Rocking the Reference Section

Many people think of old, dusty books when they hear the words "Reference Section," and prefer to turn to the Internet to do their research. While the Internet is usually helpful for general information, it just doesn't always have the specific answers you're looking for. This is where the Reference Section really comes in handy.

In our reference section, we do have standard encyclopedia sets and dictionaries, the ones that people immediately imagine when they hear those words. However, we also have Black's Law Dictionary, the Dictionary of American Foreign Affairs, as well as dictionaries of Economics, foreign languages, superstitions, Ecology, Medicine, Biblical Studies, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, musicians, and personal financing! Various subject encyclopedias also pepper the shelves.

Our reference section also contains specific items about local interests, such as Berks County maps, the Berks and Borough's books of Codes, Berks County authors, the historical Passing Scene set and the A Most Agreeable Town: A Photographic History of Kutztown set. In addition, we have the MLA Handbook, the Index of Fairy Tales, the 2012 Blue Book, quotation anthologies, biographies and chronologies...in short, a wealth of specific information on precise topics, which you'll be hard-pressed to find online, unless you know where to look!

On top of these useful items, we have copies of elementary and middle school textbooks from the Kutztown Area School District - so if your 3rd grader accidentally left their math textbook at school, or your 8th grader can't find their Spanish book, they can certainly finish their homework at the library!

So, the next time you're having trouble finding information about a certain topic, whether you're just curious or you're working on a big project, try the reference section first @ your library. It really helps!