Reference works offer basic, authoritative information. This is information that has been analyzed and better understood over a fairly long period of time. Examples include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, indexes, and directories. While much of this information can now be found online, print reference books can still be very useful when looking for basic facts - depending on your topic, you may find that not everything has migrated online - yet.
Print Reference books are found in the Reference Room (also known as the Quiet Study Area) on the Whittemore Library's first floor.
After you enter the building, turn left, and walk all the way down and you'll see the Reference Room next to the Reference Desk and the two print stations.
Sample Print Reference Books:
Legal Research: How to Find and Understand the Law by 
Legal Research in a Nutshell by AHA Guide to the Health Care FieldThe Whittemore Library also has online Reference databases, especially Credo Reference.
Sample E-Books from Credo Reference:
You can also find factual information online, as long as you take special care to assess the authority of the website you are examining.
Most scholars tend to find that government (.gov) and academic sites (.edu) offer the most reliable information.
Some organizational websites (.org) can also offer basic, accurate facts, but much more care must be taken with these - any group, including extremely biased organizations, can purchase and run .org websites.
Commercial (.com) websites can offer useful information (such as company reports), but will also display their own forms of bias.
Sample Websites with Reference Information:
