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The ability to collect knowledge, cultural creations, and a vast array of varying types of materials into databases is foundational to the practices of research, scholarship, and preservation. This list of outstanding reference tools showcases databases at their finest.

The array of sites available for use by anyone for free is a treasure of reference service and an ode to individual interest and collective commitment. These five resources cover a myriad of subjects, from AI to radio history.

Resources for study, developing knowledge, and exploring issues—created by experts and designed to illuminate—are critical tools. The year in reference showcases how essential facts-based resources are and how they can be harnessed for endeavors as profound as saving lives or as soul-satisfying as fixing a bike.

Fee-based databases offer scholars and general readers access to authoritative, fact-based research. These tools further study, enable discovery, and highlight key archival collections around the world.

From AI tools to a music encyclopedia to nonprofit financial information, the range of truly excellent free resources on the Internet reminds users of the best intentions of technology—to make knowledge accessible and useful to all.

Reference works contain entire worlds, arranged, indexed, and designed to support research and exploration. These aids—hefty both in physical form and in depth and resonance—provide new interpretations, offer access into decades of academic work, and foster fresh ways of thinking.

Free reference sources, vetted, smart, and endlessly useful, are a rich resource for scholars and students. Here are our five top picks for 2023.

Databases foster deep research, expansive reading, and a myriad of inquiry avenues. These 10 tools, covering food, Shakespeare, study skills, and much more, are our selections for the best databases of 2023.