Library Resource Guide for: VIRTUAL REFERENCE

Virtual Reference Home

This listing of reference materials is comprised primarily of online sources to which Brown subscribes. Most items provide full-text online, but a few index-only and print sources are also included. To find other reference materials which are freely available on the web, see the ready reference section of the Internet Public Library.

Listed below are three reference databases which include dictionaries, thesauri, books of quotations, encyclopedias, and specialized reference works on a wide variety of subjects. Additional sources can be found in the following categories:

Biography Book Reviews Brunoniana Dictionaries and Thesauri

Dissertations Encyclopedias and Almanacs Historical Periodicals

Newspapers Statistics Writing Style and Citation

MAJOR REFERENCE DATABASES:

see also: E-Resources at Brown | Resource Guides for Sujects, Departments, and Programs

CREDO Reference      * * *          
Current; CREDO Reference (formerly Xreferplus)is the world's largest online reference service, offering access to 169 electronic reference books on most subjects, including dictionaries, biographical sources, quotations, medicine, literature, music, technology, and many other interdiscipinary sources. Click here for a list of the publications included.

Oxford Reference Online Premium      * * *          
Current; the core collection of Oxford Reference Online brings together 100 language and subject dictionaries and reference works published by the Oxford University Press into a single cross-searchable resource. The Premium Collection offers all of the above, plus added functionality and more detailed information across a broad subject range from titles in the world-renowned Oxford Companions Series, to enhance the coverage already provided by the Core Collection. Click here for a list of the publications included.      

Reference Universe      * * *          
Current, Reference Universe indexes authoritative reference works in your library, through deep exploration of specialized, subject encyclopedias. This database contains links to over 6000 works, and includes:

Complete back-of-the-book indexes
Article titles
Articles and indexes in ebooks Links to online reviews

These are all linked to your local library catalog. Use Reference Universe to identify the authoritative article to begin research, whether it's on our Library shelves or in online resources.