The Library: Media & Communication: Reference Material

Encyclopeadias

Oxford World Encyclopedia
This encyclopedia features concise entries providing essential information on a range of subjects, including world affairs, science and technology, the arts, modern and ancient history, religion, sports, and popular culture.

Biographies

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
An illustrated collection of more than 59,000 specially written biographies of the men and women from around the world who shaped all aspects of Britain's past
- Please visit the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography help pages for support.
- Accessibility statement for Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

From Albert Einstein to the Marx Brothers, this authoritative reference book provides biographies of men and women from different countries and cultures who have contributed to the thought as well as the action of the twentieth century.

Who's Who 2017

Online dictionaries

Grove Music Online This link opens in a new window
Comprises the full text of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, The Norton Grove Dictionary of Women Composers, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, The Grove Dictionary of American Music, The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Also includes scholarly articles, biographies, images and links to audio and video examples.
- Accessibility statement for Grove Music Online.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language. It is an unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000 words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world.

As a historical dictionary, the OED is very different from Dictionaries of current English, in which the focus is on present-day meanings. You’ll still find present-day meanings in the OED, but you’ll also find the history of individual words, and of the language—traced through 3 million quotations, from classic literature and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.

The OED started life more than 150 years ago. Today, the dictionary is in the process of its first major revision. Updates revise and extend the OED at regular intervals, each time subtly adjusting our image of the English language.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of Oxford's reference titles, organised into various subject categories.
- Accessibility help for Oxford Reference.

Printed dictionaries

Your Academic Librarians

Amber Edwards, Rachel Davies, Jess Haigh & Caroline Robinson

Email Me