Reference Books
Encyclopedias are great for:
- choosing a topic
- educating yourself quickly
- perspective on a topic
- variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- bibliography
For Additional listing of reference books, check out Biographical Resources.
Top Reference Databases
Go beyond Wikipedia! Use these reference databases to find authoritative background articles.
- Oxford African American Studies CenterThe core content in this database includes: Africana: the Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience, Second Edition; the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895; the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present; Black Women in America, Second Edition; African American National Biography.
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryProvides searchable full-text e-book versions of many reference works, including multi-volume encyclopedias, biographical collections, business plan handbooks, company history compilations, consumer health references, and specialized handbooks, dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. in a wide range of subject areas. Subject categories include arts, biography, business, education, environment, history, law, literature, medicine, multicultural studies, nation and world, religion, science, and social sc
- American National BiographyBiographical dictionary of about 17,500 notable American men and women from all eras of American history who are no longer alive. The ANB Online features thousands of illustrations, more than 80,000 hyperlinked cross-references, links to select web sites, and powerful search capabilities.
- Sage ereferenceA database of 47 reference books published by SAGE covering the social sciences and education, including such areas as African American studies, aged & gerontology, anthropology, communication and media studies, criminology and criminal justice, economics, education, gender & sexuality studies, history, politics, psychology, social issues, social work & social policy, and sociology.
- Reference UniverseAn index of over 10,000 specialized encyclopedias, compendia and handbooks. Great tool to find print resources.
Recommended Subject Encyclopedias
Black Women in America by Call Number: Africana Library Reference E185.86 .B542 2005ISBN: 0195156773Provides biographies and topical essays discussing the important roles Black women have played in American history.
Contemporary Black BiographyCall Number: Africana Library Reference DT 18 .C76ISBN: 1414432755This extraordinary reference series provides biographical profiles of important persons of African heritage whether they are personalities from the news, selected 20th-century notables, or individuals who are not yet household names. Each volume of Contemporary Black Biography contains 55 full-length biographies, Name, occupation, nationality and subject indexes are included in each volume.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture & History by Call Number: Olin Library Reference E185 .E54 2006 +ISBN: 0028658167The second edition of the Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History is a much-needed expansion of the 1996 classic and its 2000 supplement. As with the earlier publications, the second edition is aimed at high school and college students, as well as the general reader. Whereas the first edition focused almost exclusively on the United States, this new set identifies and addresses broad themes critical to understanding the texture of the cultures, achievements, challenges and comprise North America, Central and South America and the Caribbean.