When was the last time you looked at an encyclopedia? Perhaps it was for your sixth grade paper on the respiratory system. If that is the case, do we have a surprise for you! Reference books (and we do mean books that sit on the shelves) are all grown up, and can be valuable resources for your assignments. In fact, many times they are a great place to begin as you ask yourself, "Now what?" The reference books that you will find in the library are (generally) specialty books on a particular subject.
For example:
These encyclopedias can be found in the Reference sections of the RU Libraries.
The books are indexed so that you can look up a particular topic within the subject area.
What can these articles do for you?
- Give you an introduction to the subject
- Provide search terms that you can use in the RU catalog or databases to find more info
- Supply a list of references, which are good leads for other sources
Okay - even though a lot has changed from the reference books of yesterday, and that respiratory system report you slogged through, some things never change. You may only use the books in the library, but no problem - you may find some other surprises in the library. Like, maybe a new friend.
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