Information need

Search strategy

I need a few good hits fast. 

Google returns important, relevant hits quickly with bold terms; pages cached in case the site's down.   Weights importance and value on others' links.
Ixquick Metasearch submits your search (use phrases, boolean logic, wildcards) to major search engines and displays results that are universally ranked in the top ten.

I have a general broad academic subject and need to explore or focus it.

Infomine - high-quality subject tree; librarian-selected 
Librarians' Index to the Internet - "a thinking person's Yahoo"¹
Encyclopaedia Britannica provides a topic article and Web links

I have a general popular or commercial topic and need to explore or focus it.

Yahoo a "tree" with sites submitted by users
GO  focuses on entertainment, recreation, leisure and lifestyle

I have general keyword(s) and need help refining my search strategy.

HotBot SuperSearch's template helps you create a Boolean or phrase search, or limit by media type, date, domain, etc.
Excite suggests word lists to refine your first search term.  Search for more on-target results based on successful hit.
Altavista suggests phrase search terms on your results page.

I bet this search has been done before.

Ask Jeeves! prepares answers to common questions asked in natural language.

I need quality, evaluated pathfinder guides prepared by a subject expert.

WWW Virtual Library search or browse subject-organized full-text documents, databases and gateways
About.com popular/commercial evaluated subject guides

I need balanced information from verified sources for a school research project to take home. 

I want to search on often-ignored words in a phrase (e.g. "Vitamin A" or "to be or not to be").

Infoseek includes little words (such as a, to, be, not )in the search

I need a pinpoint search using a unique phrase or word.

AltaVista works best for needle-in-the-haystack search for unique word or phrase (Himalayan cat not cat)

I need information on a proper name (a place, person, or object). 

Infoseek search with capital letters to force an exact case match on the entire word (e.g. Al Gore and NeXT)
A person search on HotBot SuperSearch will retrieve the name in both reversed and normal order (e.g. Picasso, Pablo and Pablo Picasso)

I need biographical information.

Biographical Dictionary - quick identification of a name
Biography.com - database of 20,000 paragraph-length biographies

I need a company's Web site.

1Jump direct to company's Web site using company or brand name, stock ticker symbols, name of an executive or employee, geographic terms (ZIP, postal, area code, city name)

I need US government information.

FedWorld browse government databases or Web sites, keyword searches on government Web pages or reports

I need hard-to-find or late-breaking information.

YahooNews updates continuously from newswires; with full coverage" of hot topics

I need current information from magazine or newspaper articles.

ProQuest Direct has full text of over 450 magazines and newspapers and can be searched from school or home. (Get password from Library)
News Directory links to online English language media worldwide
TotalNEWS

I need accurate, objective information on hot topics.

Social Issues - Multnomah County Library's Homework Center

I need statistical data. 

Statistical Information help page at Nueva

Is there almanac-type information on the Internet?

Information Please (almanac facts) CIA World Factbook (country facts)

I need primary sources.

US focus: American Memory, U.S. History, California Heritage
Ancient Greece: Perseus Project,

I need images and sounds (photos, art, designs, logos, videos, music, noises), media types (Java, VRML) or file extensions (.gif) 

Amazing Picture Machine (NCREL) small, education-appropriate pictures
American Memory US historical images and sounds; search by formats (maps, motion pictures, photos and prints, sound recordings)
AltaVista Photo Finder searches17 million images, audio clips, video files from the web and private collections
HotBot: SuperSearch template has options for media type
Lycos RichMedia (sounds, images, videos) powered by FAST
Jacob Richman has compiled an list of quality picture/art sites.

I need a map.

TIGER Map Service maps for Web pages from U.S.Census
National Geographic Map Machine - printable country, physical and political maps, star charts
MapQuest interactive service for driving directions
Cartography Links

I need a quotation.

The Quotations Page Quoteland Quotations Archive, Search Creative Quotations, Bartlett (1901)

I want to get advice and opinions from others. 

Ask Kids' Connect question answering and referral by librarians
Pitsco's Ask an Expert volunteers with varying levels of expertise
Liszt  catalogs discussion groups by topics 

I need a virtual librarian.

KidsConnect, Internet Public Library Reference, ,

I want notice of new sites as they're announced.

Scout Report Signpost reviews of new sites not yet listed on expert sites

I've got a good search to rerun automatically.

Excite's NewsTracker tracks your news topic, refining search based on results

I want to see sites just for kids.

KidsClick! Yahooligans!