The document discusses various types of reference sources available in a library including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, maps, and more. It provides examples of reference questions a library can help answer and describes the different reference sources that would be useful for topics like meanings of words, developments in an industry, book series information, Olympics details, and biographies. Sources mentioned include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, telephone directories, newspapers, journals, and more.

2. What's in a library? + +

3. Reference Sources • Provide short, to-the-point factual information • Good starting point – provide definitions & general Information • Not for continuous reading • Arranged alphabetical order or according to any classification scheme Encyclopedias Dictionaries Directories Atlases and maps

4. Library Services Book lending Reading room Printing Photocopy Information search Current awareness service E-journals Multimedia collection

5. How can I find the meaning of the word ` unobtrusive ' ? What developments took place in computer industry during last year ? Where can I find a list of all books in Harry Porter series ?

6. How can get information on Olympics ? Please give me the names and addresses of Engineering Colleges in India ? Biography of K.R Narayanan , former President of India..

9. All about Olympics??? History? Baron Pierre de Coubertin? Winter Olympics? Paralympics? Olympic Games host cities?

10. Encyclopedia An encyclopaedia is a systematic summary of the knowledge that is most significant to man-kind. It is a work containing information on all subjects or limited to a special field or subject, arranged in systematic (usually alphabetical) order

11. Getting a general understanding of a subject, e.g. Artificial Intelligence For checking general knowledge that you have forgotten, e.g. Second World War A very obscure detail, such as the names of the founders of the United Nations

12. General Encyclopedia Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Americana Chambers's Encylopaedia Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopaedia Collier's Encyclopaedia Oxford Junior Encyclopaedia

13. Encyclopaedia Britannica http://www.britannica.com/ The Encyclopædia Britannica is a general English-language encyclopaedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in print. It was first published between 1768 and 1771 in , Scotland. The current 15th edition has a unique three-part structure: a 12-volume Micropædia of short articles (generally fewer than 750 words), a 17-volume Macropædia of long articles (two to 310 pages) and a single Propædia volume to give a hierarchical outline of knowledge.

14. Encyclopedia Americana E ncyclopedia Americana is one of the largest general encyclopedias in the English language. Following the acquisition of Grolier in 2000, the encyclopedia has been produced by Scholastic. The encyclopedia has more than 45,000 articles. Written by 6,500 contributors, most articles are signed by their contributors, available as a 30-volume print set. The online version of the Encyclopedia Americana , first introduced in 1997. It is available to libraries as one of the options in the Grolier Online reference service.

15. Special Encyclopedia McGraw-Hill Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences Encyclopaedia of Library and Information Science Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature

16. WIKIPEDIA Wikipedia is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project based on an openly editable model. The name "Wikipedia" is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites) and encyclopedia.Anyone with Internet access can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles . Users can contribute anonymously, under a pseudonym, or with their real identity, if they choose.

17. How can I find the meaning of the word ` unobtrusive ' ?

18. Dictionaries Definition Spelling Pronunciation Usage Synonyms, antonyms and homonyms Abbreviations, signs and symbols Slang New words, new meanings for old words Dialect Foreign terms in English writings Grammatical information Etymology

20. Alternate Names for Dictionaries There are some reference books, which also deal with words but are known by various other names. They have identical purpose with a slight difference in scope. They are known as, a) Glossary b) Lexicon c) Thesaurus d) Vocabulary

21. Glossary Glossary is an alphabetical list of terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms Eg. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. A Shakespeare Glossary

22. Lexicon Lexicon is a dictionary of words of a language, arranged alphabetically giving-meaning in another language Greek - English Lexicon English - Chinese Lexicon of Women Law

23. Thesaurus A thesaurus is a reference work that lists words grouped together according to similarity of meaning (containing synonyms and sometimes antonyms) Roget's International Thesaurus The Oxford Children's Thesaurus

24. Vocabulary It is often used for a stock of words and phrases with brief explanations and meaning restricted to a single work or author An International Vocabulary of Technical Theater Terms in 8 languages

25. Biography of Albert Einstein...

26. Biographical Sources "A biographical dictionary is a directory of notable persons, usually arranged alphabetically by surnames, with biographical identification that range from brief outline to extended narrative"

27. Features Full name, pseudonym, etc. of an eminent person Dade of birth and death, Education Institutions served, period of service, position held, etc. Achievements, inventions, etc., Awards received/ year/ purpose Publications, Professional affiliations Present address. Telephone number, etc: Family members (wife, sons, daughters) etc.

28. India Who's Who Who's Who of Indian Writers/Sahitya academy Artists Directory/ Lalita Kala Academy International Who's Who Who's Who in the World Dictionary of lnternational Biography Rajya Sabha Who' Who

29. Geographical Sources Maps Atlases Globes Gazetteers Travel guides

30. Year Book The basic purpose of yearbooks is to record annual developments in a geographical area, in a subject discipline or in an organisation.

31. Directories A list of names, addresses etc., of specific classes of people or organizations, often in alphabetical order or in some classification

32. Europa Year Book Statesman 's Yearbook Yearbook of the United Nations India: A Reference Annual www.publicationsdivision.nic.in Manorama Year Book

33. Government publications Official publication issued by a government publishing facility Examples: • Statutes • Acts • Government gazette • Debates of parliament http://india.gov.in/govt/publication.php

34. Audiovisual media CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-Ray, Video’s, etc. House MD. Season one disc 1 [video recording]. Los Angeles: Universal; 2005. MEDOV 1083 HOUSE Dental anatomy & 3-D interactive tooth atlas [electronic resource]

35. Bibliographic databases... • Do not contain full text documents – representations of documents • Usually author, title, source, abstract, keywords • Sometimes a hyperlink to full text version • Important databases for health: Medline, African Healthline, MDConsult, Health & Wellness Resource Center

36. Newspapers ? ? ?

37. Periodical publications -Scientific journals -Popular magazine

38. Research reports -Theses -Dissertations

40. THANK YOU BIJU V.V & VIMAL KUMAR V. Library Assistant Mahatma Gandhi University Library Kottayam