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Online Reference Shelf: Reference eBooks by Subject/Department

eBooks and quality web-based reference materials.

Why Start Here?

This page, along with the subject sub-pages (see links below), guide you to the BEST quality virtual reference books that you have access to as a BC Library patron.  The sources on these pages are real, published books that have been digitized.  You can trust them to provide accurate, verifiable information written by experts.

General

Art

Bible and Religion

Biology

Business and Economics

Chemistry

Communication Arts

Education

Geography & Area Studies

History

Health/Physical Education

Languages

Law

Literary Studies

Mathematics/Computer Science

Music

Nursing/General Health & Medicine

Philosophy

Psychology

Science (General)/Physics/Earth Science

Social Sciences

Social Work

Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)

Ebooks from the Gale are quality reference books from credible publishers.

Why Reference?

photo courtesy of biblioragazzi

Reference sources, like dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, guides, and biographies,

  - provide background information,
  - help you put your topic in context.

Reference books, whether in print or online, are not intended to be read cover to cover. They're to be consulted for background, context, definition and outline, and they usually include brief but excellent bibliographies that point you to further research on the subject.

They're a great place to get quick info, or to get a basic grounding in something with which you may  not be overly familiar.

We have many print reference books, but increasingly we're acquiring reference e-books that you can use from wherever you have an internet connection.

 

EBSCOHost eBooks

This search box searches all of the library's EBSCO eBooks, looking for those that could be categorized as "reference," including handbooks, guides, encyclopedias, and so forth.  Type in the subject you are interested in (i.e., "psychology" or "social welfare") to browse through EBSCO's reference collection.

EBSCOHost Reference eBooks
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