REFERENCES

AND
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
 Reference Materials
■ Are the starting point of an
academic research;
■ Provide background information
about the subject;
■ Can give answers to specific
questions;
■ Can be general or specific in
scope;
■ Witnessed a great shift towards
the electronic format.
The Reference section in an
academic library mainly includes:

Encyclopedias

Dictionaries
Encyclopedias
■ Encyclopedias help you answer questions such as:

What is the coronavirus?

Encyclopedias
■ Encyclopedias are useful for:
Getting fast and easy access to comprehensive
and authoritative information, including all or
nearly all elements or aspects of a subject and
relating to a better understanding of this subject.

■ Examples of famous Encyclopedias:

■ Encyclopedia Britannica
■ Encyclopédie Universalis
■ ‫الموسوعة العربية‬
■ Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org
Encyclopedias - Wikipedia
■ A free and non-profit online encyclopedia*.
■ Available in 309 languages.
■ Articles are written and updated primarily by
anonymous volunteers*.
■ Evaluation skills are needed*.
■ “Knowing when to use Wikipedia and when to go
beyond it is a crucial aspect of modern digital
literacy” *.
■ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVFPW0r4jWk

* Konieczny, P. (2016). Teaching with Wikipedia in a 21st-century classroom: Perceptions of Wikipedia and its
educational benefits. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 67(7), 1523-
1534. doi:10.1002/asi.23616
Dictionaries
■ Dictionaries help you answer questions such as:

What is the synonym/meaning of “bullying”?

What does ADHD stand for?
Dictionaries
■ Dictionaries are useful for:
Searching for definitions, synonyms,
pronunciations, translations, acronyms, technical
terms, lexicon or vocabulary of a certain domain.

■ Examples of famous Dictionaries:

■ Oxford English Dictionary
■ Le Nouveau Petit Robert
■ Webster's New World Dictionary
Other types of Reference Material
available in an academic library:

Directories
Almanacs
Yearbooks
Handbooks & Manuals
Biographical sources
Geographical sources
 Directories
■ Directories help you answer questions such as:
What is the nearest café in town?

■ Directories are useful for:

Listing people, companies, institutions, organizations
and providing contact information (names, addresses,
phone numbers, etc.)
Helping users to know about people, places, and
organizations.

■ Examples of famous directories:

■ Yellow Pages: http://www.yellowpages.com.lb/
■ Zomato: https://www.zomato.com/beirut
 Almanacs
■ Almanacs help you answer questions such as:
Who is the most followed athlete on Twitter?
What’s the world record for most burgers eaten in 1
minute?

■ Almanacs are useful for:

Presenting collection of facts, statistics, and lists all
gathered together in a convenient format for easy
reference.

■ Examples of famous almanacs:

■ Guinness World Records
■ http://www.infoplease.com
 Yearbooks
■ Yearbooks help you answer questions such as:
Who were the Faculty of Sciences graduates in year
2000 at UOB?

■ Yearbooks are useful for:

Recording a snapshot of what the world, country or
institution was like in a given year, including summaries
of major events, achievements, names of people in
power.

■ Examples of famous yearbooks:

■ University of Balamand Yearbook
■ Lebanon Statistical Yearbook
http://www.cas.gov.lb/index.php/statistical-
yearbook
 Handbooks & Manuals
■ Handbooks & Manuals help you answer questions such
as:
How do I cite a book?
How do I setup Apple TV?

■ Handbooks & Manuals are useful for:

Providing step-by-step instructions on how to do specific
tasks.

■ Examples of famous handbooks & manuals:

■ APA Style Citation Manual
■ The Essential Job Interview Handbook
 Biographical Sources
■ Biographical sources help you answer questions such as:
When was Queen Elizabeth II born? When did she
become queen?

■ Biographical sources are useful for:

Providing information on people who are or were well
known.

■ Examples of famous biographical sources:

■ Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century
Philosophers
■ https://www.biography.com
 Geographical Sources
■ Geographical sources help you answer questions such
as:
How can I reach Hamra Street?

■ Geographical sources are useful for:

Retrieving information about places such as cities,
towns, lakes, rivers, forests etc. such as Maps and
Travel guides.

■ Examples of famous geographical sources:

■ https://www.worldatlas.com
■ Google Maps
Through UOB Libraries, you have access to:
■ Print references available among the print reference collection and
searchable via the library catalog.
– Print references are “building use” (non-circulating) materials that
can be used only within the library premises.
■ Electronic references searchable through the library electronic
databases/resources.
– Examples of library databases that provide electronic reference
entries are Credo Reference and Encyclopedia Britannica Online