Reference Books

Reference books are an excellent place to start your research, especially if you know very little about your topic. There are encyclopedias, dicitionaries, and handbooks which offer background information on a wide variety of topics or specialized works on specific topics.

Some examples of reference books are:

• New Encyclopaedia Britannica (Rivera Ref - AE5 .E5 15th ed. 2007)
• Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics (Rivera Ref - BJ63 .E53 1998)
• Encyclopedia of Bioethics (Rivera Ref - QH332 .E52 3rd ed. 2004)
• Encyclopedia of American Social Movements (Rivera Ref - HN57 .E59 2004)
• Social Issues in America: an Encyclopedia (Rivera Ref - HN57 .S624 2006)

Online Catalog - Scotty

Scotty is the UCR Libraries' online catalog. It shows what books, periodicals and media are in the Libraries as well as where they are located.

Scotty can be searched by keyword, title, author, subject or call number. The most common way to search for a book in Scotty is by keyword.

It will return a list of books with locations, call numbers, and the status of the book.

Example:

Result Screen:

Common statuses include:

Status	Explanation
LIB USE ONLY	Located in the reference (or other non-circulating) collection, cannot be checked out
Not Checkd Out	The book should be available on the shelf to check out. Check the floor map for location.
Due 11 - 20 - 08	The book is currently checked out until that date. Ask Circulation about a 'recall.'

* If a book has a location or status that is unfamiliar, please ask at the Reference Desk!