Useful Sites
This page contains some useful web pages suggested by Library
Staff to help answer common Reference enquiries. Choose from a
subject area below for more information.
Health and Well-Being
Sites
This is an easy-to use site for the general public which has
been developed by the U.S. government. Information about various
ailments can be found either by using a general Search Box or by
selecting from an A-Z list of illnesses. For those needing more
detailed information the site also provides links to sites such as
that of Medline (the site of the U.S. National Library of
Medicine). The site also provides general health information for
groups of people such as the elderly, teenagers and different
ethnic groups.
For more comprehensive information, the
following are also very useful:
This is a British site aimed at both the health professional and
the general public. It is easy to use - you type in the Search Box
the word for which you are looking. There is help on the site on
how to use the Search Box. Searching for a particular word leads to
a comprehensive list of sites for that particular illness.
This a Swiss site which again is aimed both at health
professionals and the general public who can each use different
Search Boxes which lead to different sets of results, although this
is not fully explained on the web page. Like Omni it is very
comprehensive.
Fitness and Well-being
This not a dieting site, but it provides a wealth of information
on food and healthy eating at all stages of life such babies,
school children and adults. For schools there is also information
about nutrition for all levels of the curriculum.
This is a chatty, informal site for dieters. It provides loads
of recipes, which are all fat and calorie counted. There are chat
pages and message boards to encourage dieters along with food
reviews. It also provides links to other diet and exercise
sites.
This site deals with fitness for all ages describing activities
from cycling to yoga detailing their benefits. It gives fitness
tips for different groups such as the over 50s. The site includes a
page where you can quickly calculate your Body Mass Index and there
are quizzes to check whether you are eating healthily.
Government Sites
Wales on the Web is a subject gateway to material of Welsh
interest on the World Wide Web. It is an online guide to high
quality, validated websites offering dependable information
relating to Wales and all aspects of Welsh life.
All websites within Wales on the Web have been certified as
reliable and authoritative against a set of objective criteria.
From April 2003, the project is funded by Cymru Ar-lein of the
Welsh Assembly Government
CAYW has been adopted as a working name for the portal. It is
based on the Welsh name of the project (Cymru ar y We). Wales on
the Web is completely bilingual.
The National Assembly site provides information about the work
of the Assembly. It is not quite as easy to use as UKONLINE, but it
does provide a lot of information relative to Wales such as
legislation, statistics, new Assembly initiatives, committee
reports, business grants, how to contact Assembly Members (AMs) and
many other subject areas. It also provides links to a number of
other official organisations.
The council website for the general public has plenty of
information about the Council and Council services along with
contact phone numbers. It is updated with daily press releases.
Recent council policy documents such the Revenue Budget Report and
the Community Plan are available to download from the site. There
are many useful sections and links to information such opening
hours for chemists. The Tourism pages give a lot of information
about the Neat Port Talbot area as well as listing accommodation in
the Borough. The Business pages give help and advice about setting
up or expanding business in the area as well as much general
information about industry and employment in the Borough which can
be useful for school project work.
Science
The site of the American Association of Amateur Astronomers, it
is nicely laid out with interesting information on e.g. the Solar
System, constellations, overview of astronomy. You might suffer
information overload from the Links but they are categorised
A site from PBS containing information on earthquakes, volcanoes
and tsunamis. It contains animations/videos for which you will need
Flash and/or Quicktime
This contains quite a few articles on evolution and also the
relationship between religion and science from a non-creationist
perspective. It also has links to creationist sites
This is the Encarta encyclopaedia, quite a useful reference
tool, for school projects
This is quite a useful on-line free encyclopaedia with Search
facility
Internet Search
Engines
A very popular search tool which uses mathematical analysis to
judge quality or importance of every web page. Has a UK site and
global site.
A search engine and directory with a heavy bias towards
practical and professional information. It is indexed by
information professionals and librarians and provides high quality
results.
A smaller search engine but providing good links and relevant
results. An important gateway to newspapers and magazines on the
net
A well known search tool which uses a directory style. It also
has a UK specific site.
This tool lets you enter searches in plain English. These are
then interpreted into a set of questions form which the searcher
will choose the most appropriate.
Other search engines you may like to try are:
Tip - If you cannot find what you are looking for using one
search engine, think again about the words you are using to search
with and try a different search engine. You will get different
results!
Newspapers and magazines
An excellent gateway to information, news, educational resources
or all kinds. It also has a Welsh Language site and local news
stories.
Claims to be the UK's most popular newspaper website. It is
interactive and incorporates a good range of news items and general
interest stories.
Reflective of the printed publication. East to navigate and text
is well displayed. Access to previous editions is by subscription
only.
This is a web based site for the TV channel covering world news
in seven different languages. EuroNews claims to be free of all
national, political, religious and territorial influences.
Maps
An historical map archive. Find out where your ancestors lived
or check out what your neighbourhood looked like over 100 years
ago.
Search for a street map anywhere in mainland Great Britain
Interactive mapping service to street level with aerial
photographs, travel routes, weather forecasts and local information
for Europe and the UK.
Tourism
An area of outstanding natural beauty the Gower peninsular is
one of the great tourism magnets of South Wales.
Welcome to Wales - the official site of the Welsh Tourist Board.
For days out, weekends away, events and local tourist
information.
Your UK travel and heritage guide featuring accommodation,
attractions, history, culture and much more…..