Publication to which one can refer for confirmed facts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A reference work is a work, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information.[1] The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end. The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid opinions and the use of the first person, and emphasize 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 textbooks, almanacs, atlases, bibliographies, biographical sources, catalogs such as library catalogs and art catalogs, concordances, dictionaries, directories such as business directories and telephone directories, discographies, encyclopedias, filmographies, gazetteers, glossaries, handbooks, indices such as bibliographic indices and citation indices, manuals, research guides, thesauruses, and yearbooks.[2] Reference works, while traditionally printed, are often available in electronic form and can be obtained as reference software, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or online through the Internet. Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia, is both the largest and the most-read reference work in history.[3]
In most public and academic libraries, reference books are usually not available to be borrowed by patrons like the rest of the library's holdings. Reference books are either used very frequently—a dictionary or an atlas, for example—or very infrequently, such as a highly specialized concordance. Because some reference books are consulted by patrons too frequently to have enough copies and others so infrequently that replacing it would be difficult, libraries prefer to make them available for photocopy rather than checkout.[4]
The main types and categories of reference works include:
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.[5] Libraries offer numerous types of electronic resources including electronic texts such as electronic books and electronic journals, bibliographic databases, institutional repositories, websites, and software applications.[5]
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