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Encyclopedias |
Encyclopedias are designed to be useful in providing background information and answering basic questions related to people, places, and things. In most encyclopedias subjects will be arranged in one alphabetical listing, but others will be divided among broader topical themes. Encyclopedias will be found both in the reference collection and online.
The chief purpose of encyclopedia is also its principal limitation. Encyclopedias, especially general encyclopedias, in providing basic facts, while useful for gaining an initial introduction to a topic, should not be used as sources for research beyond the first steps.
In addition to general encyclopedias, such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the library has special encyclopedias. Articles in special subject encyclopedias are more detailed in information and signed by the author who wrote it. They often provide bibliographic references that can direct you to other places to look for information on your topic. More sophisticated, they are still not considered scholarly, and should still be used in the beginning steps of research or to confirm facts or identify meanings of jargon.