade Commission that provides information on how to deal with pre-recorded messages that are not wanted. The new rules went into effect on December 1, 2008 with additional rules set to start in September 2009. (12/11/08)

What You Need to Know About Car Dealership Closures is provided by Consumer Reports and discusses details consumers need to be aware of in these days of the changing dynamics in the automobile industry. (5/21/09) NEW

Environment
GreenHomeGuide is a site that shows ways to reduce an individual's carbon footprint. Advice is offered on a variety of products that may help make your home more environmentally friendly. (3/5/09)

Finance
Bankruptcy Basics is provided by the U.S. Courts website and gives information about bankruptcy laws. (6/5/09) NEW

Genealogy
National Obituary Archive has over 55 million obituaries from across the country for people to peruse. As it grows it could become a huge resource for people who enjoy working on family trees. (6/11/09) NEW

Government
This is the registration page for Wisconsin's Do Not Call list. If you registered for the list 2 years ago, it's time to renew that registration. The list is only good for a 2-year period, so you must renew your registration to be valid for another 2 years. (continued 5/4/09)

Twitter: USA.gov is a new site that allows users to get short answers and information about various governmental programs and issues. (6/5/09) NEW

GovFresh is another Twitter connection to information provided in a quick and easy format on up-to-the-minute news from governmental sources. (6/5/09) NEW

Health
Wisconsin Pandemic Flu Resources is a site posted by the State of Wisconsin with current information about the swine flu in Wisconsin. (5/4/09) NEW

Swine Flu FAQ is provided by WebMD as informational answers to frequently asked questions on the swine flu. (5/4/09) NEW

H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) and You is provided by the CDC (U.S. Center for Disease Control) and provides information about the spread of swine flu throughout the world. (5/4/09) NEW

Living with Parkinson's is provided by the Michael J. Fox Foundation and gives information and connections to information about Parkinson's Disease. (6/5/09) NEW

Holidays
Father's Day is provided by the History Channel and gives information about the history of the holiday and how it is celebrated. (6/18/09) NEW

Jobs
Wisconsin Jobs is a listing that posts governmental jobs that are open and available in the State of Wisconsin. It replaces the paper copies sent to public libraries and formerly known as the Current Employment Bulletin. (continued 5/4/09)

Job Loss Help provides information to help people who have lost their job make the transition to unemployment and provides information on benefits that are available and how to apply for them. (continued 5/4/09)

Law
Wisconsin State Law Library provides a wealth of information on federal, state, and tribal law for all areas of the United States with an emphasis on Wisconsin law. The site has an easily searchable database of legal topics arranged alphabetically and provides a newsletter for updated information. The newsletter for December covers consumer law as people do their holiday shopping. (continued 6/5/08)

Literature
Rebecca's Pocket is a site of recommendations for summertime reading for 2009. Suggestions are given for adults, teens, and children along with ideas to make summer reading a fun pastime. (6/25/09) NEW

Miscellaneous
Slate brings links to information that helps to explain the miscellaneous information behind the news. For example, there's an article that explains why the color green is important to the Muslim world, why car dealerships are closing, what is a pandemic health alert, and much much more. (6/25/09) NEW

Timely Topics
Identity Theft Resource Center is a nonprofit organization to protect people against identity theft. It supports victims, provides information on how to protect yourself from ID theft and gives information about scams, consumer alerts, tips and statistics. Identify theft is one of the fastest growing thefts in the country, so this site could be just for you to help you protect yourself from becoming a victim. (continued 5/4/09)

Federal Trade Commission Identity Theft page is a one-stop resource for information relating to problems of identify theft. The site provides information on what a person should do, who to contact, and how to try to resolve the problems associated with having your identity stolen. The site is provided by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The information is also available en Espanol as well as in English. (continued 6/5/09)

Travel
TravelPod brings a fun way to challenge yourself or your family to interesting and informative information about the world. (6/25/09) NEW

As you can see from the sites chosen for this posting, the subjects vary. If you have suggestions for topics to consider for posting, please e-mail the "Webmeister" for the library's site, and give the specific web address for us to consider. Most of the sites chosen for this page have been reviewed and recommended by Librarians' Index to the Internet (copyright 2006 by Librarians' Index to the Internet, LII) or The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006. http://scout.wisc.edu/

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