CSI Library: Reference Sources: General Reference

General Reference Databases

Credo Reference
Credo Reference's curated, authoritative reference sources provide a firm foundation for understanding a topic. Core Collection subscribers can search in hundreds of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations, and subject-specific book titles and video titles, as well as thousands of images, audio files, and maps.Very easily navigable resource with over two million titles in many different subject areas ranging from agriculture to philosophy.
Biography Reference Center
Biography Reference Center is an easy to use database of more than 460,000 full-text biographies. Everything is clearly labelled and laid out. In addition to standard search by name or occupation, the database allows for browsing by categories including actors, authors, composers, explorers, figures relevant to U.S. & world history, inventors, musicians, Presidents of the United States, or current world leaders. Gives access to research tools like new search, curriculum standards and citation help.
Gale EBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
Digital reference collection containing over 400 full text encyclopedias, almanacs, handbooks, and specialized reference books in a variety of subjects such as arts, biography, business, education, environment, law, general reference, history, information and publishing, library science, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, nation and world, religion. science. social science, Spanish and technology.. Search for articles across all the books in the database or browse through specialized subject specific encyclopedias. All articles are also indexed in the library's primary catalog, OneSearch.
Britannica Academic
This database is an online version of the classic Encyclopedia Britannica, with added articles and links to word definitions. It provides not only basic background information, but provides in-depth information on regions, cultures, historical events and important topics across all academic fields. Its strengths include quick access to authoritative information and basic analysis.
MasterFile Complete
Multidisciplinary database offering full text articles from popular magazines, newspapers, and some peer-reviewed journals. Also includes biographies, maps, world facts, and definitions from general reference books.
Coverage Dates: 1975 to present
Chicago Manual of Style Online
Electronic edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, the authoritative source for Chicago citation style and writing guidelines used in History and the Humanities. Print edition located in Reference [Call Number: Z253.U69 2003]
MAS Ultra - School Edition
Designed specifically for high school libraries, this database provides full text from more than 650 popular general interest and current events publications covering general reference, health, science, and other areas.
Coverage Dates: 1975 to present
Oxford Reference Online
Digital collection of online reference books in all fields of study including dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and subject reference works. Search by keyword or browse titles by subject.
Sage Reference and Academic Books
Sage Reference and Academic Books has scholarly eBooks, professional development materials, and reference works such as encyclopedias and handbooks. The collection is particularly strong in the social sciences. For Sage scholarly Journals, see the "Sage Premier" entry.

General Reference Books

The Oxford Guide to Library Research by Thomas Mann
Call Number: Reference Z710 .M23 2015

ISBN: 9780199931040

Publication Date: 2015-03-27

The information world has undergone drastic changes since the publication of the 3rd edition of The Oxford Guide to Library Research in 2005, and Thomas Mann, a veteran reference librarian at the Library of Congress, has extensively revised his text to reflect those changes. This book will answer two basic questions: First, what is the extent of the significant research resources you will you miss if you confine your research entirely, or even primarily, to sources available on the open Internet? Second, if you are trying to get a reasonably good overview of the literature on a particular topic, rather than just "something quickly" on it, what are the several alternative methods of subject searching - which are not available on the Web - that are usually much more efficient for that purpose than typing keywords into a blank search box, with the results displayed by relevance-ranking computer algorithms? This book shows researchers how to do comprehensive research on any topic.
Cultural Anthropology by JoAnn Jacoby; Josephine Kibbee
Call Number: Reference GN 42 .J33 2007

ISBN: 9781591583578

Publication Date: 2007-05-30

The latest edition of a major literature guide provides citations and informative annotations on a wide range of reference sources, including manuals, bibliographies, indexes, databases, literature surveys and reviews, dissertations, book reviews, conference proceedings, awards, and employment and grant sources. The organization closely follows that of the 1st edition, with some much-needed additions relating to online resources and new areas of interest within the field (such as forensic anthropology, environmental anthropology, and Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgendered Anthropology). Separate sections focus on individual subfields, as well as emerging concerns such as ethical issues in cultural heritage preservation. For academic and research library collections, as well as faculty members in anthropology, area studies, and intercultural studies.
The Oxford Classical Dictionary by Antony Spawforth (Editor); Esther Eidinow; Simon Hornblower (Editor)
Call Number: Reference DE5 .O9 2012

ISBN: 9780199545568

Publication Date: 2012-05-04

For over sixty years, The Oxford Classical Dictionary has been the unrivalled one-volume reference in the field of classics. Now completely revised and updated to include the very latest research findings, developments, and publications, this highly acclaimed reference work will be the most up-to-date and comprehensive dictionary available on all aspects of the classical era. In over 6,700 entries written by the very best of classical scholars from around the world, the Dictionary provides coverage of Greek and Roman history, literature, myth, religion, linguistics, philosophy, law, science, art, archaeology, near eastern studies, and late antiquity. New entries supplement the existing material, including entries on topics such as Adrasteia, Latin anthologies, Jewish art, ancient religious beliefs, emotions, film, gender, kinship, and many more. Other specific developments include an added focus on two new areas: "anthropology" and "reception". All entries are written in an accessible style and all Latin and Greek words have been translated to ensure ease of use.
The Oxford English Dictionary by John Simpson (Editor); Edmund Weiner (Editor)
Call Number: Reference PE1625 .O87 1989

ISBN: 9780198611868

Publication Date: 1989-03-30

The 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. It traces the usage of words through 2.4 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources. The OED has a unique historical focus. Accompanying each definition is a chronologically arranged group of quotations that trace the usage of words, and show the contexts in which they can be used. The quotations are drawn from a huge variety of sources worldwide - literary, scholarly, technical, and popular - and represent authors as disparate as Geoffrey Chaucer and Erica Jong, William Shakespeare, Charles Darwin and Isabella Beeton.
The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia by David Crystal (Editor)
Call Number: Reference CT103 .C26 1994

ISBN: 9780521434218

Publication Date: 1994-06-02

The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia is an exciting, new kind of book - a book which combines the ease of use of an A-Z dictionary with the overview and readability of a thematic encyclopedia. Fully illustrated and with a range of unique features, The Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia features unrivalled coverage of the world's most prominent people, past and present - more than 25,000 individuals - while giving the reader new insights into history, politics, science and culture. This innovative new book comprises: A-Z section: the bulk of the book, uniquely comprehensive with over 15,000 short biographies, international in coverage and clearly written.