NC LIVE

This Forbes article explains much better than I can here the wealth of info you can access on the web for FREE from your local public library. The library (if you have a library card) will give you a password for the databases at NC Live. The databases NC Live gives you free access to are normally fee-based. (and not just fee based, but expensive fee based).

Yahoo! Search Subscriptions Beta

Although you do not have access to subscription services that the news library uses, you can now search Yahoo! Search Subscriptions (it is in Beta) and get results that include Consumer Reports, Wall-Street Journal, New England Journal of Medicine and others.

You still need a subscription to access the full content of the article, but now you will at least know that the information is there. A normal web search would exclude results from subscription based databases.

News University

News University’s online journalism training designed with busy journalists in mind. Writing and reporting techniques. Insights into visual journalism. Courses on ethics and values.

Sex Offender Database

U.S. Department of Justice has launched a searchable sex offender’s database. The criteria for searching are limited to what each individual state may provide. Also, because information is hosted by each state and not by the federal government, search results should be verified by the user in the state where the information is posted.

What's On When

Want to do something bizarre in Borneo in August? Check out What's On When Web site.

This is a travel and entertainment content service. Here is a list of their themes:
Themes: Adventure, Bizarre, Classical Music, Clubs & Parties, Film, Food & Drink, Gay & Lesbian, Heritage Jazz, Kids & Family, Lifestyle Literature, Mind, Body, Spirit, Music, Nature, Phenomena, Opera, Performing Arts, Religion, Spectacle Sport, Theatre, Visual Arts.

You can search these themes, or you can search a destination or even a combination. Their homepage highlights events by date.

Government Reporters: RSS Subscription Service

PubSub is a matching service that instantly notifies you when new content is created that matches your subscription. Using a proprietary Matching Engine, PubSub is able to read millions of data sources on your behalf and notify you instantly whenever a match is made.

A section of the PubSub site allows you to set up RSS feeds for any news about US or state government officials. PubSub Government has links to Congressional Committies, State elected officials, U.S. Supreme Court Judges, Cabinet members, George Bush and Richard Cheney.

American Shoppers

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania conducted a study about American shopping habits and knowledge. Click on the link to see the report. There is also a Q&A of Seventeen Facts American Shoppers Need to Know - But Don't. For example: True or False:

WHEN I GIVE MONEY TO CHARITY, BY LAW THAT CHARITY CANNOT SELL MY NAME
TO ANOTHER CHARITY UNLESS I GIVE IT PERMISSION.

FALSE: Many charities buy, sell and trade mailing lists and no laws prohibit this.