Types of Reference Sources

The Reference Collection on Level 2 is comprised of different types of resources, on either all subjects broadly, or for a particular subject.

• Almanacs offer quick facts, either for all knowledge, i.e. The World Almanac and Book of Facts, or subject-specific, i.e. The Almanac of Illinois Politics. Answers questions such as "How many people voted for George Bush in 2000?"
• Atlases offer information in cartographic form. While you may think of atlases as just offering maps of countries or U.S. states, some atlases describe historical events or social issues in map form, i.e. the changing borders of European countries, or the percentage of people in poverty around the world. Browse the G's (Library of Congress) or 910s (Dewey) to see the atlases in the reference area. Answers questions such as "Where is Victoria, British Columbia?"
• Biographical works or encyclopedias or dictionaries that focus on people. There are a number of reference sets that have a wide variety of people listed, while others are discipline-specific. Answers questions such as "Where did Dr. Phil earn his Ph.D?"
• Concordances are unique reference works that analyze the words in a particular work. Answers questions such as "How many times, and in what context, is the word educated used in the Bible?"
• Dictionaries offer shorter definitions and summaries of terms. Like encyclopedias, dictionaries can be general or subject-specific. Answers questions such as "How do psychologists define the term interpretation?" But just to make it even more confusing, some reference works are entitled Dictionary of [Something], but are in fact encyclopedias in terms of scope and length of the entries. (Dictionary refers to the fact the entries are in alphabetical order, versus thematically.)
• Directories offer names and addresses of organizations, usually for a particular subject. The Encyclopedia of Associations, called Associations Unlimited in it's online form, is one of the larger directories. Print directories become out of date quickly, so the most useful ones are those that are online and continually updated by the publishers. Answers questions such as "What's the address and phone number for the Washington, DC office of AARP?" They are also useful for finding relevant organizations that deal with a particular topic, so that you can find out the names of relevant organizations that you don't know about already.
• Encyclopedias are the best sources for reading an overview of a topic. There are both general encyclopedias, which try to summarize all knowledge, and subject-specific encyclopedias, which focus only on a general topic like health or the environment, and offer overviews of aspects of the general topic. The entries within encyclopedias can range from a paragraph to 30 pages, and sometimes offer a few suggested sources for further information.
• Gazetteers define or describe geographical places. Gazetteers are useful for finding population, size, location, and sometimes who or what the place was named for. Answers questions similar to atlases, just not visually.
• Handbooks/manuals/guides are works that offer quick facts, formulas, equations, or names and addresses for a particular subject.
• Quotation books offer quotations arranged by subject, usually with detailed indexing by person and the quote itself. Most are general and cover all subjects, but there are specialized ones as well: for women, African-Americans, politics, etc. Answers questions such as "Who said 'Four score and seven years ago' and in what context?"
• Statistical compilations describe issues with numbers. Some are general in scope, the best known being the Statistical Abstract of the United States, but there are some that only cover a general subject, such as criminal justice or economics. Most statistical compilations are published by state, federal, or international agencies, and may then be found in the Government Publications area, rather that Reference. Answers questions such as "How many books were sold in the U.S. in 2002?"
• Yearbooks summarize events or knowledge accumulated during one year.