24 REFERENCE SOURCES
books are brief and concise and concentrate on facts and statistics rather than
narrative—just the thing when the question requires “just the facts, ma’am.”
In order to illustrate the variety of almanacs, handbooks, and yearbooks
available, I’ve chosen some representative titles for each category.almanacs
Almanacs are a mainstay of the general reference collection. Add a good
general encyclopedia and an unabridged dictionary and you’re ready to field
almost any question.The World Almanac and Book of Facts. Packed with facts and statistics of
all kinds, this is an absolutely essential part of any reference collec-
tion. A detailed subject index and a concise quick reference index
unlock the treasures within. It is available as an online database at
OCLC’s FirstSearch.
The Time Almanac. Known in previous editions as the Information
Please Almanac, this is another reliable source of statistics and facts.
A detailed subject index points the way to looked-for information.
Canadian Almanac and Directory. Published since 1847 by several
different publishers, this is a key source of information on anything
Canadian. Each of the seventeen sections includes a detailed table
of contents. An online version is also available.
Whitaker’s Almanack. First published in 1868, this classic reference
work provides facts, figures, and functional information about the
United Kingdom in particular and Europe and the rest of the world
in general.
Our Sunday Visitor’s Catholic Almanac. An annual volume that supplies
doctrine, directory information, statistics, a liturgical calendar, and
more.
Sports Illustrated Sports Almanac. This is the place to go for batting
averages, yards run, championships won (and lost), and all the
other myriad facts and factoids that
sports fans crave.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac. Between the
familiar yellow covers of the oldestYou can find The Old
Farmer’s Almanac online
at http://www.almanac.com.http://www.ebook3000.com