xrefer partners with the world’s leading publishing brands to produce value-added reference services. In all its activities, xrefer currently works with 50 publishers, but this number is increasing all the time.
Independent Titles
 A&C Black was founded in 1807, and is now the highly successful publisher of well-known titles such as Who’s Who and Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook. Encompassing books on sport, fitness and training; books on visual arts, glass, ceramics and printmaking; titles on all aspects of sailing and boating (Adlard Coles Nautical); books for birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts (Christopher Helm) and of course a substantial reference list, A&C Black also has a reputation for excellence with its wide range of children’s fiction and non-fiction books aimed to aid teachers and parents in the education of their children. A&C Black also incorporates Peter Collin Publishing, including subject dictionaries and language titles that are used by students, translators and professionals around the world. A&C Black has an extensive backlist and publish more than 250 new titles per year. |
| A & C Black website |
 Andromeda is one of the leading book packagers in the United Kingdom with a proven reputation for excellence, producing high quality illustrated reference books for adults and children, with English and Foreign language editions available worldwide. Acclaimed for academic authority, and containing award-winning original mapping, the extensive archive of titles has been developed over the past 25 years. |
| Andromeda website |
 Founded in 1941, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. rapidly became America’s leading publisher of test preparation manuals and school directories. In recent years, the publisher has expanded into many other publishing fields, introducing extensive lines of children’s books, foreign language learning books and cassettes, pet care manuals, New Age books, cook books, business and financial advice books, parenting advice books, and art instruction books. On average, Barron’s publishes up to 300 new titles a year and maintains an extensive backlist of well over 2,000 titles. Barron’s books are instantly recognized for their variety, reliability, and quality by retailers, educational and institutional book buyers, and not least by the reading public everywhere. |
| Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. website. |
 Berkshire Publishing Group is an award-winning knowledge and technology company based in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, USA. As a reference book packager since 1998, they have developed a reputation for global expertise and creative approaches in popular specialty areas including sports, religion, leadership, interpersonal relationships, modern Asia, and world history. |
| Berkshire Publishing website |
 Blackwell Publishing Ltd is dedicated to serving the global academic community. Authors working with Blackwell often break new ground in scholarship at the same time. They develop books for students which take account of the latest research and they aim to make the journals they publish as accessible as possible. |
| Blackwell’s website |
 Bloomsbury Publishing was founded in 1986. Its success has been based on the principle of publishing books of the highest quality, and bringing that quality to the mass market. Bloomsbury’s Reference and Electronic Media Division is one of the world’s leading providers of content for electronic and print applications. |
| Bloomsbury website |
 Founded in 1972, the Bridgeman Art Library works with museums, art galleries and artists to make the best art available for reproduction. The result is an outstanding archive of images drawn from collections throughout the world. Every subject, concept, style and medium is represented, from the masterpieces of national museums to the hidden treasures of private collections. Fine art is just one of the sources of images; design, antiques, maps, architecture, furniture, glass, ceramics, anthropological artefacts and many others also feature in the collection. |
| Bridgeman website |
 Cambridge University Press is the oldest printing and publishing house in the world. Founded on a royal charter granted to the University by Henry VIII in 1534, it has been operating continuously as a printer and publisher since the first Press book was printed in 1584. Since then, the Press has grown to become one of the largest academic and educational publishers in the world, publishing over 2,000 books and 150 journals a year. |
| CUP website |
 Cassell & Co was founded by John Cassell in 1848. Its reference publishing includes titles such as Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase & Fable and Brewer’s Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable. Cassell is now part of The Orion Publishing Group. |
| The Orion Publishing Group website |
 The Central Intelligence Agency was created in 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act by President Truman. The National Security Act charged the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) with coordinating the America’s intelligence activities and correlating, evaluating and disseminating intelligence which affects national security. |
| The CIA website |
