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- American Federation of Mineralogical Societies
- The Eastern Federation of Mineralogical and Lapidary Societies, Inc.
- The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME)
- USGS Mineral Resources Program
- Minerals Management Service
- Mindat.org - tons of information about minerals and localities. They also have very active forums.
- Handbook of Mineralogy - thousands of PDFs about minerals
- Crystal Forms - you can print these out, cut, fold, and glue to make your own paper crystals.
- RRUFF - database of Raman spectroscopy , X-ray diffraction, and chemistry of minerals
- National Mine Map Repository - you can request maps of old abandoned mines for free here.
- MRDS - Mineral Resource Data System, where you can get GPS data for mines around the country, down to the county. The data can be exported in several formats, including Google Earth's KML format. That can be converted to a file that you can then import into your handheld GPS for out in the field. There is free software that does this, called GPS Babel. This way you can plan a trip to a certain area, download mine locations to Google Earth, weed out the mines you aren't interested in, save a KML file, and convert it to the file format for your GPS device. Then use your GPS device's software to import the data to your handheld GPS receiver.
- The Vug - including a comprehensive list of upcoming mineral shows
- American Mineralogist (archives) - 1916-1999 are free and 2000 and later are only for subscribers.
- "Zeolites of the World" - an exhaustive and free e-book from Mindat.org.
- Gemology reference library - International Gem Society (IGS)
- Mining History Association
- A Career in Geology - from the U.S. Career Institute; aimed at young folks
The Basics of Mineral Collecting:
- Rock Collecting: An Educational Home Hobby
- Home Rock Collecting Guide - a useful compilation of links that introduce the hobby
- Beginning Guide to Mineral Collecting, article by Michael Adamowicz on Mindat.org
- Semi Precious Stones Guide
- Guide to Geodes - explains how and where they're formed
- Home Hobbies: Rock Collecting - handy introductory information
Other Area Clubs, Organizations, Museums, etc.:
- Micromineralogists of the National Capital Area, Inc.
- Gem, Lapidary, and Mineral Society of Montgomery County
- Mineralogical Society of the District of Columbia
- Baltimore Mineral Society
- The Gem & Mineral Society of Lynchburg
- Roanoke Valley Gem & Mineral Society
- Shenandoah Valley Gem & Mineral Society
- Gem and Mineral Society of the Virginia Peninsula
- JMU Mineral Museum, Harrisonburg, VA
- Virginia Museum of Natural History - they organize many field trips (often cruises up the Potomac) focused on fossils.
- EFMLS Wildacres Retreat, North Carolina. The EFMLS sponsors two annual lapidary and jewelry-making workshops at Wildacres each year.
- Sterling Hill Mine Tour & Museum, NJ