Reference works

Find guides to the reference works housed at the British Library.

Africa: Reference

Architectural history: reference sources

Art: reference sources

Belgian Studies Reference Sources

Bibliographical Resources for Hispanic Studies

Bibliographical Resources for Italian Studies

Bibliographies of the British Isles

Biography: reference sources

British history: reference sources

British Record Society Index library

Canadian studies

Catalan studies reference sources

Children's literature: reference sources

Classical antiquity: reference sources

Composer resources: catalogues, bibliographies and guides to research

Dance: reference sources

Drama and literature recordings: research resources

English literature: reference sources

Film: reference sources

French Studies Reference Sources

Frequently requested reference works

Genealogy: reference sources

General music reference books available at the British Library

Guides to directories on open access

Guide to encyclopedias on open access

Guide to music reference books in the Rare Books & Music Reading Room

Henry VIII: a select bibliography

Heraldry: reference sources

Hungarian studies: reference sources in the British Library

Indexes to music dissertations available at the British Library

Italian studies

Language dictionaries

Language dictionaries: Dutch

Language dictionaries: English

Language dictionaries: French

Language dictionaries: German

Language dictionaries: Greek

Language dictionaries: Italian

Language dictionaries: Latin

Language dictionaries: Other languages

Language dictionaries: Polish

Language dictionaries: Portuguese

Language dictionaries: Russian

Language dictionaries: Spanish

Latin American studies reference sources

Library and information science

Mexican studies reference sources

Monumenta Germaniae Historica

Music research guides and finding tools available at the British Library

National bibliographies and books in print

Oral history: research resources

Periodicals: reference sources

Personal and family names: reference sources

Philosophy: reference sources

Portraits: reference sources

Reading Room shelfmarks

Reference, bibliographical and other works in Italian language, linguistics and dialects

Reference books on ethnomusicology available at the British Library

Reference books on jazz available at the British Library

Reference books on musical settings of literature available at the British Library

Reference books on music printing and publishing available at the British Library

Reference books on opera, dance and theatre available at the British Library

Reference books on popular music available at the British Library

Russian and Soviet women's studies

Russian National Library Catalogue

Russian studies : open access material in the BL Reading Rooms (St Pancras)

Selected Acquisitions to the Collections of the British Library

South-East European studies

Sports: reference sources

Subject access to early printed materials in the British Library

Theatre: reference sources

Topography: reference sources

Woman and gender studies: New woman

Women and gender studies

Women and gender studies: Art, film, music

Women and gender studies: Biographies, bibliographies

Women and gender studies: Encyclopedias

Women and gender studies: Feminism

Women and gender studies: Further resources

Women and gender studies: Gay, lesbian and transgender

Women and gender studies: History

Women and gender studies: Literature

Women and gender studies: Microforms

Women and gender studies: Oral history

Women and gender studies: Other sources of interest

Women and gender studies: Periodicals

Women and gender studies: Suffrage

Women and gender studies: War

In our Reading Rooms

With the help of our experts

Online or by post

Full list of online catalogues

Copyright © The British Library Board