LibGuides: Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Atlases: Encyclopedias

Encyclopedias

Use encyclopedias for short, reliable background information, for short biographies, hard facts, statistics, etc. Great places to start research.

Online Library Encyclopedias - Subscribed to by the ACC Library. Off-campus access requires login with ACCeID. These generally have higher quality, more reliable information than those on the general web.

Gale eBooks - Hundreds of separate subject encyclopedias that can be searched all at once.
Funk & Wagnall's New Encyclopedia - A basic encyclopedia with clear, short entries.
AccessScience - McGraw-Hill online encyclopedia of science and technology. Also links to research updates, multimedia, and more.
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia - A somewhat less scholarly source than AccessScience (above), but solid information.
Encyclopedia of Life Sciences - Biology and related fields. Articles range from introductory to advanced.
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia - Scientific encyclopedia that addresses every scientific discipline, from anatomy to computer science to physics.

Encyclopedias online - open access - Accessible to anyone. Be careful in evaluating reliability.

Encyclopedia.com - Simultaneously searches over 100 encyclopedias and other reference sources. Look for results from the Columbia Encyclopedia, a good basic source.
Wikipedia - The do-it-yourself encyclopedia. Be very careful in double-checking information from this. Strong points are its coverage of obscure and up-to-the-minute topics.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Online collection of general and subject-specific reference works on all major topic areas.
Handbook of Texas Online This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association.
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology This link opens in a new window
Reference works on chemical substances including their properties, manufacturing and uses.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Online collection of dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, timelines, and illustrations.

Finding Background Information

Click on the image or go to https://library.austincc.edu/help/tutorials/background-info/story.html