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I don't know any other term than that - just the odd tools you come up with to collect or store information - and wondered if there were suggestions others might have for this.
I use Google Books http://books.google.com to search for county histories and family ancestries. Some of my lines were of such note way-back-when that private genealogies and history were published. Some have fallen into the public domain and can be downloaded; others are online, but only for reading. The latter is difficult to work with. I've looked up sources of the books and found them in libraries a long way off, or verrry expensive to purchase. One night I was grumbling to Spouse about having to sit and write down everything I saw on the screen. I tried doing a highlight/copy/paste to Word, but Google did something to bamboozle that. Other methods were viable, but still cumbersome. Being the uber-geek he is, he sat down, pecked around for a minute, and said "here. try this." It was one of those head slappers; an easy technique once I saw it; but: alt/ctrl/prt scrn then paste the image into Paint and cut out the text you want. I could do a number of things with that information, but it was mostly a lot easier than what I was working with before.
And speaking of online books: Internet Archive: Free Movies, Music, Books & Wayback Machine
That's a place I check after locating an online book on google because there is often a scanned copy that can be downloaded as a PDF or text. You do have to be careful about that site. Lately, hackers and malicious people have uploaded files (usually music or media) that is laced with a virus or phisher. I keep my security software updated to protect against those *sses
Another site full of public domain books is archive.org.
I also use ctrl/prt scrn and paste to Paint.
Yup, that's the hyperlink I posted Again, be aware that some are using that site for nefarious purposes. I went to download a PDF and got a big scary message on my monitor from Norton, warning me that there was a phisher file riding with that document Luckily, there are often several copies from different contributors; I immediately notified the administrator so the infected doc could be removed.
I use abebooks.com and alibris.com to search for used genealogy/family history books. Unfortunately, the sellers there are keen to the value of the books, though sometimes you can get a good deal. Also, surprisingly, ebay. I was a little skeptical, thinking their book section would be comprised of nothing much more than used copies of the Twilight series , but I found sellers there who do scans of some of the more expensive books, burn them to CDs as PDF docs, and sell them. I guess that's supporting intellectual theft, or something. Maybe the sellers have permission from the publishers since hardback copies of "Pioneers of Old Monocacy - The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland 1721 -1743" probably aren't flying off the shelves
Go search the Library of Congress. There are lots of docs -- like WWII enlistments and drafts, like pension files.... it goes on and on. Some are open files, others you need access to get (most books have an LC number inside along with an ISBN; you can search the LC if you know the book).
Try Genealogy CDs; I have bought CDs of classic texts and even a printout of one with the CD ( well cited genealogy)
Look up the Newbery Library, some texts are online.
CITE, CITE, CITE: Author, title, publisher and city , date printed, edition (if one), volume (if one), pages used.
Uncited items can be bogus.
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Luckily, there are often several copies from different contributors; I immediately notified the administrator so the infected doc could be removed. 
, but I found sellers there who do scans of some of the more expensive books, burn them to CDs as PDF docs, and sell them. I guess that's supporting intellectual theft, or something. Maybe the sellers have permission from the publishers since hardback copies of "Pioneers of Old Monocacy - The Early Settlement of Frederick County, Maryland 1721 -1743" probably aren't flying off the shelves 
