Reference books are located on level 3, the Art Library and the Music Library have their own reference sections.
Reference books are useful for quick fact checking and for background information. As such, they remain in the building. Examples of reference books include: almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias and indexes.
Almanacs — one volume summaries of current and historical facts and general knowledge. Examples:
World Almanac and Book of Facts, Guinness Book of Records
Atlases — book of maps. There are many kinds of atlases—physical, political, statistical, historical. Example:
The Times Atlas of the World
Dictionaries — alphabetical list of words. These can also focus on specific subjects. Examples:
Random House Webster’s College Dictionary, The Dictionary of Celtic Mythology
Encyclopedias — works that contain information on all branches of knowledge. There are general encyclopedias such as The New Encyclopaedia Britannica and specialized encyclopedias, such as The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
Indexes—print and electronic collections to periodical literature.
Example: Book Review Digest
Other types of reference sources include:
• bibliographies (lists of sources on specific topics)
• biographical sources (information on the lives of individuals)
• chronologies (dates and timelines for events)
• directories (address and phone number information)
Government documents and statistical sources are also considered reference. However, much of this information is available electronically.
The library also makes available e-reference books. Such e-reference books are located either as a link from the CUNY+ catalog or under Databases on our library homepage.
