Sitios recomendados de abril

*Llegó la hora de los mapas…*

Sí. Este mes se reseñan sitios que contienen mapas digitales, ideales para consultar en Geografía, Economía, Historia… o por el simple placer de «viajar». Como decíamos el mes pasado, confiamos en que estos aportes — surgidos del trabajo de investigación de nuestra bibliotecaria, Lic. Silvina Sala- puedan ser también de interés para los padres que desean orientar a sus hijos, a la hora de navegar.

Los siguientes sitios han sido seleccionados con un criterio de diversidad y amplitud en cuanto a tipos de mapas, perspectivas, experiencias de navegación, etc:

MapQuest Ofrece mapas de todos los países del mundo, organizados por continente, con un nivel de detalle básico (orografía, relieve y principales ciudades). Proporciona, además, información fundamental acerca de cada país.

Map Library, United Nations – The Map Collection houses over 80,000 maps, some 3,000 atlases, gazetteers, travel guides, cartographic and geographic reference works as well as digital cartographic products.

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection – University of Texas. An extensive library of downloadable maps. Includes country and regional maps, samples of avariety of projections, information on government map sources.

MapMachine – National Geographic. Locate nearly any place on Earth, search and print historical, weather, and population maps, and more with a dynamic atlas.

También, Xpeditions – National Geographic Maps made for printing and copying.

About Geography. Maps and Geography of the World.

Google Earth. Combina fotos satelitales, mapas y una base de datos muy completa. Estos elementos permiten al usuario navegar libremente por cualquier lugar de la Tierra, observar detalladamente todos sus territorios y desplegar sobre estos, de manera simultánea, basándose en datos y fotografías reales, diversos tipos de información geográfica (topográfica, hidrográfica, demográfica, histórica y cultural, entre otros).

David Rumsey Map Collection. This collection has over 14,800 maps online. The collection focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South America maps and other cartographic materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented.

Atlas de Historia Universal – J. V. Vives. Colección de mapas históricos digitalizados del Atlas de Historia Universal – J. V. Vives. Incluye mapas estáticos comentados que van desde el Paleolítico superior hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Oddens Bookmark: The Fascinating World of Maps and Mapping. A vast directory of links to all sorts of map-related materials on the world-wide web

En ediciones anteriores de nuestros Sitios recomendados, ver también:
* Best Free International Statistics Reports Online
* Best Free Dictionaries and Encyclopaedias Online

Best Free International Statistics Reports Online:

The World Factbook 2007 –
The Central Intelligence Agency’s annual World Fact Book provides a reliable resource for information on independent states, dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabitable regions, and oceans. Each entry typically includes concise physical and demographic statistics, an economic overview, as well as communications, transportation, and military information.

WDI – World Development Indicators 2006 – World Bank
The publication is the World Bank’s premier annual compilation of data about development. The 2006 WDI includes more than 900 indicators in over 80 tables organized in 6 sections: World View, People, Environment, Economy, States and Markets, and Global Links.

WEO – World Economic Outlook 2006 – International Monetary Fund
The publication presents the IMF staff’s analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups (classified by region, stage of development, etc.), and in many individual countries. It focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects.

OECD in Figures 2006-2007 – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The 2006-2007 edition of OECD in Figures contains key data on OECD countries, ranging from economic growth and employment to energy, trade and migration.

2007 Index of Economic Freedom – The Heritage Foundation & The Wall Street Journal
The Index of Economic Freedom measures and ranks 161 countries across 10 specific freedoms, things like tax rates and property rights.

Statistical Review of World Energy 2006 – BP
The Review tells the story – and history – of world energy through the numbers behind the energy market headlines.

GEO – Global Environment Outlook Year Book 2007– United Nations Environment Programme
The 2007 Year Book includes global and regional overviews of significant developments over the past year. It highlights linkages among ecosystem health, human well-being, and economic development; examines new thinking on the value of ecosystem services and the threat from ecosystem degradation; and describes recent research findings and policy decisions that affect our awareness and response to global change.

Best Free Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Online

Diccionarios / Dictionaries

Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Cambridge offers their dictionaries online for free at this site – Cambridge International Dictionary of English, Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary of American English, The Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms, and The Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Simply type in the word then click on the dictionary in which you want to check the definition.
Cambridge University Press, 2006

Collins Word Exchange
Collins Word Exchange revolutionises the way words are collected and enter the dictionary – throwing open the doors of language research and recording to embrace words from anybody and everybody! At Collins Word Exchange not only can you search… the Collins English Dictionary, texting abbreviations, internet links and SCRABBLE® scores, access a wealth of advice on grammar and usage, and test your language skills, but you can also add your own words to the dictionary.
Collins

Merrian-Webster Online
This searchable and browseable online dictionary and thesaurus for English are interconnected, offering audio pronunciation, etymologies, and occasional illustrations. Merrian-Webster Online also has free Premium access (alter viewing a brief ad) to electronic versions of their popular Collegiate series dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedia; the Third New International Dictionary, Unabribged; French-English and Spanish-English dictionaries; an atlas; a style guide; and a medical dictionary.
Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc.

Ask Oxford
The Oxford University Press’s reference website offers the opportunity to search their Compact Oxford English Dictionary, Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (2nd edition), along with expert advice on writing and solving gritty grammar problems.
Oxford University Press, 2006

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Online English dictionary, with photo illustrations, audio files of selected word pronunciations, example sentences, and lesson plans for teachers.
4th ed. Longman

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language
Over 90,000 entries feature 10,000 new words and senses, 70,000 audio word pronunciations, 900 full-page color illustrations, language notes and word-root appendixes.
4th ed. New York: Bartleby.Com, 2000

Real Academia Española
Permite acceder al texto completo de la última edición del Diccionario de la Lengua Española, 2001 – y también Diccionario panhispánico de dudas, 2005. Bajo el título Ortografía se puede descargar la obra Ortografía de la Lengua Española, 1999. Es el sitio de referencia de la lengua española.
Madrid: Real Academia Española, 2006

Dictionnaire de l’Académie Française
Permite acceder a la versión en desarrollo de la 9e éd. -1986. Fuente de consulta esencial de la lengua francesa.
Paris: Académie française, 2006

Online Etymology Dictionary
A free, fully searchable dictionary creating etymologies in alphabetical order, divided into smaller sections for manageable viewing. Contains a list of abbreviations to aid browsing of etymologies and links to other etymological resources.
Douglas Harper, 2001

* Enciclopedias / Encyclopaedias

Encyclopaedia Britannica
Reference resource searchable by keyword, phrase, or question. A selection of atlases, year reviews, subject areas, and timelines are browseable, and access to full features is restricted to subscribers. Chicago: Britannica, 2006

Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia
Spanish version Wikipedia: «la enciclopedia libre Wikipedia» is a free, web-based encyclopedia edited by its readers. Each of its over one million articles may be edited, corrected, or updated by anyone in the world. Readers are encouraged to correct spelling, fix grammatical errors, check the accuracy of information, translate articles into one of over 150 languages available on the site, and update biographical information. The site’s aim is to «create a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge.»
Florida: Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 2006

Columbia Encyclopedia
Containing nearly 51,000 entries (marshalling six and one-half million words on a vast range of topics), and with more than 80,000 hypertext cross-references.
6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001–04

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
Considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published, the Cambridge History contains over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages, with essay topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama and essays to history, theology and political writing.
New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907–21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000

BDS Library