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Reference works contain entire worlds, arranged, indexed, and designed to support research and exploration. These aids—hefty both in physical form and in depth and resonance—provide new interpretations, offer access into decades of academic work, and foster fresh ways of thinking.

Free reference sources, vetted, smart, and endlessly useful, are a rich resource for scholars and students. Here are our five top picks for 2023.

Databases foster deep research, expansive reading, and a myriad of inquiry avenues. These 10 tools, covering food, Shakespeare, study skills, and much more, are our selections for the best databases of 2023.

From a quirky book on geology to collections of historical newspapers to a resonant world radio map, the 40 reference works gathered here, across print, paid databases, and free online resources, expand the possibilities of research for students, general readers, and scholars.

LJ’s top 10 picks for Best Reference Databases 2022 range in scope from architecture to history to women trailblazers. 

From a quirky book on geology to a collection of maps, these reference works expand the possibilities of research for students, general readers, and scholars.  

From broadcasting sites to legislative documents, maps, and more, LJ’s 2022 Best Free Resources covers a vast array of topics. 

Though 2021 was another tough year, it also brought spots of joy with these 37 stellar titles selected by the LJ Best Reference Committee.

Librarians, students and instrutcors will find tremendous value in these top picks of 2021.

These free resources are a treasure trove of information for casual users, researchers, and librarians.

The 30+ reference titles honored as the best of 2020 speak to today’s issues and range across arts, literature, health, science, history, and more.

Librarians and readers looking for reliable and useful free web resources will find these top picks from 2020 worth exploring. 

The best databases of 2020 address the medieval world, social change, literature, and more. 

LJ's best databases of the year are a wide assortment, from a one-stop shop for fashion students to archives of sex and sexuality.

A roundup of the best free resources, from a way to identify bots on social media to an app geared at helping those with low vision. 

This year's Best Reference articles are marked by stunning visuals, from the stirring Protest! A History of Social and Political Protest Graphics to the quirky Atlas of Poetic Zoology.

A roundup of excellent subscription databases reviewed by LJ in 2018.

Though reference works are generally thought to be purely informational, no book is free from its author’s point of view. Many of the titles this year demonstrate that reference can take a stand.

What's better than free? Our resident InfoDocket guru curates 2018's best gratis reference sites and apps.