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 Chambers Harrap Publishers employs editors with a wide range of skills on dictionaries and other titles for a variety of users, including students and teachers of English as a foreign or second language. As well as the core business of publishing dictionaries and thesauruses, Chambers also publishes a range of titles on grammar and usage, single-volume reference titles on science, history, biography and quotations, as well as titles for Scrabble® and crosswords. Harraps concentrates on publishing bilingual dictionaries. |
| Chambers Harrap Publishers website |
 Collins was founded in the early 19th Century and has an illustrious history. Collins has activities all across the globe and today, publishes Maps and Atlases, Education, Dictionaries and Reference. |
| Collins website |
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 Columbia University Press was founded in 1893 as a nonprofit corporation separate from Columbia University, although bearing its name and associated closely with it. With the publication of The Columbia Encyclopedia in 1935, the Press began to develop a list of general reference works in print that has set it apart from all other American university presses. |
| Columbia website |
 The Continuum International Publishing Grouppublishes high quality non–fiction titles in the humanities covering spiritual, philosophical, theological and religious works as well as the social sciences, the performing arts and popular culture; educational, literary and linguistic texts. |
| Continuum website |
 Crystal Reference was established in March 2001 and founded by Ian Saunders and Professor David Crystal. The company is a division of Quotations Limited, a privately owned UK incorporated company, specialising in knowledge management products. Crystal Reference was formed to supply a range of reference content for clients, enabling them to produce new print publications, websites, and electronic products. The company also supplies a range of information services providing subscription services both online and within public libraries across the world. |
| Crystal Reference website |
 Debrett’s With over 200 years chronicling the lives of Britain’s most influential people, Debrett’s continues to be THE most recognised and respected authority on the British way of life. As a specialist publisher of biographical reference books, Debrett’s has recorded some 100,000 prominent people over the last decade; the meritocracy who have shaped our recent history and will continue to do so in the future. |
| Debrett’s website |
 Elsevier Health Sciences. For over 100 years, the Elsevier name has represented a dedication to excellence in the exchange of information. The world’s premier names in health care publishing – Saunders, Mosby, Churchill Livingstone, Butterworth-Heinemann, and Hanley & Belfus are now all members of the Elsevier, Health Sciences Division a team of leading publishers dedicated to meeting the information needs of health science professionals. |
| Elsevier Health Sciences website |
 Encyclopædia Britannica continues to publish the 32-volume Encyclopædia Britannica, the oldest reference work in the English language. A new, revised printing was issued in 2005. In recent years Britannica has introduced several other reference sets for students and young children, including Compton’s by Britannica, My First Britannica, Discover America, and Britannica Discovery Library. Its line of product has grown, the media of publication have changed, but Britannica’s basic mission is still as it was in 1768; to be the worldwide leader in reference, education, and learning. |
| Encyclopædia Britannica website |
 The European Information Association (EIA) is an international body of information specialists whose aim is to develop, co-ordinate and improve access to EU information. A worldwide membership includes public, academic and government libraries, information units of professional and voluntary groups, European Documentation Centres, Euro Info Centres, law firms, local authorities, publishers and companies. A non-profit-making organisation with charitable status, the EIA produces a range of publications, written by EU information experts. |
| European Information Association website |
 Faber and Faber is the last of the great independent publishing houses in London. The firm’s strength in drama has helped to create the country’s best film list, including Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Martin Scorsese. The Faber Library series is a collection of choice titles of outstanding literary merit. It intends to remain an independent publishing house defined by its writers and books, committed to bringing readers new contemporary writing of the highest quality in fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, music and film, packaged in the best of modern design. |
| Faber and Faber website |
 Frank Allston Davis started his publishing company in 1879. He associated himself with men like Dr. Charles E. de M. Sajous, who authoredThe Internal Secretions and Principles of Medicinewhich the F.A. Davis Company published through nine editions. When Irene Davis took over the company in 1917, she discovered Clarence W. Taber. He brought with him a Dictionary for Nurses which was developed into Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. It was an immediate success and today is the company’s flagship title. F A Davis remains the only independent medical publisher in the USA. |
| F A Davis website |
 H.W. Wilson, founded in 1898 and located in the Bronx since 1917, is a leading publisher of reference materials and databases – primarily for the library market. The company’s indexing and abstracting publications and reference materials are relied on worldwide. The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, introduced in 1901, quickly became a classic in the field and continues to be a primary reference tool today. The complete resources offered by WilsonWeb represent one-stop searching for a wide range of researchers. |
