Reference Tools
Find the right reference tool to help get you started with your research!
Search Reference Universe, an index to thousands of reference titles to help you find encyclopedias, handbooks, and dictionaries (both in print and online).
Browse electronic encyclopedias and dictionaries by Language or Subject
Ask the subject librarian for the topic you're studying.
Use the subject resource guides prepared by subject librarians
Select a general purpose or multidiciplinary tool from the list below:
- Britannica Online
- Credo Reference
- Gale Virtual Reference Library
- Oxford English Dictionary
- Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
- Oxford Reference Online
Still haven't found what you need?
choose a category below:
Acronyms & Abbreviations
- Acronym Database
- Acronym Finder
- Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations
- The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations
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Almanacs
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Biography
- American National Biography
- The American Presidency
- Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon
- Contemporary Authors
- Dictionary of Political Biography
- A Dictionary of Political Biography
- Dictionary of Scientists
- A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works
- The Kings and Queens of Britain
- Library Spot: Biographies
- A New Dictionary of Eponyms
- The Oxford Companion to American Literature
- The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature
- The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature
- The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature
- The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Literature in English
- The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- The Oxford Dictionary of Popes
- The Oxford Dictionary of Saints
- The Oxford Guide to People and Places of the Bible
- Who's Who in Opera
- Who's Who in the Classical World
- Who's Who in the Twentieth Century
- World Biographical Dictionary of Artists
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Book & Journal titles
- ABEBooks
- Alibris
- Available Periodical Titles
- Books in Print
- Choice Reviews Online
- JournalSeek
- The Online Books Page
- PubList.com SM
- Schoenhof's Foreign Books
- Strand Books
- Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory
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Citation Styleguides
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Illustrations & Images
- AP Images
- ARTStor
- Credo Reference
- Index to Christian Art
- Reed Digital Collections
- Visual English Dictionary
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Law, Patents & Trademarks
- Oxford Reference Online for Law
- U. S. Patent and Trademark Office
- Virtual Chase
- WashLaw
- World Intellectual Property Organization
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Maps & Place Names
- Map Collections: American Memory, Library of Congress
- Map Machine @ National Geographic
- TIGER Map Service
- TopoZone
- Tri-Met Maps
- U.S. Gazetteer
- World Maps
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Phone, Email & Zip Codes
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Quotations
- American Rhetoric
- Bartlett's Quotations
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
- The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations
- The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
- Oxford Reference Online for Quotations
- Quotations at Bartleby.com
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Time & Dates
- 10,000 Year Calendar
- Calendar Zone
- Official U.S. Time
- Time Zone Converter
- Timeanddate.com
- U.S. Naval Observatory: Astronomical Applications
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Weather & Climate
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