Reference Sources

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Subjects: Current Events, First Year Writing, Orientation

Reference sources are available in general or subject specifics contexts and in print or online formats. You need to evaluate each source and determine which are helpful to you and appropriate for you to use.

Examples:

Encyclopedias
Dictionaries
Almanacs
Glossaries
Handbooks
Atlases
Bibliographies
Indexes

Reference materials are good starting points for research projects because they can provide:

background or introductory information on a topic
terminology or additional keywords to use in further searches
a bibliography listing other materials on a topic

Online Reference Shelf

Biography - Gale in Context This link opens in a new window
Find biographies of people, searching by occupation, nationality, ethnicity, birth and death date, and of course by name. Courtesy Massachusetts Library System.
Britannica Online This link opens in a new window
Free site available to all. See also Britannica sources provided by the Mass. Board of Library Commissioners for Children, Young Adults, Reference and Escolar Online.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Search hundreds of reference sources - dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, quotations and atlases - for topic overviews and links to our other online resources. Includes mind map/concept map search feature.
Gale Ebooks This link opens in a new window
Find introductory articles in all disciplines, business plans, directories and more.