Introduction Access Points Reference Sources Contents Encyclopedias (1) Encyclopedias (2) Dictionaries Handbooks Directories Guides Other Using Finding Indexes & Abstracts

Using Reference Sources Reference sources are not usually read from cover to cover. They are meant to be consulted quickly. Most reference sources provide useful indexes and /or tables of contents to look up specific information. Here's an example from the index of an encyclopedia. Select a topic and click on the appropriate volume:page:column reference to go to the encyclopedia entry. space station 11:63:1a NASA project 19:54:2b rendezvous and docking 19:47:2a space exploration 11:61:3b space suit application of human-factors engineering 21:224:1a