LibGuides: English and Creative Writing: Reference Materials

Reference Materials

Electronic Reference Materials
Print Reference Materials

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Provides access to a large number of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and other reference books covering art, biographies, history, literature, music, religion, and science and technology.
Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) This link opens in a new window
Database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
Oxford Classical Dictionary Online This link opens in a new window
Written by distinguished scholars from around the world, the Oxford Classical Dictionary covers all aspects of the classical world from literature and history to religion, science, and archaeology.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature
"Considered the most important work of literary history and criticism ever published, the Cambridge History contains over 303 chapters and 11,000 pages, with essay topics ranging from poetry, fiction, drama and essays to history, theology and political writing. The set encompasses a wide selection of writing on orators, humorists, poets, newspaper columnists, religious leaders, economists, Native Americans, song writers, and even non-English writing, such as Yiddish and Creole."
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
This is the Third Edition of the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction with more than 18,000 entries.

One way to find reference materials is to use OneSearch to search all of the Tredway Library's physical and electronic resources, books, eBooks, and electronic reference sources. You have two main ways to filter your search in order to find reference materials. When you see your search results, there will be a "filter your results" column (typically on the left hand column, but may depend on the device you're using).

Filter Your Results-->Resource Type-->Reference Entries

These entries are from our online and print reference materials.

Filter your results-->Location-->Thomas Tredway Library Reference (2nd Floor)

Another way to locate encyclopedias and dictionaries in the library's 2nd-floor reference collection is to use the blue Library of Congress handout to identify appropriate call number areas and then browse the shelves.

Relevant sections for English & Creative Writing include:

PE: English Language
PN: Literary History
PR: English Literature
PS: American Literature

A reminder that reference books can't leave the library! You may photocopy some pages that are helpful, but the physical material can't be checked out the way that circulating books can. If you need to access reference books while you're outside the library, our electronic reference tools are very helpful.