General Reference Collection

The materials in the Davis Reference collection cover many types, disciplines, formats, languages, and geographic areas.

Reference tools include encyclopedias and dictionaries, handbooks, bibliographies, indexing and abstracting sources, news resources, biographical dictionaries, directories, loose-leaf services, statistical and demographic materials, and atlases. Though the bulk of these sources are print, an increasing number are available in electronic formats as well.

As noted in the Department Overview, the general reference collection reflects the holdings of Davis Library, emphasizing the humanities and social sciences, including anthropology, area and cultural studies, business and economics, classical studies and archaeology, drama and film, education, history, international studies, journalism and mass communication, languages and literature, philosophy, physical education and recreation, political science, psychology, religion, social work, sociology, and communication studies. The collection also offers a large selection of general interdisciplinary reference works such as encyclopedias.

The collection also includes basic resources for areas served by other campus libraries, notably the sciences, law, library science, art, music, rare books and manuscripts, maps, and materials relating to North Carolina. With the growth of resources online, the Davis Reference Department can point researchers to a much broader spectrum of information in these fields, but referrals will be made to the more appropriate collections for specialized reference assistance and for materials they hold.

The collection is large, international in scope, and planned to serve needs ranging from those of beginning researchers and seekers of brief information to those pursuing complex and in-depth research. Particular strengths include manuscripts catalogs; other catalogs of libraries and special collections; current and retrospective periodical and newspaper indexes; resources for the study of world religions; languages and literature; drama and films; world history and politics; black and multicultural studies; statistical handbooks and compendiums; financial data and information on companies, industries, management, and markets; and information on the U.S. Congress and national politics, including published presidential papers.

English is the language of choice for the majority of Reference Department sources, but many other languages are represented, especially French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Russian and other Eastern European languages, and the selection of language dictionaries is even more inclusive.

While an increasing number of resources are available electronically, patrons are strongly encouraged to remember that thousands of volumes of useful and valuable information still remain in print formats and will be contained in this form for years to come. The librarians are happy to advise you as to which resources (in a variety of formats, including information on the Web) may be useful, and more important, reliable for your research.

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