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A reference work is a compilation of background information on major topic areas. Reference works are helpful for doing exploratory research on your subject area or discovering a specific fact (such as the number of people with Internet access worldwide or the capital of Kazakhstan), as opposed to in-depth information. Reference works are increasingly available in both printed and online form in your library.

There are several major categories of reference works. Most include general works that cover a comprehensive range of topics as well as specialized works that focus on a single subject (for example, philosophy or art) in more detail. Encyclopedias offer relatively brief entries that provide background information on a wide range of alphabetized topics. Dictionaries offer definitions, pronunciation guides, and sometimes etymologies for words, while quotation books offer famous or notable quotations on a variety of subjects. Atlases provide maps, charts, and tables relating to different geographic regions. Finally, yearbooks—such as the Statistical Abstract of the United States—are updated annually and contain statistics and other facts about social, political, and economic topics.