Best of the Best Reference Titles

Another article in the May 2005 issue of the Canadian publishing industry magazine Quill & Quire is "Just enough information: The best of the best in recent reference titles".

Toronto Public Library collections librarian Margaret Henry was asked to pick worthy recent and upcoming reference titles. I love this kind of stuff.

Here are her choices/suggestions for your home library or for any collection (mostly in the public library context but many of the titles can be handy anywhere):

In the general category:

• Oxford Children's Illustrated Encyclopedia
• Penguin Book of Facts

In the "Society" category:

• Every Canadian's Guide to the Law
• Human: The Definitive Visual Guide

In the "Writing, Research and Language" category:

• Canadian Oxford Dictionary (includes 5,000 new words and expressions such as "puck hog", studmuffin, "West Nile virus" and "beer league")
• Firefly French/English Visual Dictionary

In the "Health" category:

• The Complete Canadian Health Guide
• When Your Child is Sick: A Home Guide for Parents
• Canadian Medical Association Complete Home Medical Guide

In the "History and Geography" category:

• Canada: An Illustrated History
• Oxford Companion to Canadian History
• The Canadian Atlas