Editing Reference work (section)

{{Short description|Publication to which one can refer for confirmed facts}}
{{About|a kind of publication|the work that librarians perform at a library reference desk|Reference desk}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}

[[File:2010-09 CPOV IMG 6251.JPG|thumb|The {{Lang|de|[[Brockhaus Enzyklopädie]]}}, the best-known traditional reference book in German-speaking countries]]
[[File:LexikondesMittelalters.JPG|thumb|The {{Lang|de|[[Lexikon des Mittelalters]]}}, a specialised German encyclopedia]]
[[File:Encyclopaedia Britannica 15 with 2002.jpg|thumb|''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'', 15th edition: volumes of the Propedia (green), Micropedia (red), Macropedia (black), and 2-volume Index (blue)]]

A '''reference work''' is a document, such as a [[Academic publishing#Scholarly paper|paper]], [[book]] or [[periodical literature|periodical]] (or their [[electronic publishing|electronic equivalents]]), to which one can refer for [[information]].<ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=reference |encyclopedia=[[Merriam-Webster]] |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reference |access-date=January 22, 2025 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829155411/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reference |archive-date=August 29, 2024}}</ref> The information is intended to be found quickly when needed. Such works are usually ''referred'' to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end. The writing style used in these works is informative; the authors avoid opinions and the use of the first person, and emphasize facts.

[[Index (publishing)|Indices]] are a common navigation feature in many types of reference works. Many reference works are put together by a team of contributors whose work is coordinated by one or more editors, rather than by an individual author. Updated [[edition (book)|edition]]s are usually published as needed, in some cases [[annual publication|annually]], such as ''[[Whitaker's Almanack]]'', and ''[[Who's Who (UK)|Who's Who]]''.

Reference works include [[textbook]]s, [[almanac]]s, [[atlas]]es, [[bibliography|bibliographies]], [[biographical dictionary|biographical sources]], [[cataloging|catalogs]] such as [[library catalog]]s and art catalogs, [[concordance (publishing)|concordances]], [[dictionary|dictionaries]], directories such as [[business directory|business directories]] and [[telephone directory|telephone directories]], [[discography|discographies]], [[Encyclopedia|encyclopedias]], [[filmography|filmographies]], [[gazetteer|gazetteers]], [[glossary|glossaries]], [[handbook]]s, indices such as [[bibliographic index|bibliographic indices]] and [[citation index|citation indices]], [[user guide|manuals]], [[pathfinder (library science)|research guides]], [[thesaurus]]es, and [[yearbook]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reitz |first=Joan |url=https://odlis.abc-clio.com/odlis_r.html |title=Dictionary for Library and Information Science |date=2004 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing|Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=9781591580751 |chapter=Reference |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241207060303/https://odlis.abc-clio.com/odlis_r.html#refbook |archive-date=December 7, 2024 |url-status=live |via=ABC-CLIO}}</ref> Reference works, while traditionally printed, are often available in electronic form and can be obtained as [[reference software]], [[CD-ROM]]s, [[DVD]]s, or online through the [[Internet]]. [[Wikipedia]], an [[online encyclopedia]], is both the largest and the most-read reference work in history.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/international/2021/01/09/wikipedia-is-20-and-its-reputation-has-never-been-higher |title=Wikipedia is 20, and its reputation has never been higher |date=9 January 2021 |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |access-date=May 31, 2021 |archive-date=31 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231224550/https://www.economist.com/international/2021/01/09/wikipedia-is-20-and-its-reputation-has-never-been-higher |url-status=live }}</ref>