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Dear Debra,
Reference Books are Nonfiction Books.

Define Nonfiction first. Just as the word "volume" has several
meanings, so does the word "nonfiction." The classroom teacher would
define nonfiction as realistic writing. In a library, "nonfiction" has
a special library meaning. It means *not* fiction. Nonfiction does not
mean only "factual" or "realistic."  Nonfiction is everything that's
not novels, including poetry, plays, riddles, myths, and folk tales ---
besides factual material --- all arranged by Dewey or Library of
Congress numbers.

Reference books are a subsection of nonfiction that have been set aside
because of the way they are circulated. They are nonfiction books with
short or no circulation. They are usually factual, but may include
comprehensive anthologies of poetry at REF 808.81, for example.

(There is actually a Dewey literature subdivision, with the number 3
for fiction, but libraries seldom use it. Dewey puts short story
anthologies in 808.83, for instance.)

Joan

Joan Kimball, Concord, Mass.   woodkimball@juno.com
Retired from Hart's Hill School Library,   Whitesboro NY


On Jan 30, 2005, at 10:12 AM, Debra W. Waugh wrote:

> I'm working on a library unit for my ninth graders. How would you
> define the
> difference between Reference Books and Nonfiction Books?
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Deb Waugh
> Librarian/Instructional Technologist
> The Emmett G. Shufflebarger Library
> at Graham High School
> Bluefield, Virginia
> debwaugh.lm_net@frontiernet.net
>
>
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