- Abstracting Services
This format is useful for finding an abbreviated version of the original or if you want a summary of a publication. If you are seeking the contents of periodicals, you might also try indexes and if you are seeking newspapers, try that format.
Atlases
This format is useful for finding geographical information, especially the location of places (e.g., countries and cities), comparative spatial information related to distances. This format can provide historical, social and political develop ment over time; please note that encyclopedias can also provide this information for more popular areas. If you need more detail (and less context), a sheet map may be a better source. Please ask for directions for this type of material. If you are seeki ng extensive narrative related to geographical places, you may need a guidebook. Finally, if you are seeking information about the origin of place names, please consult a gazetteer.
Bibliographies
This format is useful for finding lists of books (as well as reports and pamphlets) by author, or about an author, a subject or area. The best books on a subject can be found in a guide to the literature, a special form of bibliography. Gene rally, bibliographies do not provide call numbers, so you may wish to consult catalogs. If you are seeking an item's place of publication, publisher, total pagination, or cost of an item, a bibliography is a good place to begin.
Biographical Sources
This format is useful for finding information about people, especially notables, specialists and socialites. If you are interested in someone's field of endeavor (i.e., work or occupation), it also a good source of information. If the person is recently deceased and notable, you may find a newspaper obituary more useful. However, if you are seeking the address or telephone number of an individual, please try a directory.
Catalogs
This format is useful for finding the nearest copy (i.e., the local library call number) of an item you have found in the previous format, bibliographies.
Dictionaries
This format is useful for finding information about language, especially words and concepts. For an extended discussion, however, you may find encyclopedias more useful. Although some biographical sources are called "dictionaries," if you ar e seeking biographical information, please select biographical sources.
Directories
This format is useful for finding current, brief facts (i.e., addresses or affiliations) about individuals, groups or organizations (i.e., addresses, officers, functions, and publications) and products (i.e., addresses and functions). For mor e detailed information about people, please consult biographical sources.
Encyclopedias
This format is useful for recent information, general information, detailed information about concepts. Major biographical subjects may be covered as are significant geographical features. The best encyclopedias will also guide you to quick bibliographical references. However, you will usually do better to consult more specialized sources. If you are seeking technical or highly focused, extended discussions, you should consult a handbook or a bibliography for a monograph on your topic. Mor e current information on your topic may be found in a newspaper or periodical index.
Government Information
This format is useful when seeking an authoritative source covering a wide range of material or whenever you are seeking the official version. It is also a good source for statistical information as well as rules and regulations.
Handbooks
This format is useful for finding narrative information in a narrow, specialized, technical field. The information may be of an advanced nature in narrative form, and may cover current as well as historical aspects of the topic. It is often a good source for stray facts--curiosities, events, formulas, allusions and even statistics. More current information may be found in via yearbooks, encylopedias, and periodical indexes.
Indexes
This format is useful for finding current information, especially scholarly and techical presentations (i.e., journals) as well as popular presentations on topics of broad, general, widespread interest (i.e., magazines). If you have the corre ct, formal title of the periodical, the library location of magazines and journals can be determined via catalogs. For the location of who said what, please consult a quotation book under indexes.
Newspapers
This format is useful for seeking up-to-date sources of information, either popular or technical.
Statistical Information
This format is useful for seeking numerical information, especially if you need greater precision or accuracy. Rather than narrative information, you will often find the presentation is a table, graph, or figure.
Yearbooks
This format is useful for seeking current, up-to-date information, especially trend data and forecasts. Recent happenings can also be found in encyclopedias. For up-to-the-minute information, please consult an electronic source.
Please click on one of the selections above.
SOURCE FOR RULES:
John V. Richardson Jr. Knowledge-based Systems for General Reference Work: Applications, Problems, and Progress (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1995), 156-164. Copyright © 1997 by John V. Richardson Jr., OCLC Visiting Distinguished Scholar
John V. Richardson Last modified: Wed Jun 11 15:16:36 EDT 1997