Reference resources such as almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopediae and thesauri etc. are a quick and easy way to:
- examine facts and statistics about the world
- decipher abbreviations and definitions
- gain an overview of a topic
The links below provide access to selected subscription and free reference resources. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical services.
Dictionaries/Theasauri
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online: the authoritative dictionary of the English language – find out exactly what words mean, and also what they used to mean; includes the Oxford Historical Thesaurus
- Oxford Reference Online: large collection of subject dictionaries and guides
- Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus: online database consisting of at least one copy of every surviving Old English text; it covers over 3 million words of Old English and ca 1 million words of Latin
- Le Grand Robert: online French language dictionaries
- Ectaco Online Dictionary: 23 languages
- English<>Spanish Dictionary (from Granada University, Spain)
- Zanichelli Online Reference (Biblioteca italiana Zanichelli): online dictionaries and reference works in Italian
Encyclopaedias, biography, and general reference
- Cite them right (from Macmillan): tool that shows you how to correctly cite any information source, from ancient texts to Twitter, using a wide range of referencing styles
- Oxford Reference Online: large collection of subject dictionaries and guides.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB)
- Whos’ Who & Who Was Who: up-to-date information about over 35,000 influential people from all walks of life, worldwide, plus a historical archive going back to 1897 of entries for over 94,000 people, now deceased