Reference Books

Reference books are those which are consulted for a specific fact or

for information on a definite subject.

Encyclopedia

• Contain basic information about a subject• Contain many volumes• Arranged alphabetically• Indexes and Guide Words• Kept up-to-date by new editions or yearbooks

Encyclopedia Examples

• Encyclopedia Britannica• The New International Encyclopedia• Encyclopedia Americana• World Book Encyclopedia• Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia• Lincoln Library• Our Wonderful World

A Set of Encyclopedias

• A set may contain any number of volumes.• What kind of encyclopedia is in the library?

Find the Following Letters• W• A• S• H• R• O• G• Y• M

• Z• F• B• L• X• D

Vol 1

A-C

Vol 2

D-F

Vol 3

G-Ja

Vol 4

Jb-K

Vol 5

L-Me

Vol 6

Mf-0

Vol 7

P-Ra

Vol 8

Rb-S

Vol 9

T-V

Vol

10

W-Z

•In which volume would you find Justin Timberlake?•In which volume would you find information about the United Nations?•In which volume would you find information about Ethiopia?

Using an Index

• What is an index?– The most reliable method of finding information

in most reference books.– It lists every subject covered in the encyclopedia

(in alphabetical order)

Using an Index, Example 1

AMERICAN LITERATURE 1-102Colonial Literature 1-102Midcentury Writers 1-107Realism 12-163220th-century Fiction 5-756

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 10-149113-1801

AMPHIBIAN 1-1115Body Temperature 5-632Frog 7-1018Lung 11-1512Reptile 15-2136Skeleton 1-144Teeth 17-2512Toad 18-2565

Main Topic Related Articles Volume Number Page Number

Using an Index, Example 1AMERICAN LITERATURE 1-102

Colonial Literature 1-102Midcentury Writers 1-107Realism 12-163220th-century Fiction 5-756

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION 10-149113-1801

AMPHIBIAN 1-1115Body Temperature 5-632Frog 7-1018Lung 11-1512Reptile 15-2136Skeleton 1-144Teeth 17-2512Toad 18-2565

Using an Index, Example 2

rock, or rock and roll (mus.) see Music 11:915:2adevelopment of

jazz-based: 6:612:3bpopular music: 8:161:2a

20:486:2a 15:1121:1binfluence on country music: 3:273:1ainfluence of the blues on: 2:302:3afamous vocalists: 14:114:3a

see also rock starsuse of

rhythm instruments: 24:541:1astringed instruments: 24:541:1asynthesizers: 3:43:2b

Entry Word ‘Rock’ & ‘Rock and Roll’ are musical

(mus.) terms

Volume NumberPage Number

Column Number

The main entry for ‘Rock’ is listed

under ‘Music’

Cross-References (where to look for more information)

An encyclopedia index entry for ‘Rock’ might look something like this.

Using an Index, Example 2

rock, or rock and roll (mus.) see Music 11:915:2adevelopment of

jazz-based: 6:612:3bpopular music: 8:161:2a

20:486:2a 15:1121:1binfluence on country music: 3:273:1ainfluence of the blues on: 2:302:3afamous vocalists: 14:114:3a

see also rock starsuse of

rhythm instruments: 24:541:1astringed instruments: 24:541:1asynthesizers: 3:43:2b

Cross References

• World Book Encyclopedia- ‘Snowstorm’• You wouldn’t find anything, it would direct

you to look under ‘Blizzard’• ‘See’• ‘See Also’

Key Words

• How do you know where you should look to find information?

• Determine specifically what your subject is.

• For what is Liberty Island of Upper New York known?

• When was the popular American poet Robert Frost born?

Using Guide Words

• The words located at the top of the pages of an encyclopedia

• Guide Words tell you the first and last entries on a page so you can determine if your subject is on the page.

Using Guide Words

rhyme Rivera, Diego

More Encyclopedia Hints

• Looks people up under their last names.• Most other subjects should be looked up by

their first words• Spell abbreviations out• Books are located by the first words of their

titles• Don’t look up royal persons by their titles.

• Would you use an encyclopedia to look up information on the Jonas Brothers? Why or why not?

Relevancy

• How are encyclopedias kept up-to-date• New editions– Very expensive to buy a new edition every year

• Yearbooks– An additional volume; contains updated

information about topics that have been updated.

Encyclopedia Activities