Consumer Information
General Information |
Personal Finance & Taxes |
Consumer Protection |
Volunteer Opportunities
Residential Details (General Information) |
Moving/Relocators |
Apartment Locators |
House Locators |
Mortgage Links
Insurance |
Product Reviews |
Car & Vehicle |
Lawn & Garden Care
General Information
- Texas Driver's Handbook
- Texas Day Care List (Texas Dept of Family and Protective Services)
- Gas Price LookUp
- AnyBirthday: Determine Someone's Birthday
- Card Games
- Classifieds2000
- DeskRef: Quick Reference Links: Consumer & Price Guides
- EveryRule: Rules and Etiquette
- How to Make Stuff : Crafts & Holiday Ideas
- How to Do Anything: Step-by-Step Instructions
- How Stuff Works
- International Calling Codes
- Time and Date Around the World
- Tutorials: Search Engine
- Wacky Uses: Uses for Common Products
- How to Obtain Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Certificates
- Military Record Search
- Open Records Project
- Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
- Public Records Free Searches
- Searches: consumer product recalls, most wanted, missing children, property appraisals, trademarks, aircraft ownership, sex offenders, death recordings, voter registration... (records will vary by state and/or county)
- Public Records Databases
- Sex Offenders Database
- Skip-ease: Locating People, Public Records & Officials
- Workplace Fairness
- Your rights as an employee, hiring, termination, harassment, unemployment, health, leave, privacy...
Personal Finance & Taxes
- IRS
- 1040.com
- Nolo: Taxes & Audits
- Bankrate: Tax Tips
- Quicken: Taxes
- Tax & Accounting Sites Directory
- Tax Prophet
- Tax Analysts News
- eFinance Directory
- Tips and basic information on: owning, buying, and selling a home, buying a car, insurance, finances, credit cards, debts, investments and more!
- Right on the Money*
- Tips on budgeting, saving money on travel, retirement, household affairs, investing, money basics, work-related finances.
- Basics of Money (Kiplinger)*
- Includes articles, videos, blogs, podcasts, and slide shows covering: how to save, retirement, managing money, finding bargains, avoiding debt, low-interest credit cards, business news, paying for college, long-term care guide, mutual funds, going green, forecasts and tips for small business owners. Sections include: basics, starting out, spending wisely, investing, retirement, guides.
- Money Tips
- Tips on handling money, how to apply for a loan, how to handle credit card debts, investment basics, retirement and pension tips, understanding taxes, how to save money... (under Money Matters)
- Bank Rate
- Benefits Checkup
- Better Business Bureau
- CardWeb: credit cards, phone cards, debit cards...
- Credit Counseling & Calculators
- Credit Infocenter
- Consumer Handbook to Credit Protection Laws
- Practical Money Skills
- Saving Money: Tips
- Financial Tools: Information and Calculators
- GetSmart
- Links and tips for information on mortgages, refinancing, consolidating debts, paying bills online, credit reports, comparison shopping for cars, savings options...
- HomeStore: Financial Calculators, Savings, Home Values...
- JumpStart: Financial Smarts for Students
- Knowledge Hound How-tos: Personal Finance
- MSN HomeAdvisor
- Missing Money
- My Rate Plan: Wireless & Long Distance Comparisons
Car & Vehicle
- All Data Automotive Diagnostic & Repair Information
- Autopedia: The Automotive Encyclopedia
- AutoWeb
- Car Care
- Interactive tips and tutorials on how to care for your care. Information on where and how to locate parts and accessories.
- Car Connection
- CarTalk
- Crashtest
- Cyberwrench
- Mechanic.Net
- Service Bulletins Database & Recalls: Search by Make, Model and Year
- Under the Hood
- Auto-By-Tel
- Automobile
- Autotropolis
- AutoSite: Car Buyers & Repair Site
- Car and Driver Buying Guide
- Car Prices: Comparisons for New and Used Cars
- Cars Direct
- Hemmings Motor News for Car Collectors
- Kelly Blue Book
- MotorTrend
- NADA Appraisal Guides
- Popular Mechanics Car Reviews
- Dallas Mornings News: Autos for Sale
Consumer Protection
- ID Theft
- Identity Theft Prevention & Survival
- Identity Theft Information
- Scambusters
- Estate Planning
- Better Business Bureau
- ABA: Basic Tips and Legal Advice for Home, Finance, Family
- Central Notice
- Consumer help lines and information, class action suits, product recalls, and consumer complaints.
- Consumer Information Center
- Consumer Law Page
- Consumer Search Engine for Products
- Federal Trade Commission: Consumer Protection
- First Gov for Consumers
- Give.org
- Helps you make informed decisions about charities. Merger of National Charities Information Bureau and Council of the Better Business Bureau's Foundation.
- National Fraud Information Center
- Recall Warnings
- Scams: On the Net
- Scorecard Chemical Pollutants in Your Area
- Texas Office of the Attorney General - Links
Insurance
- Texas Department of Insurance
- InsWeb - Insurance Quotes and Information
- Insurance Information Institute: FAQ
- Insurance News Network
Product Reviews & Online Shopping
- Appliance 411
- Appliance faq and maintenance/repair tips.
- Consumer Action Reports and Tips
- Consumer Checkbook
- Consumer Reports
- Consumer Search
- Consumer World
- DIYOnline: Design It Yourself Guidelines & Tools
- eSmarts: Where to Buy on the Web
- Federal Citizen Information Center & Links
- GreenBiz
- Locate environmentally friendly companies and products.
