Wiki: Reference work - upcScavenger

A reference work is a document, such as a paper, book, or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than being read in its entirety. The writing style used in these works is informative, with the authors avoiding opinions and the use of the first-person perspective, and emphasizing facts.

Indices are a common navigation feature in many types of reference works. Many reference works are put together by a team of contributors whose work is coordinated by one or more editors, rather than by an individual author. Updated editions are usually published as needed, in some cases annually, such as Whitaker's Almanack, and Who's Who.

Reference works include , , , bibliography, biographical sources, cataloging such as and art catalogs, concordances, dictionary, directories such as business directories and telephone directories, discography, Encyclopedia, filmography, gazetteer, glossary, , indices such as bibliographic indices and citation index, user guide, research guides, , and .

Joan Reitz (2026). 9781591580751, Bloomsbury Academic. . ISBN 9781591580751

While traditionally printed, reference works are often available in electronic formats, including reference software, , , and online access via the Internet. Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, is both the largest and the most-read reference work in history.

Library reference book

In many Public library and Academic library, reference books are not available for borrowing. Reference books may be consulted frequently, such as dictionaries or atlases, or very rarely, like a highly specialized concordance. Because some reference books are in constant demand while others are used so infrequently that replacement would be difficult, they may be kept on-site and made available for photocopying or digital scanning instead of checkout.

Types of reference works

Biographical dictionary

Index (publishing)|Index

Books of quotations
Catalogues of classical compositions

Electronic resources

An electronic resource is a computer program or data that is stored electronically, which is usually found on a computer, including information that is available on the Internet.

Joan Reitz (2026). 9781563089626, Bloomsbury Academic. . ISBN 9781563089626

Libraries offer numerous types of electronic resources including e-text such as e-book and electronic journals, bibliographic databases, institutional repositories, , and software applications.

Reference work

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