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Reference resources
Reference services
The links below provide access to selected subscription and free reference resources. They include dictionaries, encyclopedias, biographical services, and telephone directories.
Dictionaries and thesauri
Library subscribed resources
- Oxford English Dictionary (OED) online: the authoritative dictionary of the English language
- Oxford Reference Online: large collection of subject dictionaries and guides
- New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics Online: dictionary of economics content
- Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus: online database consisting of at least one copy of every surviving Old English text, covering over 3 million words of Old English and ca 1 million words of Latin
Freely available resources
- Bibliodata.com: a writer's resource
- Cambridge Dictionaries Online
- Chambers Dictionary and other reference works
- Dictionary.com: links to dictionaries and other services
- Ectaco Online Dictionary: 23 languages
- English<>Spanish Dictionary (from Granada University, Spain)
- Le Musée virtuel des dictionnaire
- Merriam-Webster: online dictionary and thesaurus
- Middle English Compendium: Dictionary, HyperBibliography and Corpus
- OneLook® Dictionaries: links to 740 dictionaries
- ROGET'S Thesaurus (from the ARTFL Project)
- Thesaurus.com (from Ask.com): includes links to Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Translator service
- yourDictionary.com: resources and links for many languages
Encyclopaedias, biography, and general reference
Library subscribed resources
- Armed Conflict Database: information on armed conflicts worldwide.
- International Historical Statistics (1750-2010) (from Palgrave Macmillan): Statistics collection, providing key economic and social indicators for the last 260 years
- Oxford Bibliographies: resource guides combining the features of annotated bibliography and high-level encyclopedia. You have access to the Linguistics and Philosophy collections
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB)
- Oxford Handbooks Online: Archaeology: thorough introduction to archaeology topics, delivered via specially commissioned essays with extensive referencing to further reading
- Oxford Handbooks Online: Political Science: a thorough introduction to political science topics, delivered via specially commissioned essays with extensive referencing to further reading
- Oxford Reference Online: large collection of subject dictionaries and guides.
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: includes links to relevant external sources
Freely available resources
- International Who's Who: only available in hard copy at classmark per CT100.I6
- Australian Dictionary of Biography: online edition
- CIA World Factbook
- Encyclopedia Astronautica
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- wiki-based encyclopaedias:
- Citizendium (beta): wiki-based encyclopedia with quality control
- Wikipedia: free 'encyclopedia designed to be read and edited by anyone'
UK telephone numbers and post codes
- 192.com: directory services
- BT Directory Enquiries
- Electronic Yellow Pages
- Postcodes Online
Oxford Reference collections - on trial until 31 August
Try Oxford Reference Library and Oxford Quick Reference.
These e-books reference collections bring together entries from hundreds of different reference works into a single, cross-searchable resource.
How you use Oxford Reference will inform which titles will be purchased for the Library, so please make plenty of use of it while the complete collection is available on trial.