Almanac (e.g. the World Almanac, the Farmers Almanac) – A source of basic facts and statistical information, often reporting on a range of years.
Atlas (e.g. Rand McNally Illustrated Atlas of the World) – General atlases are collections of maps, providing geographical information of the world or specific areas.
Biographical Dictionary – Short summaries of the lives of people.
Dictionary (e.g. Oxford English Dictionary) – A tool providing brief definitions of terms.
Directory (e.g. Spartanburg City Directory) - Gives contact information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers
Encyclopedia – General encyclopedias cover knowledge or branches of knowledge in a comprehensive, but summary, fashion; useful for providing facts and giving a broad survey of a topic.
Each of the types of works listed above may provide general information, or they may focus on a more specific body of knowledge. Some examples of this are:
World Book Encyclopedia (general) vs. Encyclopedia of Education (specific)
World Atlas (general) vs. Atlas of the American Revolution (specific)
American National Biography (general) vs. American Indian Biographies (specific)
The following sources are reference tools that are only accessible through a paying institution, such as USC Upstate.
This large set of reference books can be very tricky to use, but contains a vast wealth of information as seen through the lens of British government. Following are a few tips on how to use this source to find information relating to your topic:
1. Start with the Index volumes located at the end of the set; the years covered by each volume will be notated on the spine.
2. Within the index, topics are arranged alphabetically and list the years during which parliament discussed that topic.
3. Find the correct volume with the corresponding year within the larger green set.
4. Please note that Parliament generally met from February through late summer (July or August) each year. You'll likely need all volumes for that year.
5. Use the table of contents, beginning with the first volume of that year, to find when that topic was discussed and go to that page number. Use the table of contents to follow the topic throughout the course of its discussion.
NOTE: It's best to ignore any other corresponding numbers other than page numbers (Roman numerals, etc.) as we've been unable to discern quite how the system works.