Reference iPad

Use the Reference Department's iPad to do a quick Internet search or access some of the most useful quick-reference apps. The reference staff have selected a list of 55 useful and well-reviewed iPad reference apps:

  1. Access My Library (Gale): Access to subscription periodical and reference databases published by Gale and subscribed to by the library.
  2. America's Economy (U.S. Census Bureau): Real time release of U.S. Economic Indicator data.
  3. Art Authority: Browse western art by period, or tap the “Directory” to search by artist, title, subject or location.
  4. Audubon Guides: A Field Guide to Birds, Mammals, Wildflowers, and Trees. Each guide includes an advanced search option that lets users search on multiple criteria at once (color, shape, habitat, etc.)
  5. Barefoot World Atlas
  6. Barron's
  7. Bible ( (YouVersion): Includes many versions of the bible in different languages, including audio versions. Users can display two versions side by side, and search for words in the full text.
  8. Bloomberg for iPad: Comprehensive access to global business news and market data.
  9. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  10., with rhyming dictionary: Definitions, synonyms, rhymes, history, and audio pronunciations.
  11. Epicurious Recipes & Shopping: Recipes with user reviews.
  12. The Federal Register
  13. Goodreads: Readers' book ratings and reviews.
  14. Google Earth: Fly around the planet with a swipe of your finger. Search for cities, places, and businesses. Browse layers including roads, borders, places, photos and more
  15. Google Maps: Comprehensive maps for 200 countries; browse places, get directions; use satellite, traffic, and street view overlays.
  16. Google Translate: Translate text and speech between more than 70 languages.
  17. Hi Calc HD Pro: 12 calculators: Scientific, Currency Converter, Unit Converter, Date - Time, Constants, Tip calculator, Biorhythm calculator, Equation Solver, Statistics, Base conversion, Graph & Finance.
  18. HowStuffWorks
  19. Intellicast HD: Ten day weather forecast, radar, map layers, storm tracking, wind direction, and a weather blog.
  20. Internet Movie Database: Data on over 2 million movie and TV titles, including local TV and theatre showtimes.
  21. Leafsnap: Identify trees from photos of their leaves.
  22. Manual for the United States of America, 2nd ed. (Clint Bagwell Consulting): Information on all branches of the federal government.
  23. Math Ref: Browse 1400+ formulas, figures, and examples in math, physics, chemistry and more.
  24. Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus: Definitions, origins, synonyms, antonyms, and audio pronunciations.
  25. Moon Calendar: moon rise, moon set, phases of the moon, elevation and azimuth for any location.
  26. National Geographic World Atlas: Browse, search and zoom World, region, and city maps. Includes physical and cultural data for countries and territories. Seamlessly integrates with large scale Bing local maps.
  27. The New York Times
  28. Night Sky: Identify the stars, planets, galaxies, constellations and satellites above.
  29. NPR
  30. Open States: Find your legislators, review their votes, search upcoming legislation, track bill progress.
  31. PubMed
  32. Reuters News Pro: Professional grade news and market data from Thomson Reuters.
  33. Smart Traveler: Official country information, travel alerts and warnings, maps, and more from the U.S. Dept. of State
  34. Solar Walk 3D Solar System model: Find out more about our neighboring planets in the Universe.
  35. Star Walk HD: Interactive guide to the night sky.
  36. Thesaurus Rex: Sort synonyms and antonyms by relevance. Filter by complexity or length. Includes definitions and audio pronunciations.
  37. Today's Document:  Features a different National Archives document each day of the year.
  38. TV Guide: View television programming schedules.
  39. U.N. Country Stats (United Nations): A data visualization tool to compare key economic, social, environmental, trade, and area & population indicators for 216 countries and territories.
  40. Units: Convert from hundreds of various units in 43 categories into other units.
  41. USA Today
  42. The Wall Street Journal
  43. The Wall Street Journal China Edition:  Wall Street Journal content, available in Chinese.
  44. The Weather Channel: Forecasts, weather maps and news…
  45. Web MD: Includes a symptom checker, information on medical conditions, drugs & treatments, and first aid, and a local health directory.
  46. White Pages: People, business, reverse phone and reverse address searches, with maps.
  47. Wikipedia Mobile: Collaboratively edited, free Internet encyclopedia.
  48. Wolfram Alpha: A "computational knowledge engine"; answers queries by pulling data from externally sourced curated sources.
  49. Wolfram Plants Reference
  50. Wolfram U.S. Economic Indicators: Historical data on all sorts of domestic economic data.
  51. Yelp: search for local businesses and patron reviews.
  52. YP: search for local businesses and gas prices with patron reviews.
  53. Zillow  : Search or browse a map for homes for sale, pre-market properties and recently sold homes.
  54. Zillow Rentals: Search or browse a map for apartments for rent, homes for rent, condos and townhouses.
  55. ZIP Code Tools: ZIP code and telephone area code lookups.