Lots of debate over what works would appear in the reference (classically, a non-circulating collection) section of a library. As last year, we let OCLC's own librarian have final say on this updated list.
#1 |
Census [various] United States Library holdings: 460,628 Bibliographic records: 10,617 Rank on complete list: 2  |
#2 |
Familiar Quotations John Bartlett Library holdings: 16,249 Bibliographic records: 114 Rank on complete list: 90 |
#3 |
World Book Encyclopedia Library holdings: 14,984 Bibliographic records: 56 Rank on complete list: 114 |
#4 |
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers Joseph Gibaldi Library holdings: 11,657 Bibliographic records: 25 Rank on complete list: 186 |
#5 |
History of Art H. W. Janson Library holdings: 11,317 Bibliographic records: 54 Rank on complete list: 193 |
#6 |
Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations Kate L. Turabian Library holdings: 11,139 Bibliographic records: 20 Rank on complete list: 200 |
#7 |
Elements of Style William Strunk Library holdings: 10,851 Bibliographic records: 41 Rank on complete list: 211 |
#8 |
Birds of America John James Audubon Library holdings: 10,127 Bibliographic records: 120 Rank on complete list: 250 |
#9 |
Joy of Cooking Irma Rombauer Library holdings: 9,721 Bibliographic records: 63 Rank on complete list: 269 |
#10 |
Oxford Companion to American Literature James David Hart Library holdings: 9,491 Bibliographic records: 18 Rank on complete list: 275 |
#11 |
Art through the Ages Helen Gardner Library holdings: 9,289 Bibliographic records: 42 Rank on complete list: 287 |
#12 |
Index to Poetry Edith Granger Library holdings: 9,205 Bibliographic records: 15 Rank on complete list: 294 |
#13 |
Encyclopedia Americana Library holdings: 8,894 Bibliographic records: 17 Rank on complete list: 316 |
#14 |
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association Library holdings: 8,886 Bibliographic records: 11 Rank on complete list: 317 |
#15 |
Handbook of Denominations in the United States Frank Spencer Mead Library holdings: 8,844 Bibliographic records: 17 Rank on complete list: 323 |
#16 |
Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged Philip Babcock Gove Library holdings: 8,679 Bibliographic records: 25 Rank on complete list: 331 |
#17 |
Law Dictionary Henry Campbell Black Library holdings: 8,417 Bibliographic records: 23 Rank on complete list: 357 |
#18 |
Roget's International Thesaurus Library holdings: 8,316 Bibliographic records: 20 Rank on complete list: 365 |
#19 |
Medical Dictionary Thomas Lathrop Stedman Library holdings: 8,262 Bibliographic records: 48 Rank on complete list: 368 |
#20 |
Documents of American History Henry Steele Commager Library holdings: 7,994 Bibliographic records: 27 Rank on complete list: 389 |
#21 |
Larousse Encyclopedia of Prehistoric and Ancient Art René Huyghe Library holdings: 7,949 Bibliographic records: 18 Rank on complete list: 395 |
#22 |
Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy Robert Berkow Library holdings: 7,700 Bibliographic records: 16 Rank on complete list: 420 |
#23 |
Abridgment of Murray's English Grammar Lindley Murray Library holdings: 7,555 Bibliographic records: 333 Rank on complete list: 438 |
#24 |
Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Library holdings: 7,436 Bibliographic records: 9 Rank on complete list: 452 |
#25 |
Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia Douglas M. Considine Library holdings: 7,240 Bibliographic records: 6 Rank on complete list: 479 |
#26 |
Atlas of the World Library holdings: 7,213 Bibliographic records: 18 Rank on complete list: 485 |
#27 |
Oxford Companion to English Literature Margaret Drabble Library holdings: 7,152 Bibliographic records: 12 Rank on complete list: 494 |
#28 |
Occupational Outlook Handbook Library holdings: 7,096 Bibliographic records: 39 Rank on complete list: 502 |
#29 |
Collier's Encyclopedia With Bibliography and Index William Darrach Halsey Library holdings: 7,076 Bibliographic records: 42 Rank on complete list: 507 |
#30 |
Dictionary of Modern English Usage H. W. Fowler Library holdings: 7,030 Bibliographic records: 53 Rank on complete list: 517 |
#31 |
New York Public Library Desk Reference Library holdings: 6,965 Bibliographic records: 7 Rank on complete list: 531 |
#32 |
New Encyclopaedia Britannica Library holdings: 6,897 Bibliographic records: 15 Rank on complete list: 543 |
#33 |
Decimal Classification and Relative Index Melvil Dewey Library holdings: 6,820 Bibliographic records: 54 Rank on complete list: 563 |
#34 |
Outline of History H. G. Wells Library holdings: 6,552 Bibliographic records: 154 Rank on complete list: 615 |
#35 |
Architectural Graphic Standards Charles George Ramsey Library holdings: 6,389 Bibliographic records: 37 Rank on complete list: 646 |
#36 |
Textbook of Medical Physiology Arthur C. Guyton Library holdings: 6,296 Bibliographic records: 28 Rank on complete list: 665 |
#37 |
Anatomy Descriptive and Surgical Henry Gray Library holdings: 6,237 Bibliographic records: 61 Rank on complete list: 685 |
#38 |
Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine Tinsley Randolph Harrison Library holdings: 6,223 Bibliographic records: 24 Rank on complete list: 686 |
#39 |
Field Guide to the Birds Roger Tory Peterson Library holdings: 6,137 Bibliographic records: 14 Rank on complete list: 711 |
#40 |
Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians Nicolas Slonimsky Library holdings: 6,105 Bibliographic records: 6 Rank on complete list: 728 |
#41 |
Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates Gorton Carruth Library holdings: 5,993 Bibliographic records: 10 Rank on complete list: 752 |
#42 |
Etiquette Emily Post Library holdings: 5,959 Bibliographic records: 40 Rank on complete list: 770 |
#43 |
Encyclopedia of Careers and Vocational Guidance William E. Hopke Library holdings: 5,952 Bibliographic records: 12 Rank on complete list: 775 |
#44 |
American Political Dictionary Jack C. Plano Library holdings: 5,896 Bibliographic records: 20 Rank on complete list: 791 |
#45 |
Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists Paul Cummings Library holdings: 5,888 Bibliographic records: 10 Rank on complete list: 796 |
#46 |
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary Library holdings: 5,871 Bibliographic records: 14 Rank on complete list: 803 |
#47 |
Merck Index: An Encyclopedia of Chemicals Drugs and Biologicals Library holdings: 5,767 Bibliographic records: 12 Rank on complete list: 831 |
#48 |
A To Zoo: Subject Access to Children's Picture Books Carolyn W. Lima Library holdings: 5,670 Bibliographic records: 7 Rank on complete list: 857 |
#49 |
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary Library holdings: 5,647 Bibliographic records: 18 Rank on complete list: 862 |
#50 |
Encyclopedia of American Religions J. Gordon Melton Library holdings: 5,598 Bibliographic records: 14 Rank on complete list: 884 |
#51 |
Facts About the Presidents Joseph Nathan Kane Library holdings: 5,479 Bibliographic records: 4 Rank on complete list: 924 |
#52 |
Index to Plays in Collections John H. Ottemiller Library holdings: 5,364 Bibliographic records: 11 Rank on complete list: 968 |
#53 |
Academic American Encyclopedia Library holdings: 5,326 Bibliographic records: 37 Rank on complete list: 987 |