Database Update: Credo Electronic Reference Books

Credo Reference Provides Over 260 Electronic Reference Books


Over 260 important electronic reference books have been added to the VU libraries collections as the result of a recent subscription to ebook provider Credo Reference.

The new reference ebooks are available by searching WebCat, the library catalog under the Find Books link on the VU Libraries web page, or the Credo Reference link under the Find Articles and Find Books links (see below).

The ebooks are searchable by either basic, advanced, or concept map interface. Contents may also be read by clicking an alphabetical listing. Once an article has been located, it may be read, printed, or emailed. To use Credo Reference from a VU campus computer, do the following:

• Go to the VU home page at http://www.vinu.edu
• Click the Academic Resources tab at the top of page
• Click VU Libraries (left column)
• Click Find Articles
• Click Credo Reference under the Reference Resources

This electronic reference collection provides articles covering a wide range of academic areas. Full-text electronic versions of traditional library reference materials such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and various handbooks and guidebooks are now available in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Coverage includes reference sources in subjects such as Biography, Business, Food, Geography, History, Language, Law, Literature, Medicine, Music, Philosophy and Psychology, Quotations, Religion, Science and Technology.

(Note: A link to Credo Reference is also available under the Find Books heading. Ebooks are also listed in WebCat, VU’s electronic catalog available under the Find Books heading.) These electronic reference books should be of great importance to students, faculty and staff needing to do research either on campus or off campus after logging onto their MYVU accounts. This collection should be especially useful to students enrolled in VU’s Distance Education courses.

As an example, ebooks available under the heading Technology include:

An Illustrated Dictionary of Aviation
Collins Dictionary of Computing
Computer Graphics Companion
Dictionary of Communications Technology: Terms, Definitions
and Abbreviations
Dictionary of Engineering Terms
Dictionary of Multimedia and Internet Applications: A Guide
for Developers and Users
Dictionary of Personal Computing and the Internet
Encyclopedia of Computer Science
Focal Dictionary of Telecommunications
Hargrave's Communications Dictionary
Harris, Dictionary of Architecture and Construction
High Definition: A-Z Guide to Personal Technology
Newnes Dictionary of Electronics
Webster's New World™ Computer Dictionary

The number of ebooks available on Credo Reference is expected to grow to about 300 by the end of 2007, and will continue to be increased in number. What else do you get?

• Broad and rich content -The collection features: over 2 million entries; 180,000 audio pronunciation files; 66,000 art, science, and medical images; and 90,000 atlas images of places and geographic features throughout the world.

• Over 60,000 images - Need art images? Or science, technology or medical photos? Just do a search and hit the "prefer results with images" radio button.

• Audio pronunciation files help with medical or scientific terms, or dictionary definitions. Do a search and hit the "prefer results with audio" radio button.

• Interactive maps - over 90,000 places and geographic features are covered. Need to identify islands in Indonesia? Volcanoes in Hawaii?

• Customizable, exportable data tables. Design your own research; compare country data from the CIA World Factbook or data from the US Census. You can add columns from your choice of hundreds of data fields and customize, chart, and export your data. Try creating tables with the CIA World Factbook.

• Visual maps of results - the Concept Map delivers an interactive display of search results and the relationships among them, clustered by topics and subtopics.

• Multiple search preferences allow you to rank results by relevancy or entry length, as well as availability of images or sound files.

• Citation formatter - allows easy, automated formatting of citations in your choice of APA, MLA or Chicago style. Your search results include a citation that can be reformatted with one click.