# /research/top1000/reference.htm

originally: http://www.oclc.org/research/top1000/reference.htm

# 2005 Reference works 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