Reference Collection

Virtual Reference Collections  | Almanacs, Yearbooks and Annual Reports  |  Atlases | Biography | Conversion | Dictionaries  | Digital Collections  | Directories  | Encyclopaedias   | Government Information |   Internet Searching |  Legislation |  News  | Statistics

Search the Library's Reference Collection

Best Bets for Online Reference

• Reference Universe - Search the contents of UFV's print and electronic reference collections in one easy step
• Oxford Reference Online Premium - Over 170 online reference books from Oxford University Press.  (UFV has a license for this product.) 
• Sage Reference Collection - This reference database includes hundreds of Sage handbooks and encyclopedias, providing detailed, authorative background information in the social sciences.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library - Subject specialized encyclopedias from prestigious academic publishers including Greenwood, Elsevier, MacMillan and Gale.  (UFV has a license for this product.)
• Funk & Wagnall's New World Encyclopedia - a general encyclopedia covering all subject areas. (UFV has a license for this product.)
• Encyclopedia of British Columbia - Comprehensive online reference source for British Columiba-related information, including articles, photographs, statistics, maps, tables, charts, diagrams, sound clips, video clips and links to Web sites. (UFV has a license for this product.)

Virtual Reference Collections

• Answers.com - wide subject coverage, with material drawn from recognized reference sources
• Bartleby.com - respected reference sources, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and much more
• Virtual Reference Shelf - general and subject specific reference sources, compiled by Library of Congress

Almanacs, Yearbooks, Annual Reports  ( Provide good Statistical information )

• Amnesty International Annual Report - report on human rights in 159 countries
• B.C Vital Statistics Agency Annual Report  - detailed statistics on birth, death, marriages
• Canada Year Book - very good source for Canadian statistics. From Statistics Canada
• Canada Year Book Historical Collection - online collection of the Canada Yearbook, from 1867 - 1967.  Excellent resource for historical statistics, demographic information, economic data.
• Demographic Yearbook   - detailed demographic statistics for over 230 countries in the world
• State of the World's Children - (UNICEF) Information on the state of children throughout the world
• World Development Indicators  - Comprehensive data on countries of the world. Poverty, population, unemployment, housing, pollution, etc.
• World Factbook  - information on geography, demographics, government, economy of countries

Atlases

• Atlas of Canada
• Canadian Atlas Online
• United Nations Cartographic Section

Biography

• Dictionary of Canadian Biography  -  excellent authoritative source for historical Canadian biography
• See also our Biography Libguide

Conversion

• Asknumbers.com

Dictionaries / Thesauri

• Acronym Finder
• American Heritage Dictionary
• American Heritage Book of English usage
• Cambridge Dictionaries Online
• Canadian Online Legal Dictionary (COLD)
• Merriam-Webster Dictionary
• Multilingual Legal Glossary - 6000 terms in 8 languages (Vancouver Community College)
• On-line Dictionaries and Glossaries (Multilingual)
• Oxford English Dictionary (OED) - The meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words in the English language, both present and past. It traces the usage and etymology of words. (UFV has a license for this product.)
• Roget's Thesaurus
  

Digital Collections

• Inventory of Canadian Digital Initiatives (Library & Archives of Canada)
• Library of Congress Digital Collections and Services
• NYPL Digital Gallery
• Our Future Our Past: the Alberta Heritage Digitization Project
• Gutenberg Project

Associations and Organizations

• Associations on the Net
• Scholarly Societies Project - University of Waterloo
• International Organizations Web Sites

College and Universities

• CollegeNet   - U.S. college information
• Directory of Canadian Universities
• Education Planner - B.C. Ministry of Advanced Education. Information on B.C. post-secondary institutions 

Companies

• B.C. Manufacturer's Directory
• Canadian Company Capabilities (Strategis)
• Fraser's Canadian Trade Directory
• Thomas Register of American Manufacturers

Libraries and Museums

• Libdex: The Library Index
• Virtual Museum Canada

Postal/Phone Directories

• B.C. Yellow Pages
• Canada411
• Postal Code Lookup - Canada Post
• Switchboard (U.S.)
• Yahoo! People Search

Publishing

• Books in Print (Global) - Database of over 11 million books, audio books and video titles. Provides publishing and price information.  (UFV has a license for this product.) 
• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory  - comprehensive directory of information for serials (journals, magazines, etc.) published worldwide. (UFV has a license for this product.)

Social Service Agencies

• Red Book: Directory of services in the lower mainland

Encyclopaedias

• The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Encyclopedia of British Columbia  (UFV has a license for this product)
• Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples - complete record of Canada's multicultural history
• Encyclopedia of Earth -  "a new electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society."
• Encyclopedia of Music in Canada
• Encyclopedia of World History
• Encyclopedia Smithsonian
• Eric Weisstein's World of Science - online encyclopedia of astronomy, scientific biography, chemistry and physics
• Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
• Healthopedia.com
• Mathworld  
• Wikipedia

• Guide to Research for Government Information
• USAGov  - one-stop access to all online US Federal Government Resources
• Federal Digital System - Gateway to many important US government sites

Internet Searching 

Concept Clustering

• Yippy (formerly 'Clusty') 
• Dogpile
• Vivisimo

Subject Directories

• Academic Info
• Best Information on the Net - highly selective directory, designed for undergraduates. Includes "Hot Page Topics"
• BUBL Link
• Infomine  - Scholarly internet resource collections
• Librarians' Internet Index
• Yahoo

Law and Legislation

• Hansard (Debates of the House of Commons)
• Canada Gazette
• Bills (House of Commons)
• Revised Statutes of Canada and Consolidated Regulations
• Hansard (B.C.)
• Bills (B.C.)
• Revised Statutes of British Columbia and Regulations   (BC Laws site)
• UBC Law Student's Legal Advice Manual
• CanLII -  Case law from all jurisdictions in Canada

News

• NewsDirectory.info  - access to newspapers and magazines around the world
• BBC News
• CBC News Online
• Canadian Newsstand
• CNN
• Globe and Mail Newspaper - Canadian and international current events and news
• Globe and Mail Newspaper - Heritage version from 1844
• Google News Canada
• Los Angeles Times Newspaper
• New York Times Newspaper
• Vancouver Sun
• Washington Post Newspaper

Statistics

• Guide to Research for Government Information
• Statistics Canada
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
• see also Almanacs, Yearbooks and Annual Reports above