LibGuides: Reference Resources: Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

Britannica Online

See Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

AI Research Tool
Our subscription includes access to the Ask Brittanica AI chatbot which answers questions using information and insights from Britannica's collection of articles.
e-EROS (Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis)
A database of around 70,000 reactions and more than 4,000 of the most frequently consulted reagents and catalysts, and is fully searchable by structure and substructure, reagent, reaction type and experimental conditions.
Gale Ebooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL))
Includes a collection of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for beginning research. Subjects include African American studies, American and world history, animal behavior, anthropology, biography, business and finance, cinema, elementary and secondary education, general science, law, literature, medicine, philosophy, psychology, religion, scholarships and fellowships for college, sociology, and technology.
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
A comprehensive online encyclopedia devoted to world music research. Includes the full text of the ten volume print encyclopedia as well as hundreds of audio examples.
Merriam-Webster
A free online dictionary and thesaurus.
Oxford Art Online
An online art reference source that covers Western and non-Western visual art. Includes the contents of Grove Art Online as well as additional Oxford art reference resources. Provides access to artists' biographies, images of artwork, as well as information on aesthetics, art terms, art movements, styles, theory, and criticism.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world, from North America to South Africa, from Australia and New Zealand to the Caribbean. It also offers the best in etymological analysis and in listing of variant spellings, and it shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet.

AI Research Tool
Our subscription includes access to the Search Assistant AI research tool. This tool is currently a pilot, and may be removed from the OED without advance notice.
Oxford Music Online
An online music reference source that includes the contents of Grove Music Online as well as The Oxford Dictionary of Music and The Oxford Companion to Music. Provides access to articles on composers, performers, conductors, individual works, instruments and notation, forms, genres, and popular music.
Oxford Reference Online: Premium

A collection of language and subject dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference works published by Oxford University Press. All titles in the collection are cross-searchable; individual titles may be searched separately as well.
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If you chose to register for a personal account using your ius.edu email address, you will need to update your account to use your iu.edu email address before December 31, 2025. Please use the following instructions to update your account.
1. Visit Oxford Reference and select Personal Profile from the top-right corner of the page
2. Log in
3. At the top-right corner, select your name and choose View personal profile
4. Select the My Account tab
5. Update the Email address field to your iu.edu email address
6. Enter your password in the Current Password field
7. Press Save
There will be a small notice above your name that says “Changes saved successfully."
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
A scholarly, open-access online encyclopedia covering a full range of philosophical topics.
Virtual Reference Library (GVRL)
Now called Gale Ebooks.

Reference Resources

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias

AI Research Tool

AI Research Tool

One Mail Instructions