| H.W. Wilson website |
 Established in 1913 Harvard University Presspublishes scholarly books and serious works of general interest in the humanities, the social and behavioral sciences, the natural sciences, medicine. A number of important reference works of the Press are chosen for its prestigious Belknap Press imprint such as The Dictionary of American Regional English, Adams Paper project, and the Harvard Dictionary of Music. Harvard University Press publishes about 130 titles per year and has 2,800 titles currently in print. |
| Harvard University Press website |
 Helicon‘s history is one of innovation, consistently marrying content to technology, and with a reputation for service. In 1992, we were the first to create an encyclopedia for an electronic handheld device, and the first, in 2000, with ntl, to launch an educational encyclopedia on interactive digital TV. |
| Helicon website |
 Houghton Mifflin gives shape to ideas that educate, inform, and delight. In a new era of publishing, their legacy of quality thrives as they combine imagination with technology, bringing you new ways to know. For over a century and a half, it has been their mission to enrich people’s lives by satisfying the lifelong need to learn and be entertained. |
| Houghton Mifflin website |
 Library of Congress is America’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library preserves a collection of nearly 121 million items, more than two-thirds of which are in media other than books. These include the largest map, film and television collections in the world. In addition to its primary mission of serving the research needs of the U.S. Congress, the Library serves all Americans through its popular Website and in its 22 reading rooms on Capitol Hill. |
| Library of Congress website |
 Macmillan was founded in 1843 by Daniel and Alexander Macmillan, two brothers from the Scottish Isle of Arran. Although founded in the UK, nowadays they publish for readers all over the world. While proud of their heritage and outstanding history, they are firmly committed to modern methods of production and distribution. |
| Macmillan website |
 The Macquarie Dictionary was first published in 1981 after a decade of research and planning. Australians responded warmly to their own dictionary, the dictionary which presented English the way it is spoken and written in Australia. Through 1982–84, a whole family of dictionaries and thesauruses was born from the original database. Macquarie has embraced a world in which computer technology has come to the assistance of lexicography. In 1996 Macquarie launched its reference web site on the Internet. It is called MacquarieNet and is targeted at primary and secondary schools throughout Australia. In February 2001 Macquarie became part of Macmillan Australia, a move which linked it to both the trade and educational aspects of Macmillan publishing. It also provided an online outlet for Macmillan Education texts through MacquarieNet. |
| Macquarie Dictionary website MacquarieNet website |
 For over 100 years, McGraw-Hill has been recognized for publishing some of the most respected and well-known works in a wide range of professional fields. McGraw-Hill Science, Technical and Medical publishes the most renowned reference works in architecture, engineering, aviation, electronics, technical trades, and medicine, and is an industry leader in emerging fields such as robotics, telecommunications, and audio/video technology. Some of the publisher’s classic works include Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine, Perry’s Chemical Engineers’ Handbook and the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology. |
| McGraw-Hill website |
 Market House Books(MHB) is one of the most prolific reference content production houses in the UK. They produce reference content for Oxford University Press, Macmillan and many other publishers. They are very well-respected in the business and are well-known for the reliable and authoritative nature of their reference content. |
| MHB website |
 During the past 150 years, Merriam-Webster has developed and refined an editorial process that relies on objective evidence about language use, and it applies this process to create reference products that meet rigorous standards of quality and reliability for both print and electronic formats. Today, Merriam-Webster is America’s most trusted authority on the English language. |
| Merriam-Webster website |
 The MIT Press, committed to exploring new fields and new modes of inquiry, is the only university press in the United States whose list is based in science and technology. A major publishing presence in fields as diverse as architecture, social theory, economics,cognitive science, and computational science, the company publishes about 200 new books and over 40 journals a year. The publisher has a long-term commitment to both design excellence and the efficient and creative use of new technologies, with the goal to create books and journals that are challenging, creative, attractive, and yet affordable to individual readers. |
| The MIT Press website |
 Penguin titles first appeared in the summer of 1935. Much has changed since then but the company has continued to be a major and vital publishing force. According to the Chief Executive, ‘Penguin has always been an innovator and will continue to seek out new directions and find better ways of getting things done at every stage of the publishing process.’ |
