ULibraries Research Guides: Reference: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

The Marriott Library has a large collection of dictionaries and encyclopedias of all kinds, physical and electronic. You will find links to some of the electronic resources by clicking on the Research Databases tab on the library's home page, then using the Browse Database by Type drop-down menu to select either Dictionaries or Encyclopedias. You can also find this type of resource in our catalog by adding the term "dictionaries" or "encyclopedias" to a search for any given subject. Examples: french language dictionaries; geology encyclopedias.

Some people will ask why a library needs to have dictionaries or encyclopedias any more, when Wikipedia is available in almost 300 different languages. Wikipedia's own analysis of the English-language site shows that fewer than 1% of the articles whose quality has been assessed rate Good or better. This is not to deny that there are well-written scholarly articles in Wikipedia, but the consistent level of quality available in the dictionaries and encyclopedias that libraries continue to provide for their patrons can't yet be found in Wikipedia or other resources freely available online.

Listed below are some of the popular general encyclopedias and dictionaries, followed by a variety of subject-specific encyclopedias.

Dictionaries & General Encyclopedias

Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia
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This database indexes over 25,000 records from the Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia. The full text for each record may be accessed by double clicking on the topic from the display. The database contains various images and brief biographies as well as information in a variety of subject areas.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
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The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary of the English language. It covers the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 600,000 words drawn from over 1000 years of English in a variety of countries. The OED is structured as a historical dictionary in which the focus is both on present-day meanings as well as the history of individual words (and the language itself), traced through 3 million quotations from classic literature, specialist periodicals, films, scripts, and cookbooks. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals.
Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
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This database contains language dictionaries and translation capabilities for French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Chinese. Entries include usage examples, illustrative phrases, grammar guidance, click-through verb tables, pronunciation charts, explanations of grammatical terms, and help with spelling and punctuation. Contextualized language reference help includes notes on life and culture, guidance on grammar and idiomatic usage, and Words of the Day. Also included are hundreds of correspondence templates including sample letters, CVs and resumes to provide help with writing in each language. Users can search the full text of each dictionary or restrict a search to specific parts of speech or language register. The dictionaries are updated every six months.
Oxford Reference
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This listing provides access to a collection of language and subject reference works which the Marriott Library has purchased through Oxford University Press. The collection is cross-searchable and can also be browsed by title or entry. Users can retrieve over 2 million short and long subject reference entries (many of which are illustrated), bilingual dictionaries, English dictionaries, quotations, and proverbs. Patrons may also sign up for a (free) personal account which will allow searches and other research information to be saved between sessions.

Subject-Specific Encyclopedias

Encyclopaedia of Islam, Three
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"EI-Three is the third edition of Brill’s Encyclopaedia of Islam which sets out the present state of our knowledge of the Islamic World. It is a unique and invaluable reference tool, an essential key to understanding the world of Islam, and the authoritative source not only for the religion, but also for the believers and the countries in which they live."
Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences
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The Encyclopedia of Atmospheric Sciences covers many aspects of atmospheric sciences, including both theory and applications. It currently contains over 350 articles, as well as over 1,900 figures and photographs. The Encyclopedia is aimed at academia, government, and industry in the fields of atmospheric, ocean, and environmental sciences and is written at a level that allows undergraduate students to understand the material while providing active researchers with updates on information in the field.
Encyclopedia of Life
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This database is a collaboration between several institutions (Biodiversity Heritage Library, Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Missouri Botanical Garden and Smithsonian Institution) and many contributors, which focus on describing the approximate 1.8 million known species of life on earth. Information on a given species will usually include taxonomy, geographic distribution, collections, genetics, evolutionary history, morphology, behavior, ecological relationships, and importance for human well being. The encyclopedia is an ongoing project with new species and information being continuously added.
International Encyclopedia of Communication
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The International Encyclopedia of Communication contains information related to communication studies, including coverage of theories, media and communication phenomena, research methods, problems, concepts, and geographical areas. The content of the Encyclopedia is largely focused on communication theory and philosophy, interpersonal communication, journalism, intercultural and inter-group communication, media effects, strategic communication, public relations and advertising, communication and media law and policy, media systems in the world, and communication and technology. New entries are added periodically, and the Encyclopedia currently contains over 1300 entries.
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
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This encyclopedia covers the properties, manufacturing, and uses of chemicals, as well as materials, processes, and engineering principles. Current research, emerging technologies, economic aspects, environmental impacts and health concerns are also addressed. The database contains over 1,000 articles, which are updated regularly, as well as archival content.
Literary Encyclopedia
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The Literary Encyclopedia covers People, Works, Topics, and Events in literature. Coverage is provided for English, American, Canadian, German and Russian literature as well as increasing coverage of French, Italian, Japanese, Classical Greek, Latin, Hispanic and East European literature. The encyclopedia currently contains over 6500 completed articles, with a total of about 13.5 million words. Around 40 new articles are added to the Encyclopedia every month.
Oxford Art Online
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Oxford Art Online (formerly the Grove Dictionary of Art) contains over 45,000 signed articles on visual arts, with more than 23,000 subject entries and 21,000 biographies. The collection also includes more than 6,000 searchable images and over 40,000 image links to museums and galleries. The database is updated three times a year with new material and corrections, and covers a number of subjects including painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts and photography.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
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This database provides access to a collection of peer-reviewed articles and original papers in the field of philosophy. Over 950 professional philosophers collaboratively write, referee, and maintain this reference work, and the University of Utah is a supporter of the project. The Encyclopedia is updated and revised regularly on a per-article basis.
Women's Studies Encyclopedia Online
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The Women's Studies Encyclopedia contains information about women from many fields and disciplines of study, focusing on the American experience (though many entries are related to women in other parts of the world as well).

Encyclopedias by Subject

Encyclopaedia of Islam This link opens in a new window
The Encyclopaedia of Islam provides access to articles on distinguished Muslims and their tribes and dynasties, crafts and sciences, political and religious institutions, their history, and information about the geography, ethnography, flora and fauna, topography and monuments of their major towns, cities and countries. The encyclopaedia is focused historically and geographically on the old Arabo-Islamic empire, the Islamic countries of Iran, Central Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Indones…
The Encyclopaedia of Islam provides access to articles on distinguished Muslims and their tribes and dynasties, crafts and sciences, political and religious institutions, their history, and information about the geography, ethnography, flora and fauna, topography and monuments of their major towns, cities and countries. The encyclopaedia is focused historically and geographically on the old Arabo-Islamic empire, the Islamic countries of Iran, Central Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Indonesia, the Ottoman Empire and all other Islamic countries.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford Art Online (formerly the Grove Dictionary of Art) contains over 45,000 signed articles on visual arts, with more than 23,000 subject entries and 21,000 biographies. The collection also includes more than 6,000 searchable images and over 40,000 image links to museums and galleries. The database is updated three times a year with new material and corrections, and covers a number of subjects including painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts and photography.