The Key, Intro, Explanation, Etc.

There is more to using reference materials than simply seeing if your item or person of interest is included. The publication’s preface or introduction may include additional material to help explain the reference you found to the person or item for which you were looking. There may be a list of abbreviations, an explanation of the book’s format, a summary of items used, etc. all of which are helpful in interpreting the item correctly.

Don’t just copy the page that includes that for which you are searching and quit. The front matter of these books matter if one hopes to interpret the information correctly.