| Penguin website |
 Philip’s is one of Britain’s best-known map, atlas and reference book publishers. Many of their products are long-established market leaders, from the classic Philip’s Modern School Atlas, now approaching its 100th edition, to the Philip’s Atlas of the World, comprehensive edition. Most of the company’s products are created entirely from its electronic databases, and continually updated to ensure regular incorporation of new information and real-world changes, as well as enabling the production of customized products in the wide variety of formats required by their customers. |
| Philip’s website |
 Founded in 1984, Lynne Rienner Publishers remains a rare, independent presence in scholarly and textbook publishing. The publisher combines a strong commitment to thoughtful and relevant scholarship with a concern for thorough marketing and worldwide distribution. |
| Lynne Rienner Publishers |
 Routledge was founded over 150 years ago, primarily as a book publisher. Through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions it has become one of the world’s leading publishers of academic books, particularly within the social science and humanities subject areas. It focuses on three academic sectors: undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate; research and reference; and professional education and development. |
| Routledge website |
 SAGE Publications, a leading international publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, is a privately owned publishing company dedicated to the global dissemination of information. Founded in 1965 with a mandate to make the best and most current scholarship accessible to a broad academic audience, SAGE recognizes that high quality scholarship requires dedication and commitment. SAGE works closely with authors and editors to produce the most outstanding work in the fields in which it publishes. By disseminating scholarly and professional materials throughout the world, SAGE sets the standard for innovative, interdisciplinary, and international scholarship. |
| Sage Publications website |
 Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Inc. is a not for profit organization engaged in the publishing and distributing of The Qur’an and other Islamic Literature. Since incorporation in 1977, it has published thirty editions of The Qur’an and twelve other works of Islamic Literature, some even in Spanish. It has recently added a line of children’s books. |
| Tahrike Tarsile Qur’an Inc. website |
 Thames & Hudson is one of the most respected and innovative publishers of illustrated books in the world, publishing titles on art, architecture, graphics, design, fashion, photography, the decorative arts, archaeology, history, travel and music. The World of Art series is celebrating its 45th anniversary as an essential part of any collection on the visual arts and cultural history. |
| Thames & Hudson UK website | Thames & Hudson USA website |
 Thomson Gale, a business of The Thomson Corporation, serves the world’s information and education needs through its vast and dynamic content pools, which are used by students and consumers in their libraries, schools and on the Internet. The company is best known for the accuracy, breadth and convenience of its data, addressing all types of information needs – from homework help to health questions to business profiles – in a variety of formats – books, Web-based solutions and microfilm. |
| Thomson Gale website |
 The US Census Bureau collects data throughout the country, from year to year, and from one generation to the next; consequently, its statistics for different areas or time periods are useful for comparative study. The agency has developed an extensive program for consulting with users of its statistics, primarily through public meetings, advisory committees, and conferences and workshops, in which suggestions are sought and the latest methods of handling census materials are studied to assure that the data are widely useful. It consults regularly with statistical agencies in other countries to take mutual advantage of the latest techniques being developed in the United States and abroad. |
| US Census Bureau website |
 Wiley is a global publisher of print and electronic products, specializing in scientific, technical, and medical books and journals; professional and consumer books and subscription services; and textbooks and other educational materials for undergraduate and graduate students as well as lifelong learners. Wiley has approximately 22,700 active titles and about 400 journals, and publishes about 2000 new titles in a variety of print and electronic formats each year. |
| Wiley US website |
 Woodhead Publishing Limited is an independent international publishing company publishing in the areas of Engineering, Materials, Textile Technology, Food Science, Technology & Nutrition, Environmental Management, Finance, Commodities and Investment. Woodhead Publishing Limited provides a range of authoritative reference books, practitioner series, professional texts and monographs, all written and produced to the exacting standards that have made Woodhead Publishing Limited one of Britain’s fastest growing independent publishers. |
| Woodhead Publishing website |
| The Devil’s Dictionary, Ambrose Bierce |
| Dictionary of Eponyms, Michael H. Manser |
| Dictionary of American Quotations, Hugh Rawson |
| Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk, Hugh Rawson |
| Wicked Words, Hugh Rawson |