The telephone book is perhaps the most familiar directory. You can find many different kinds of directories in the Reference Collection including directories for organizations, such as The Encyclopedia of Associations , and directories for companies, such as The Million Dollar Directory . There are general encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia Americana and Encyclopaedia Britannica , as well as subject-specific encyclopedias such as Encyclopedia of Philosophy . Encyclopedias can give you an overvierw of a topic, which can be very valuable if you don't know a lot about your research subject. Remember to use the index volume of the encyclopedia if you don't find your topic in the alphabetical subject arrangement.
Handbooks provide a compilation of miscellaneous, factual data organized in a straightforward way.
Handbooks are often the quickest way to find formula or tabular data. Statistical abstracts, such as The Statistical Abstract of the United States , are one of the many sources for statistical data you can find in the Reference Collection. When you need help on your research project, talk to your professor, stop by the Reference Desk at one of the Libraries, make an appointment to talk with a Reference Librarian, or talk with someone in the Writing Resource Center on your campus. Instead, they are represented with bold, blue text usually in a font size larger than plain text.