The Reference Collection contains research material of both a popular and scholarly nature.  Reference materials are normally for in-library use only. There are copy machines for patrons who wish to make photocopies from Reference books.

Databases:  In addition to the library’s online public databases, which are located at www2.state.lib.la.us/databases, the following are available only at the Main Library:  Foundation Directory Online, Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, Mitchell Manuals (for automobile repair), and LitFinder (for poems and short stories).

Periodicals:  The Main Library subscribes to a wide variety of magazines and annually updates a list of magazine holdings.  This list includes the name of the magazine, the available dates, and where it can be located in the library.  The current issues of the popular periodicals are shelved in the Reading Room on the First Floor. Specialized collections at the Main Library house the periodicals covered by their particular subject area.   The back issues of the majority of the periodicals are shelved along the west wall of the Reference Department; however, some high-theft and older issues are kept either in the Circulation Room or on the Third Floor. As a general rule, the Reference Department tries to keep the last ten years of periodicals on the First Floor.  Note: for the most part, the main library has no back issues of magazines for years earlier than 1960 with the major exception of National Geographic, which the library has back to 1911.

Business Reference Collection: There is a separate Business Reference Collection in the Reference Department, which has information on a variety of business interests. The standard business sources included are Value Line, Barron's, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, and Investor’s Business Daily.

Telephone Directories: The library owns approximately 400 telephone directories. The directories cover major cities in the United States. Most Louisiana cities (even smaller ones) are represented in the telephone directory collection.  A cross-reference index to all cities covered by the collection is located behind the Reference desk.

The current copy of the Shreveport Telephone Directory is kept at the Reference desk. Earlier copies, dating back to 1967, are shelved in the Louisiana Collection. The department also has a collection of Louisiana telephone directories, dating back to 1990, on microfiche.