CS 2250
Technical Information Resources

These definitions are adapted from the document "Review Glossary" available from the GT Library's Electronic Reserves (or the manual Reserve Desk on the first floor). Dr. Jan Crowe produced the glossary. Refer to her bibliography for further exploration.

As a list of terms, these items are important, because we will use all the listed reference-book types as keywords to identify citations to reference monographs. In other words, if on a quiz or test the title of a volume includes any of these types by name, we'll call it a "reference monograph."

Reference Book

Used for quick lookup, fact-checking, or to give introduction to or overview of a new or unfamiliar subject area. They are meant to be referred to, not read cover to cover. Two broad types of reference books exist: the kind that contains information in a digested or condensed fashion, and the kind that does not usually contain information but points to where it can be found (called indexes).

Almanac

Gives facts, statistics, and basic information on almost everything from agriculture to zoos. They are an excellent reference source for population, business, sports, and agricultural statistics. They also often list the elected officials of state and local governments. A typical almanac will include a section of important events that occurred during the year (see also YEARBOOK; compare to HANDBOOK).

Bibliography

Lists books and other materials which have some relationship to each other. The materials listed are described as to author, title, publisher, price and number of pages. Some bibliographies are annotated, and some annotations are evaluative, while others are not; it's important to recognize the difference.

Biographical Dictionary

Collections of sketches of varying lengths about the lives of individuals, arranged alphabetically by surname.

Dictionary

Provide information about words: meanings, derivation, spelling, pronunciation, syllabification, usage, and current status. May be specialized to a specific field of study (see BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY).

Directory

Lists the names and addresses of persons, organizations or institutions. May also provide other pertinent information, such as the purposes, the dues, and the officers of organizations.

Encyclopedia

Provide information about subjects. They give an overview of a topic, including definition, description, background and bibliographical references. Shorter encyclopedic works may also be referred to as dictionaries, but the entries are not usually as long.

Guide to the Literature

A tertiary resource designed to aid research workers or other prospective users in finding their way into and through the literature of a specific subject field. Its purpose is to acquaint its readers with the important types of information sources available to satisfy their needs and to help them make fruitful current or retrospective literature searches.

Handbook

Literally, "small books" which can be held conveniently in the hand to provide miscellaneous, though important, information relating to a subject field. In fact, these days some handbooks are not small! They are also sometimes called manuals or compendia. A manual is similar to a handbook but serves as a methodological guide. It can give instructions telling you how to do something or it can outline the arrangement of an agency.

Index

A systematic guide to the contents contained in or concepts derived from any work or group of works, comprising a series of entries arranged in alphabetical, chronological, numerical, or other chosen order, and with references or indicators to show where each indexed item or concept is located.

Manual

See HANDBOOK.

Style Manual

A set of rules drawn up by a printing establishment (or professional organization) for the guidance of its staff, to standardize the details of typography, spelling, capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, and other matters about which opinions differ. Provides the citation format for specific types of information resources (for example, book vs. journal article) that are commonly accepted in the discipline which the manual governs.

Thesaurus

These are compilations of words and phrases showing synonymous, hierarchical, and other relationships and dependencies. Thesauri provide standardized vocabularies for information and retrieval. They do not provide definitions for terminology, although they may sometimes define the scope of a term as it is used in a particular information system.

Yearbook

Also called annuals or almanacs, they present the events of the past year in a brief, concise form, sometimes related to a particular theme, such as music or sports or news.