Use Reference Books, such as encyclopedias, to get a general overview of your topic. Understanding basic background information helps you to begin your research. Reference sources generally provide several things:
- Background information & brief, factual overviews
- Information about important dates, events, and people
- Terminology and definitions
- Articles written by authors with expertise in the subject matter
- Bibliographies of sources for further reading
Reference books are located on the Main Floor of the library. The Information Desk staff will photocopy up to 20 pages from a reference book for students & faculty for free!
- Reference Universe
a unique database that allows you to search the article titles and/or back-of-the-book indexes for the subject encyclopedias that are in the Sojourner Truth Library. Entries link to the library catalog record of the reference books, allowing you to copy the library location and call number. It also links you to some online, full text entries when available.
Other ways of discovering Reference books:
- Use the Advanced Search in the STL Catalog and Limit search to: More Collections: Reference Collection
Library Guides & Databases
