Publication to which one can refer for confirmed facts
This article is about a kind of publication. For the work that librarians perform at a library reference desk, seeReference desk.
TheBrockhaus Enzyklopädie, the best-known traditional reference book in German-speaking countriesTheLexikon des Mittelalters, a specialised German encyclopediaEncyclopædia Britannica, 15th edition: volumes of the Propedia (green), Micropedia (red), Macropedia (black), and 2-volume Index (blue)
Areference work is adocument, such as apaper,book orperiodical (or theirelectronic equivalents), to which one can refer forinformation.[1] The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usuallyreferred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end. The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid opinions and the use of the first person, and emphasize facts.
Indices are a common navigation feature in many types of reference works. Many reference works are put together by a team of contributors whose work is coordinated by one or more editors, rather than by an individual author. Updatededitions are usually published as needed, in some casesannually, such asWhitaker's Almanack, andWho's Who.
In mostpublic andacademic libraries, reference books are usually not available to be borrowed by patrons like the rest of the library's holdings. Reference books are either used very frequently—a dictionary or an atlas, for example—or very infrequently, such as a highly specializedconcordance. Because some reference books are consulted by patrons too frequently to have enough copies and others so infrequently that replacing it would be difficult, libraries prefer to make them available for photocopy rather than checkout.[4]
Chenoweth, Juneal M., ed. (24 June 2019).American Reference Books Annual. Santa Barbara, California: Libraries Unlimited.ISBN978-1-4408-6913-6. Published annually beginning in 1970.
Heeks, Peggy (1968).Books of Reference for School Libraries: An Annotated List (2nd ed.). London: Library Association.ASINB0006C36OO.
Lester, Ray, ed. (2015).New Walford Guide to Reference Resources, Volume 3: Arts, Humanities, and General Reference. London: Facet Publishing.ISBN978-1856044998.
Malclès, Louise Noëlle (1950).Les sources du travail bibliographique (in French). Geneva: Librairie Droz.
Totok, Wilhelm; Weitzel, Rolf (1984–1985).Handbuch der bibliographischen Nachschlagewerke (in German) (6th ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann. First published in 1954.
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