Overview Of Library Sources

Reference - Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
General encyclopedias provide an overview or broad outline of a wide range of subjects.
Subject encyclopedias and dictionaries are specialized sources for background information and vocabulary in a particular area of interest.
Examples are:

General Encyclopedias:

Encyclopedia Americana [REF] AE 5 .E334
Encyclopaedia Britannica [now online, too!]  [REF] AE 5 .E333
World Book Encyclopedia [now online, too!] [REF] AE 5 .W35

Subject Encyclopedias:

Gale Virtual Reference Library [online -- collection of subject encyclopedias & other resources]
Oxford Reference Online [online -- dictionaries, encyclopedias, & more]
Sage eReference [online collection of specialized encyclopedias]

Look for these other kinds of sources that cover your subject area:

  • Almanacs
  • Handbooks or Guides
  • Statistical Sources (general call number = HA)
  • Quotation Books (general call number = PN 6000's)
  • New!  iPOLL = online source for United States public opinion data covering 1935 – present.

Circulating Materials

Search the online library catalog for books related to your topic. You may search by author, title, subject or keyword. Try limiting your search by media or language.

Periodicals

The term PERIODICAL includes magazines (intended for a wide variety of readers rather than specialists in a particular field), journals (intended for academic or professional readers) and newspapers. The following individual magazines are excellent resources for examining current issues:
CQ Researcher (available online)
Congressional Digest-A Pro & Con Monthly (available in print; current issue on display JK1 .C65)
Facts on File (available in print: [REF] D 410

INDEXES are tools which help you find periodical material in many periodicals about your subject or by a particular author. You can use indexes that offer coverage of a wide range of subjects such as:

Use subject specific indexes such as:

Web Sites
Here are a few useful web sites.

Internet Public Library

Librarians' Index to the Internet

JCCC Library Homepage (includes links to lots of great sites and lists of sites)

Carol Campbell, June 2009 Return to Guides Index