Why use Reference Books?
Locating background information in general and subject specific encyclopedias and dictionaries and other reference resources will help you put information in context.
Consulting reference materials will help you:
Below are some suggested resources to get you started. Search the Bentley Library Catalog to find more titles of interest and please Ask a Librarian who can recommend resources for your specific topic:
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a collaboration of world scholars in philosophy and related disciplines. Each entry of this reference work is signed by the author and includes a comprehensive bibliography. Content is added to the site on an ongoing basis, and a static version of the work is updated and archived every three months. Free resource.
With over 154,000 books & 8,000 DVDs & Videos in the Bentley University Library's Collection, the Library Search is a great place to find resources for your topic. Search tips are available to help you formulate a more relevant search query. You can also look in the bibliographies of books you find to identify other sources of information you may want to explore.
Google Books is a Web archive of digitized books provided through a partnership among Google, libraries and publishers. Free resource.
The OverDrive eBooks & Audiobooks collection provides fiction and non-fiction eBooks and audiobooks, and can be used with the Libby mobile app and/or your preferred device. Formats include OverDrive Read, ePub, and Kindle for ebooks, and OverDrive Listen for audiobooks.
Search for resources from around the world using Worldcat from the Library of Congress. You can use the Bentley Library's Interlibrary Loan service to retrieve books, articles and even DVDs.