Mod6CbQuest

A feature found in nearly all libraries is a Reference Collection. A reference collection is a set of resources that has been set apart from the main collection, and the books always stay in the library (they cannot be checked out). The reference collection is a great place to begin when you are researching an unfamiliar subject area, or when you are looking for some factual data.

Reference books fall into several categories, each with its own purpose. Reference books are useful for answering factual questions and for getting an overview of a subject area that you may be unfamiliar with.

Reference Category	Description	Examples
Encyclopedias - Standard	Brief information on the entire spectrum of general interest knowledge	World Book Encyclopedia The New Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopedias - Specialized	Provide more in-depth information about various subject areas	Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace & Conflict
Dictionaries - Standard	Word definitions; translations from one language to another	Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Collins Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary
Dictionaries - Specialized	Similar to specialized encyclopedias	Dictionary of Religion Dictionary of Education
Biographical Dictionaries	Books that contain biographies (life stories) of individual people	Notable Mathematicians Who's Who Among African Americans
Almanacs	Brief statistical, historical or current information on the topic	The African-American Almanac An Almanac of the Christian Church
Atlases	Books of maps, depicting political boundaries, social movements & changes, historical events, etc.	The State of Women in the World Atlas Atlas of the World
Handbooks	Brief information on the topic of study, often providing guidance on how to do research in the subject area	School Violence: A Reference Handbook The Third World Handbook
Yearbooks	Annual publications to provide yearly updates about the activities of an organization, or to present summaries or reviews of contemporary events	Yearbook of the United Nations Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2000
Directories	Lists of organizations, providing addresses and brief descriptions	Mennonite Directory International Directory of Christian Arts Organizations
Statistical Resources	Numerical data, usually in the form of charts	A Statistical Portrait of the United States Statistical Abstract of the World
Bibliographies	Lists of books and articles on a specific topic (Most of EMU's bibliographies are located in the main collection rather than in the reference collection)	The United States Congress: An Annotated Bibliography, 1980-1993 Annotated Bibliography of Conflict Analysis and Resolution
Indexes and Abstracts	Citations to periodical articles (EMU's indexes and abstracts are in a separate section, beside the Reference Collection on the main floor)	Religion Index Psychological Abstracts