Available from the University of Illinois Library
As a Uni student you have access to several excellent reference resources that are purchased by the University of Illinois Library for use by students--such as yourself--and faculty. If you are trying to access these resources from home or another location off-campus, please read this.
Credo Reference
Use Credo Reference to search across 422 reference books including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and subject-specific resources. Credo Reference covers every major subject including art, science, history, music, foreign language, politics and literature.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Full-text access to dozens of encyclopedias in all subject areas. Good selection of history, science, and social science encyclopedias!
Encyclopædia Britannica
The online version of your favorite all-encompassing general-knowledge encyclopedia.
Literature Resource Center
Identifies biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Coverage of more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.
American National Biography (A.N.B.)
Though Uni Library has the print version of this in our reference section, you may want to explore the online version of this extensive U.S. biographical resource. By clicking here you will directly access the search page. Notice the “quick search” in the upper right hand corner--most of the page is devoted to the advance search form. Click on the circled question marks to access the help function.
Oxford Dictionary of Art
If you need information on an artist or a work of art then try using this online version of the highly respected Oxford Dictionary of Art.
Oxford Dictionary of Music
The first place to look for in-depth information on composers, compositions, genres of music, and music theory.
Oxford English Dictionary (O.E.D.)
This is the online version of the huge, 20 volume dictionary of the English language. You can fully search the text of this version for words, definition and quotes showing the usage of terms.
College Catalogs Online
Use this resource to find catalogs for thousands of colleges. Full text catalogs and helpful links are available here.
College Blue Book
This 6-volume set is completely revised and updated, and remains the definitive guide to thousands of 2- and 4-year schools in the U.S. and Canada, their programs, degrees, and financial aid sources. Now availible in eletronic form through the university catalog! Remember to click on “within this publication” before starting your quick search.
How to Find a Scholarship Online
This e-book provides over 3,500 web addresses for scholarships in directory format. The guide categorizes scholarships for students by field of study, ethnic and religious background, military experience, sports and more. A helpful Table of Contents is fixed in the left toolbar for easy skimming and reference. Click on the plus (+) sign to expand each section and the minus (-) sign to collapse.
Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans
Provides more than 4,200 sources of education-related financial aid and awards at all levels of study. Use the quick search box to search for a specific scholarship or topic (you may want to search for "Illinois" scholarships). To view the ebook, click on the "eTable of Contents" and take a look at the "Introduction" and "User's Guide" to fully utilize this resource. You can view the pages in your browser or as a PDF file (the PDF icon next to "Document links"). When you are done viewing a particular page, click on the "eTable of Contents" link to go back.
UIUC Electronic Reference Page
This page has a substantial list of reference tools (e.g. Dictionaries, Almanacs, Encyclopedias, etc.) that you can use. An added benefit to this page is that as a Uni student you can use most of the resources that are exclusively for UIUC students.
Online Reference Sources
If you are looking for other online reference sources such as dictionaries, almanacs, atlases, etc., then try out any of the following helpful links:
- The Internet Public Library Reference Resource Page--The Internet Public Library, run by the School of Information at the University of Michigan, has an excellent list of headings for online resources such as Almanacs, Biographies, Encyclopedias, and Quotation.
- Multnomah County Library Homework Center--The Multnomah County Library serves the Portland, Oregon area. This page has a wide array online resources grouped under topic areas such as Geography, The Arts, American History, etc. Click on one of the topic areas to access the resources.
- Multnomah County Library Electronic Resources--This page is similar to the Homework Center above, but is aimed at the adult patron. As in the Homework Center, resources here are grouped under subject headings that you click on to access.