Ask Clarence
Reference Tool Types

Bibliography — list of citations on a defined topic

Biography — written accounts of a person's life.

Corpus/Census — Both tools are multi-volume works published over an extended period of time which attempt to cover their topic comprehensively.
Corpus: a large collection of works, usually of a single media or type, located in disparate locations often crossing political boundaries.
Census: a large collection of works, usually of a single media or type, found in a particular location.

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias — an alphabetical listing of words with definitions and/or essays.

Directories — an alphabetical or classified list of names and addresses

Handbooks — a manual the provides applied information or instruction on a particular subject; used when a primary use of the title is 'how to' do something.

Hagiography — the study of Christian Saints

Iconography — The meaning of the subject(s) and/or symbol(s) of a work of art including relevant literary sources.

Library Catalogs — Lists of works owned by a particular library or group of libraries. Library catalogs typically list each work by author, title and subject. Publication information and location are also usually provided.

Museum Catalogs — A list of art works owned by particular museum. Museum catalogs often list the artist, title, date, technical information, provenance, exhibition history, and bibliographic citations for each work.

Museums — Indexes to Works Held — An index, usually arranged by artist, to works of art held by a variety of museums.

Overviews — Introductory texts or surveys.

Periodical Indexes — A list of articles found in a select group of periodicals, usually arranged by author and subject.

Reproductions — Sources that provide, or lead to, reproductions of art and architecture

Sources for Contemporary Texts — Texts written by contemporaries of an artist or architect. Texts may be in translated, in the original language or both.

Timelines — A chronological list of major events, usually divided into several broad sub-categories for the purpose of comparison.

Topographical Guides — Lists of buildings and monuments in a particular location. Also called travel guides.