Ready Reference Sources Sajjad ur Rehman

Almanacs, Yearbooks & Handbooks: Nature Concise factual information Fastest and easiest way to retrieve factual information Current and historical events Focus on governments, organizations, events, things Statistical presentation of factual data

Almanacs 17th/18th Century tools, primarily for weather, other forecasts and some handy information 19th century: American papers started publishing them Content: calendar, political, historical and current events of popular interest Broad in geographical and subject coverage, sports, entertainment and practical information

Almanacs (2) Present tabular data on matters of common interest: sports, diet and nutrition, demography, environment, political events, etc. Annual publication Available in print and electronic formats Household Items

Important Almanac Titles World Almanac and Book of Facts Information Please Almanac New York Times Almanac

Yearbooks Information and data about the preceding year Yearbooks issued by encyclopedias supplement them Statistical data about countries, brief biographical accounts of celebrities, sports news, and articles about the events of the year

Yearbooks (2) Index personal names Longer description of events and analyses as compared to almanacs

Important Yearbook Titles Britannica Book of the Year Europa World Yearbook: 2 volumes Statesman’s Yearbook CIA World Factbook

Handbooks & Manuals Information about people, events and trends Subject handbooks contain handy data about procedures, guidelines, formulae Compressed information Contain examples and illustrations Manuals focused on procedures

Handbook Examples Guinness Book of World Records Famous First Facts NYPL’s Desk Reference Manuals of Style Physicians Desk Reference Annual Legal Researcher’s Desk Reference Handbook of Chemistry

Criteria for Evaluation Accuracy Indexing Documentation Comprehensiveness Uniqueness Format Currency

Electronic Sources Almost all yearbooks and almanacs are available in CD Electronic versions of many sources available through IPL Have search advantages Current More reliable