Here is a sample of some of the print and online reference books available at the Healey Library. More reference works are available in the 4th Floor Reference stacks and through the online reference collections.
An alternative to Wikipedia. Reference works such as encyclopedias are a good place to find background information on a topic, or to quickly look up a fact. They often include bibliographies telling you where to find additional information.
Credo Reference provides access to a broad variety of reference sources from dictionaries to encyclopedias covering topics from the arts to the sciences. It has an image collection, maps, customizable data, and audio pronunciation files. You can search the whole collection or a specific subject area.