Draft:Outline of reference works

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to reference works:

A reference work is a document, such as a paper, book or periodical (or their electronic equivalents), to which one can refer for information. The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end. The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid opinions and the use of the first person, and emphasize facts.

What type of thing are reference works?

Reference works can be described as all of the following:

Types of reference works

• Almanac
• Atlas
• Bibliography
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
• Thesaurus

History of reference works

History of reference works