Automobiles
Charities
Consumer Protection
Personal Finance
Product Evaluation
Relocation & Real Estate
Automobiles
State approved defensive driving courses:
American Driver Improvement
Defensive Driving.com
Automobile Buyers’ Guides
Autoweb.com
New and used car buying information, including prices and reviews.
Edmund's Automobile Buyer's Guides
New and used car information, back to 1990. Includes prices, reviews, and vehicle comparisons.
Intellichoice
New and used car information. Includes prices, reviews, buying tips, as well as a repair and maintenance guide.
Kelley Blue Book
New and used car values back twenty years, as well reviews, ratings, and prices. Also includes motorcycles.
N.A.D.A.
New and used car prices. Also includes information on motorcycles, boats, motor homes, and more.
EBSCOhost
A PPLS subscription database, accessible with a PPLS library card.
MasterFILE Premier
Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for more than 1,730 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,774 biographies, 100,554 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 235,186 photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost.
Automobile Safety & Maintenance
Car Care Guide
Vehicle service schedule, seasonal maintenance tips, and more.
Fuel Economy
Gas prices, mileage tips, fuel economy ratings, vehicle mileage comparisons, and more. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
Vehicle safety ratings, research & statistics on highway fatalities, & an overview of state laws related to vehicles & driving.
Safercar.gov
Crash test & rollover ratings; vehicle equipment safety ratings for cars back to 1990. From the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.
Auto Repair Reference Center
A PPLS subscription database, accessible with a PPLS library card.
Information on approximately 23,000 vehicles from 1954 to present, including wiring diagrams and Quick Tips; a complete guide to vehicle ownership and maintenance.
Charities
Charity Navigator
Ratings of over 5,000 U.S. charities. Browse by category or search for a specific charity.
Give.org: Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance
Better Business Bureau reports on charities.
Associations Unlimited
A PPLS subscription database, accessible with a PPLS library card.
Contains information for approximately 460,000 international and U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership organizations in all fields, including IRS data on U.S. 501(c) nonprofit organizations.
Consumer Protection
Better Business Bureau
Reports on companies; information on business scams; a directory of local BBBs; file a complaint online.
Dallas Better Business Bureau
Reports on businesses in Dallas & surrounding cities.
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Product recall & safety information; includes online forms for reporting unsafe products.
Econsumer.gov
Provides contact information for consumer protection in various countries; includes an online complaint form. From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Federal Citizen Information Center
Order free & low cost consumer information publications; find information on recalls & scams, as well as a list of federal agencies where a complaint can be documented.
Federal Communications Commission for Consumers
Consumer information on telephone, cellular telephone, broadcasting, and Internet; rules & regulations, as well as online forms for filing complaints.
Federal Reserve Board: Consumer Information
Consumer information on banking, personal finance, mortgages, credit, identity theft, & more.
FirstGov for Consumers
A directory of federal consumer information sites divided by topics, including food, product safety, health, money, transportation, & more.
Internet Crime Complaint Center
Information on Internet crime, as well as Internet crime prevention tips & an online cyber crime complaint form.
National Do Not Call Registry
Register a phone number to reduce calls from telemarketers; includes an online complaint form to report violators.
National Fraud Information Center
Information on current scams; tips on how to avoid becoming a victim; & an Online Incident Report From. From the National Consumers League.
Recalls.gov
A “’one stop shop’ for U.S. government recalls.”
Directories
Big Book
Go Toll Free: The Internet 800 Directory
InfoSpace
Switchboard
ReferenceUSA
A PPLS subscription database, accessible with a PPLS library card.
An online database containing profiles of more than 13 million U.S. businesses and 120 million U.S. residents. The database is useful for compiling mailing lists and offers the capability to limit searches by zip code, city, state, sales, number of employees, and other options.
Personal Finance
Annual Credit Report
Request your credit report.
Bank Rate Monitor
Rates for mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, & more.
Choose to Save
Personal finance calculators, retirement planning, savings tips, & more.
GovLoans
Information on loans for farming, business, education, housing, disaster relief, & veterans; offered by various federal agencies.
My Money
Personal finance information from the U.S. Financial Literacy & Education Commission.
National Foundation for Credit Counseling
Information on credit & debt management.
Product Reviews & Information
Consumer Guide
Reviews & ratings of vehicles, electronics, appliances, computers, & other household items.
Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings
Lists of the most energy efficient central & room air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters, dishwashers, clothes washers, refrigerators, freezers, & more. From the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Consumer Search
Product reviews for fitness equipment, electronics, appliances, lawn & garden equipment, & more.
Energystar
Lists Energy Star qualified products. From the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency & the U.S. Department of Energy.
healthytoys.org
A consumer action guide to toxic chemicals in toys.
Household Products Database
Health & safety information on common household products. From the National Institutes of Health.
EBSCOhost
A PPLS subscription database, accessible with a PPLS library card.
MasterFILE Premier
Designed specifically for public libraries, this multidisciplinary database provides full text for more than 1,730 general reference publications with full text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, 84,774 biographies, 100,554 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of 235,186 photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily via EBSCOhost.
Relocation & Real Estate
All the Listings.com
For sale by owner listings.
For Sale By Owner
GreatSchools.net
Compare K-12 schools nationwide.
HomeSales.gov: Homes for Sale by the U.S. Government
HUD Homes
HUD's Subsidized Apartment Search
Moving.com
One-stop-shopping for moving information.
Real Estate Home Values
Find home valuations; by Yahoo.
Realtor.com
Real estate listings & rentals.
School Matters
Information on schools and school districts nationwide.
Sperling's Best Places
Cost of living, schools, crime statistics, home prices, and more for U.S. cities.
Texas Real Estate Commission: Complaints & Consumer Information