The Reference Area of the Library is to your right as you enter the building. Call numbers in the reference collection all begin with an R. Reference materials do not circulate outside the Library. A photocopier is available in the Reference area if copies from the books are needed. You will use reference books in many classes at Grayson, but you can also use them to help you solve day-to-day problems that arise in your life. You will find dictionaries, almanacs, handbooks, bibliographies and serial indexes, directories, encyclopedias, and biographical works in this area.
If you have an information need, how do you find the information? There is more to finding information and using a library than just learning which buttons to push on a computer. As a step toward becoming information-literate, we want you to become familiar with the physical layout of the reference area, the organization of the reference materials themselves, and the whys, whens, and hows of using this material.
There are various ways to find information - you could ask an expert, you might do an Internet search, or you could look up the answer in a Reference book. Before you start looking for an answer, you first need to know what your question is. So, before you start digging, think about your question. Formulate your topic so that when you find information, you'll know whether or not if is information that will answer your question.
Different categories of reference books will answer various types of questions. After you have formulated your question, think about what kind of reference book would have an answer to your question. There are general library resources that will help you become familiar with your subject, and there are specialized resources that will help you once you get beyond a general understanding of your topic.
Before you learn about the various categories of reference books, let's review what they have in common. These books are tools and to know how to use them most efficiently, to get the best results, you must learn how to use them. They do not all work the same way. Conversely, most reference books have some common features. In the front of nearly every reference book, there will be an introduction, or a "how to use this book" section. Find this section and read this information before you start plowing through the book. Locate the index to the reference tool - there may be a separate volume for just the index. Look in the introduction, at the title or the copyright date to see what material is covered in the work. If you are researching the 1920's, a historical encyclopedia of the 19th century will not be helpful. Most reference books will offer a bibliography of sources. If the reference book itself doesn't answer your question, it could be that one of the sources cited would be of more help. Pay attention to those sources, and look in BARRCat or the Periodicals Holdings List for those.
English 1301: Proceed to Step Four: BARRCat and Boolean Operators
English 1302 Students Only! Read about each of the following types of reference tools:
Introductory subject tools such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, and guides to the literature are an excellent place to start. You may need to understand what you are writing about before you can proceed with your research. General encyclopedias and dictionaries, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica or the Random House College Dictionary, will give you a firmer grasp of a subject that may be new to you.
Frequently, you may need more information than a general encyclopedia or dictionary provides. If you need a definition of a term, there are specialized dictionaries in each field. A general dictionary may have a very brief definition of realism, but if your English teacher has assigned you to find a definition of realism, you're better off in a specialized dictionary in the Literature section. If you are taking a telecommunications course, the general dictionaries may not include a lot of the new terminology. A new, specialized dictionary in that area will have your answers.
Specialized encyclopedias will provide you with summary and useful background information for a large project or may furnish you with answers to quick questions. You'll find bibliographies and lists of references in these encyclopedias to further your search for information. The Dictionary of American History, the New Grove dictionary of Music and Musicians, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Physics and Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia are all examples of specialized encyclopedias. Note that in our library, some of the specialized encyclopedias are shelved on the index tables in the Reference area on the first floor.
Almanacs are a wonderful reference tool. Using almanacs solves many of the questions that come up at libraries. Almanacs are books of facts, usually published annually. You'll find short articles about news events from the year of publication, statistics, and general information on topics such as the birthdays of actors, calorie charts, and lists of Presidents and vice-presidents. At this library, we have general almanacs like the World Almanac, and the Texas Almanac for concise information on Texas. Some of these almanacs have indexes at the front of the book, others at the end of the book. You won't find a lot of bibliographic citations in almanacs, but rather, quick facts.
When you are writing a paper or a speech, or are just looking for hard numbers with which to support an argument, you can turn to one of several sources. The Statistical Abstract of the United States is an annual compilation of statistics collected by the federal government. When you use this resource, note that when you look up your subject in the index, you'll be directed to a table number, not a page number. Notice also that at the foot of the chart you have the source of the statistics. If you want to see the source document and gather more information from it, look in BARRcat or request the document through Interlibrary Loan. The Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics is another example of a specialized statistics source.
When you are looking for information about people, you'll find that reference works usually specialize in nationalities, careers, or some other specific category. So, before you start choosing biographical sources at random, think about the person you are researching. You probably know a little about the person already. Is the person male or female, dead or alive, American or European, an artist or a scientist? Once you categorize your person, you can refer to the reference biographical works. For deceased individuals of some note, the Dictionary of National Biography and the Dictionary of American Biography cover England and the United States, respectively. For current, living personages, use Current Biography or a Who's Who. Who was Who contains information about deceased individuals. Many of these sources will include a list of sources about the individuals described.
Another category of reference tool is the handbook. Handbooks were initially books that would fit into your hand that you could use for quick, detailed fact-finding in a specific subject area. The Merck Manual, and the Guinness Book of World Records are examples. The New Handbook of Texas is an example of a Texas-sized handbook that has grown into a specialized encyclopedia.
A common type of reference work that you probably already use frequently is the directory. Directories are used to find an address or name. When you use directories, think of them not only as your research's ending point, but also as a list of places and people from which you could get even more information. We have a reference work called the Serials Directory which is a directory of periodicals. These volumes provide bibliographic and ordering information about journals. You might discover a journal on a specialized topic to which you would like to subscribe. Chase's Calendar of Events is arranged chronologically, and describes special events celebrated on each day.
Another directory, the Encyclopedia of Associations, can lead you to groups that specialize in certain areas. Although this is entitled "Encyclopedia," it is really a directory of names and addresses. If you are writing a paper on respiratory diseases, searching here might lead you to the American Lung Association which could send you free brochures and lists of other resources. If you looked in a College directory, you would find lists of colleges with phone numbers and addresses to contact for more information.
Pay close attention to the indexes in these directories. Sometimes there will be several different sets of indexes. Again, if you examine reference books before you dig into them, read the introduction, and look at the indexes, you'll get the best results from the book.
After you have perused dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks, you can find additional sources from selective bibliographies and serial indexes (that is, serial as in periodical). We have specialized bibliographies on many subjects, most of them at the beginning of the Reference Area. If you have researched the encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference sources, and need still more information, this is the category of reference tool you need to use next. We own such titles as Women in American History, the Guide to the History of Texas, and A Guide to the Zoological Literature. To use these titles, start with the indexes in these books. You'll be directed to a list of citations on your subject, and you'll then need to determine if we own the sources that are listed. When you find sources in the bibliographies or indexes, your next step is BARRcat, or the periodicals holdings list. Remember that if we do not have the journal or book that you need, we can get it for you through Interlibrary Loan if you give us several weeks' notice.
We want you to learn that there exist relevant sources for almost any topic and that if you plan a search strategy, your search will be fruitful. Your experience with new reference tools will be facilitated by knowing how reference tools work. We certainly don't expect you to know every single reference source, and we want to encourage you to consult with Grayson's reference librarians. Keep in mind that while you can do your preliminary bibliographic searching here in this library, because we are limited in our resources, you should be prepared to go outside the library (through interlibrary loan) sometimes, to actually locate the material. ILL or Interlibrary loan allows you to get articles and books from other libraries if Grayson County College Library does not own the materials.
Updated 28 August 2003.
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