Reference sources provide facts, definitions, and other helpful information. Often organized by subject or alphabetically, they are not meant to be read sequentially. Reference materials are typically not allowed to be checked out of a library.
Some General References
- Dictionaries list the words of a language in alphabetical order and provides information about each one.
- Encyclopedias contain short articles about many different topics.
- Almanacs provide facts and statistics on a wide variety of subjects, such as weather, sports, and government.
- Biographies tell the stories of people’s lives.
- Atlases contain maps of the world.
- Handbooks provide basic information on a specific subject.
- Yearbooks summarize events that happened in a particular year.
- Gazetteers provide geographical information, such as country profiles, city data, and population estimates.