Definitions of Key Reference Resource Types

Abstracts - An abstract summarizes the contents of a larger work, such as a book or article. An abstract is never subjective, and offers a concise description of the information contained in the work without the interjection of any personal analysis from the abstract author. Abstracts can be used to give a researcher a general idea of the contents of a work itself. If one reads an abstract and decides that the work will be useful, then the actual work itself can be retrieved for use.

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Almanacs - An almanac is a general reference source that includes information regarding individual people, nations, specific events, and other types of information. It contains very basic information about its entries, and there is a notable absence of overtly creative language throughout. While many almanacs are more general and include entries pertaining to many different subjects and topics, there are specific almanacs which cover specific subject areas. Almanacs are good sources of information because they are usually published frequently. They contain recent, up to date information and can show trends in a subject area. Also, almanacs are a good source of brief information, and often contain citations for their sources of information. Additionally, they can be utilized for biographical or directory information.

Bibliographies - In the broadest definition of the word, the term bibliography means a "list of books". However, the term bibliography has come to mean a reference tool that assists in providing information about a book or other work such as film or recordings, including author, publisher, and place of publication. One may choose to utilize a bibliography when attempting to locate relevant works about a particular topic, subject, or author. They can also be used as a verification tool for checking citation information.
Biographical Sources - A biographical source is one in which information is given about individual people. They may contain very brief information about an entry, or may offer more detailed and complete information about the history of someone's life. Most often, the individuals listed have made some significant contribution to warrant their inclusion in the source. One may choose to use a biographical source when wishing to find information about a specific person in a certain field.
Word Origins Dictionary Hindu Dictionary Dictionaries - Dictionaries include information about words, either generally, such as in Webster's New World College Dictionary, or in a more specific sense, such as A Dictionary of Weather. They may offer information such as spelling or definitions. Some examples of different dictionaries are General English language, paperback, historical dictionaries, etymological dictionaries foreign language dictionaries, subject works, and "other" types that do not fall into any of these categories, such as slang dictionaries.
Directories - A directory includes information about people or organizations arranged in some type of order that facilitates finding their location in the directory. Entries include information such as addresses, and affiliations for people, and other information for organizations, such as finances, officers, and purposes of the organizations. Directories are often used to find specific information about people or organizations, information about a company's services or products, individuals in particular organizations responsible for different tasks, and biographical information or the history of an organization.

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Guides - Guides are tools that are often the best possible resources to use for a certain task. For instance, a guide to reference books would offer entries that describe the best possible reference resources for libraries and would serve to offer assistance to a library that wishes to evaluate its reference collection. There are many different types of guides available, covering a vast array of subject areas, including guides to pamphlets, periodicals, newspapers, and government documents.

Handbooks - A handbook is a reference source that concentrates on a specific subject area and usually focuses on established information as opposed to the latest, most current developments in the field. The use of many handbooks often requires having a basic knowledge of a subject area because they often contain information and use language that may be difficult for casual readers to comprehend. Handbooks cover a limited area of knowledge, and can be used by people interested in gaining specific in-depth knowledge about a specific topic.
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Indexes - An index is a tool which allows a user various access points to locate needed information. Access points can include author, title, subject or publisher, among other things. Entries in an index have been carefully analyzed in order to determine which terms are most likely to be used as access points by an index user. Also, indexes vary in scope from the general, such as Lexis Nexis Academic, to the specific, such as International Pharmaceutical Abstracts. An index may be used in certain situations in which one has a particular area of interest and desires works relating to that interest, or possibly an author name or title to be used to locate works.

Manuals - A manual, much like a handbook, deals with a very specific subject matter and is narrow in scope. However, the material covered within the manual is often quite detailed and difficult to understand unless the reader possesses some type of background knowledge of the subject. Manuals, like handbooks, are often used when one needs information dealing with a specific topic or procedure on a much more focused, detail-oriented level.

Yearbooks - A yearbook is a reference tool that contains information pertaining to a specific year. While a yearbook does not contain information from previous years, it does contain quite a bit of information dealing with that one particular year, often separated by characteristics such as subject area or geographic boundary. While many yearbooks are general in scope, there are also many that deal with particular topics and include statistical information.

*** The definitions above are based on information from William A. Katz' 7th edition of Introduction to Reference Work, published by McGraw Hill (New York), in 1997.

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