reference books

Even the best available reference materials are only as good as a user’s ability to find the pertinent information within. Most careful readers and all careful editors know the value of a good table of contents and index. My respect for good book indexers is almost as deep as the stack of reference books I own (and use often). However, when I consider the types of resources that have significantly increased my editing efficiency, none come to mind more quickly than online reference materials with good search functions.