Most of the resources on this web site, like the paper-records that you're searching for, are based in the real-world. But if you look hard enough, you can find a vast quantity of information right here on the World Wide Web.
Commercial Genealogy
If you've got money to spend, check out the commercial web sites like Ancestry.com and Genealogy.com. They've got an excellent collection of everything genealogy, from huge databases of surname-based data to indexed and searchable census records to scanned and searchable old newspapers. It's an impressive collection, and while we'd all like to think that the information should be free, providing a service like that certainly is not cheap, thus there are what might seem like large subscription fees. I'd encourage you to give their free trial a go.
Free Genealogy
There's so much more than the commercial services, however, and thousands of researchers like you are making their own genealogy information available for free. The largest free genealogy resources is RootsWeb and has a gigantic community of researchers providing free information. Other smaller sites scattered across the virtual globe contain just about anything and everything you might be looking for. Where to look? Start by searching on the search engines like Yahoo, MSN, and Google. But don't just rely on them to show you everything that's out there. They don't always do a great job at showing the most relevant information. Bookmark and start your surfing on one of the many genealogy directories such as Genealogy Links or Cyndis List.
Sharing Your Family Tree Information
Perhaps the biggest shame of all is that, individually, we collect an incredible amount of information and it just sits in our computers and file cabinets. If there were an easy way for us to share our research information, it would be a huge step forward for the world's genealogy community. GEDCOM files are fine, but they may in fact be causing more problems than they solve. It's so easy to download these structured data files of genealogy information, load them into your Family Tree software, and upload them again to the various services, that misinformation spreads like wildfire. It's impossible to take a 5000 person GEDCOM file and verify the data. So people just take it for granted that the data is accurate enough. Is Genealogy really about how big your database gets? It shouldn't be. It should be about the stories and history of the people in your family. Think back a few hundred years. How did your GG Grandmother live? What issues was she dealing with? Our ancestors are more than just a name, gender, and birth date. Hopefully, more and more, resources will appear that allow us to share our genealogy stories and history. Family Tree Circles is one such resource, sort of a public genealogy weblog, or "Blog". Create a free account there and post your own research information. Not only will you help others, but it's a way for them to find you!
Wherever your family history journey takes you, don't stop looking. Every day, thousands of new pieces of information make their way to the Internet.