Value of Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias are great for:
- locating authoritative, peer-reviewed, high quality information
- choosing a topic
- educating yourself quickly
- gaining background information easily (major ideas, theories, events, people)
- identifying variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- finding a bibliography (important, selected references for further reading)
How to find encyclopedias
Library guides exist for many subjects and classes. Most of them include selected background sources or subject encyclopedias for each topic area.
Library catalogs can be searched with keyword 'encyclopedia' combined with a subject such as 'urban' or 'sociology' or 'women.'
Reference staff can also provide helpful suggestions!
Wikipedia: Watch Out!
Wikipedia can be very helpful in providing information about all kinds of topics. The footnotes and lists of external links provided at the end of many articles may lead to useful scholarly material.
CAUTION: The text of each article is not always accurate or authoritative. Look for a Talk tab at the top of an article for postings regarding quality.
Articles often reflect personal opinion and controversial interpretations of events and issues. Authors might not have a strong academic background in the subject matter of the articles they contribute.
Encyclopedias by general topics
Encyclopedias on homelessness
Encyclopedia of Homelessness by Call Number: Olin Library Reference HV4493 .E53 2004Publication Date: 2004The first comprehensive resource on this topic. Covers origins of homelessness, current research, and strategies for prevention. Articles address homelessness in eight major American cities and more than 30 cities and nations around the world. Adding depth are bibliographies, a directory of street newspapers, a filmography, and more than 20 primary-source documents offering historical and contemporary perspectives.
Homelessness: a documentary and reference guide by Call Number: Olin Library Oversize HV4504 .S58 2012 +Publication Date: 2012An unflinching investigation of homelessness in the United States-a problem that has been with us since the arrival of the first English settlers nearly 400 years ago. Primary documents, including government reports, selections from novels, historical photographs, personal reminiscences, and more. Subject-specific bibliographies. A guide to relevant reference materials.
Sociology encyclopedias
The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology by Call Number: Olin Library Reference (Non-Circulating) Oversize HM425 .B53 2007 + Vols 1-11Publication Date: Blackwell: 2007 onward1,800 commissioned entries written and edited by an international team of the world's best scholars, including Cornell faculty. Contains brief and more detailed articles on both classical sociology and contemporary developments in the field, and introductions to sociological theories and research. World-wide in scope. Online version is updated three times a year.
Encyclopedia of Sociology by Call Number: Olin Library Reference (Non-Circulating) HM17 .E56 2000 vols. 1-5Publication Date: Macmillan: 2000Classic reference source reflecting many changes in society and in the field of sociology. Articles cover core issues such as education, race, poverty, violence, and economics. Selective footnotes lead to further reading.
Encyclopedias on cities
- Cities of the United StatesCall Number: Olin Library Oversize HT123 .C59 +Latest edition 2018; shelved in Reference.
Four volumes: The South, West, Midwest, and the Northeast regions, brings together a wide range of hard-to-locate data to answer questions concerning American cities. Provides coverage of the largest or fastest-growing cities, or those with a particular historical, political, industrial or commercial significance. Directory, bibliography information and illustrations round out each entry. - Encyclopedia of the CityCall Number: Olin Library Reference HT108.5 .E63 2005Examines the idea of the city from an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspective including fields such as politics, sociology, history, urban design, cultural studies, and psychology. More than 500 brief articles focus on the key topics in urban studies and associated fields.
- Encyclopedia of Urban America: the cities and suburbsCall Number: : Olin Library Reference, HT123 .E5x 1998; Also in Fine Arts Reference2 volumes.
Over 500 signed articles that offer broad coverage of the role of cities and suburbs in American history and culture, including issues such as immigration, race, ethnicity. The information is relevant to urban places in general, not to specific locales, though some individual cities are included.