- Health & Safety Information on Household Products & Their Ingredients
- Household Products Data & Safety Information (includes MSDS)
- Long Distance Carrier Comparisons
- LowerMyBills: Comparison of Credit Cards, Long Distance, Internet, Insurance...
- My Rate Plan: Comparison of Long Distance, Internet, Cell Phones, Insurance...
- PriceScan: Comparison Shopping
- Product Recalls
Plants, Lawn & Garden Care
- Aggie Horticulture Home Gardening Information Index
- Better Homes & Gardens Gardening
- Explore Gardening and Yards
- Tutorials on plant choices and landscaping, growing guides and tips for various parts of the country, lawn care calendar, and color charts.
- Garden Gate: Indoor and Outdoor Plant Tips
- Garden Guide
- Garden Helper
- Includes information on: gardens, outdoor plants, indoor plants, plants for specific needs, gardening calendar, indoor gardening...
- Gardening
- Extensive listing of links to all types of gardening, arranged by topic. Inludes many full-text articles.
- Gardening LaunchPad
- Links to over 4700 gardening sites throughout the world. Primarily arranged by plant.
- Guide to Poisonous Plants
- Howard Garrett
- Internet Directory for Botany
- Invasive Plants
- Knowledge Hound How-tos: Gardening
- Lawn Institute
- Lowe's Gardening Tips
- Missouri Botanical Gardens
- Plant Finder with over 2700 plants, vegetables from around the world. Includes images, nursery tracker and hotline of 300 topics.
- My Garden (Master Gardener links)
- National Gardening Association
- Extensive information on: flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Includes regional reports, q&a, article library, pest control, dictionary, food gardening guide...
- Neil Sperry
- NeoFlora: Plant Database & Search Engine
- Over 38,000 entries in this extensive database.
- Organic Gardening
- Articles on using natural fertilizers, plant swaps, growing tips, "new gardener" tips...
- Perennial Plants
- Perry's Perennial Pages
- Extensive listing of perennials, quizzes, faqs, tips, photos, research...
- Plant Answers
- Plant Image Gallery & Database (includes trees & shrubs)
- Plant Facts Database
- Plant photo directory, fact sheets, disease info, video clips with tips/advice, and more.
- Plants for a Future
- Rare and unusual plants, listing of over 7000 species. Includes edible, medicinal and other uses.
- Scott's Botanical Links
- Southern Gardening
- Sustainable Urban Landscape Links
- Texas Gardening
- Trees are Good
- Tree care, faq, how to select a new tree, pruning, and tree hazards, and mulching.
- Web Garden
- Search engine to plants, grasses... Includes sections on turfs, pests, fruits and vegetables. Inluces 200 how-to video clips, glossary, image database, and faq.
- Weeds Gone Wild
Residential Details
General Information
- Pest Facts
- Bug Review
- Searchable database of bugs and pests. Searchable by bug name and location.
- Best Places
- Energy Guide
- Home Advisor
- Comparisons, home valuations, financing, home improvement, calculators...
- Household Products Database
- Information about chemical ingredients, health effects, and toxicity data. Includes MSDS.
- Home Buyers Kit
- Home Energy Saver Guide
- Insider's Guide: Relocation
- Real Estate Center's Cybersites: Assessor Offices
- Texas Appraisal Districts
- Texas Low-Income Housing Information
- Texas Power to Choose Utilities Companies
- Texas Tenant Rights
- Real Estate ABC's
- Tips and basic information for homebuyers. Includes financing, buying, selling, mortgages, income tax, realtor search, and statistics.
- Real Estate Library
- links to resources for buyers, sellers, and homeowners. Includes lists of over 100,000 websites.
- About.com: Home Ownership
- Homefinder: Find a Home
- National Association of Realtors Home Search Engine
- Homes For Sale by the U. S. Government (Public Auction)
- Realty Engine
- Yahoo! Real Estate
- Home Buying Guide and Tips
- Realtor.com: Mortgage Calculators
- Home Buyer's Information Center
- Home Value/Price Check
- Mortgage and Financial Calculators
- Mortgage-Net
- Texas Mortgage Magazine
Charities Info & Volunteer Opportunities
- Charity Navigator: Ratings
- American Institute of Philanthropy: Ratings
- Give: Charity Acccountability Ratings
- Independent Sector: Evaluate Charities
- Idealist: Action Without Borders
- Network for Good: Volunteering, Philanthropy, Online Giving, Advocacy, E-Philanthropy
- Senior Corps
- United Nations Volunteers
- USA Freedom Corps: Americorps, Citizen Corps, America's Promise
- Virtual Volunteer
- Volunteer Gov: Volunteer Opportunties within federal, state, and local agencies
- Volunteer Match
- Volunteers in Parks
The best guide to resources is a librarian who can help you in using the catalog, databases and the Web. A librarian can also assist you in selecting materials appropriate for your needs. Please ask at any service desk for information or assistance!
The El Centro College Library does not guarantee the currency or accuracy of these websites. Links to these sites do not represent an endorsement of the site or of information contained within the site.
Reference/Information Desk: 214-860-2174 Circulation:
214-860-2175
Comments or suggestions are welcome.
©2006 El Centro College Library
Dallas, TX
Last Updated:
November 19, 2008