Tips
Encyclopedias are great for:
- choosing a topic
- quick self-education
- perspective on a topic
- variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- bibliography
Cambridge Histories Online
Excellent resource. Full text. Chapters as pdfs. Extremely high quality essays with rich footnotes and bibliography.
Language Dictionaries
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Oxford English DictionaryThe classic multi-volume dictionary online. Great for quotes and etymology.
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Language Dictionaries OnlineExcellent list of reputable English and other language dictionaries online.
Oxford Bibliographies Online
Peer reviewed annotated sources in a variety of disciplines:
Specialized Encyclopedias
Antiquity
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The Oxford Classical Dictionary byPublication Date: 2012A print copy is also available: Olin LIbrary Reference, and in Olin Room 604-605 DE5 .O9 2012 +
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Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean byCall Number: Olin Library Reference and Olin stacks, Oversize DE59 .C58 1988 +Publication Date: 1988
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Civilizations of the Ancient Near East byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, DS57 .C55x 1995This four volume work includes articles with bibliographical references and index.
Middle Ages
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Dictionary of the Middle Ages byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Stacks D 114 D55+12 vols. New York: Scribners, 1982-1988. (Olin Reference D 114 D55+; also Uris)
The classic. -
Europe
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Encyclopedia of European social history from 1350 to 2000 byAlso available in print.: Olin Reference HN 373.E63x 2001
6 vols. New York: Charles Scribner's -
Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet HistoryCall Number: Olin Reference DK14 M6858 volumes, the classic.
See also, the library catalog record for The Supplement to the Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History
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Modern Germany: an encyclopedia of history, people, and culture, 1871-1990 byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, + DD14 .M64x 1998Publication Date: 1998
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Tudor England: An EncyclopediaCall Number: Olin Reference DA315 .T753x 2001
Asia
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Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan by Call Number: Kroch Library Asia Reference, + DS805 .K76Publication Date: 1983 -
Encyclopedia of Asian History byCall Number: Kroch Library Asia Reference, + DS31 .E56Publication Date: 19884 volumes.
Other areas of the world
United States
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The Oxford Companion to United States History byPublication Date: 2001Also available in print: Olin Library Reference, E174 .O94 2001
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Dictionary of American History (online) byAlso available in print: Olin Reference + E174 .D52x 2003
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The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History byPublication Date: 2013Also available in print: Olin Library Reference, E169.1 .O945 2013 +
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The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Social History byPublication Date: 2012Also available in print: Olin Library Reference, HN57 .O94 2012 +
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St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture byPublication Date: 2013Also available in print: Olin Library Reference, E169.1 .S764 2013 +
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Encyclopedia of American Foreign PolicyCall Number: Olin LIbrary Reference, E183.7 .E52x 2002 +Publication Date: 2001
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Encyclopedia of American Religions byCall Number: Olin Library, BL2525 .M45144 2003 +Publication Date: 2003
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Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History byCall Number: African Library Reference & Library Annex, E185 E54 1996Publication Date: 19955 vols.
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Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual HistoryCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E169.1 .E624x 2001 +Publication Date: 2001
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Encyclopedia of American Social History byCall Number: Olin Library Reference; Olin Library stacks, HN57 .E56 1992ISBN: 0684192462Publication Date: 1993
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Encyclopedia of American Political History by Call Number: Olin Library Reference and Olin Stacks, E183 .E56 +Publication Date: 1984 -
Encyclopedia of the Confederacy byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E487 .E56 +Publication Date: 1993
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Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth CenturyCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E169.1 .E626x 2001 +Publication Date: 2000
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Encyclopedia of the American Civil War byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E468 .H47x 2000 +Publication Date: 2000
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The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture byCall Number: Olin LIbrary Reference, F209 .N47 2006Publication Date: 2006-
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Women During the Civil War byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E628 .H37x 2004Publication Date: 2003Also available as an ebook.
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Encyclopedia of the American Civil War byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, E468 .H47x 2000 +Publication Date: 2000-
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Encyclopedia of America in the Twentieth Century by Call Number: Olin Library Reference, E740.7 .E56 1996 +Publication Date: 1995 -
Encyclopaedia of Civil Rights in America byCall Number: African Library Reference and Olin Library stacks, E185.61 .E544x 1998 +Publication Date: 1997
Biography
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American National Biography[New York] : Oxford University Press, c2000. Highly recommended. Excellent bibliography.
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Dictionary of Canadian BiographyHighly recommended. Excellent bibliography.
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Oxford Dictionary of National Biography21 vols. plus suppl. London: Oxford UP, 2004. The standard work for English biography. Highly recommended. Excellent bibliography.
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British biographical archiveCall Number: Shelved in Microforms Alcove on the Lower Level.A one-alphabet cumulation of 324 of the most important English-language biographical reference works originally published between 1601 and 1929. London: K. G. Saur, 1984. 1236 microfiches. (Olin lower level microtexts)
Indexed by British biographical index (Olin Reference +CT773 .B86 1998). -
Dictionnaire de biographie française.Call Number: Olin Library Reference, +CT 143.D55Paris: Letouzey et Ané, 1933-92. (In progress.) An important dictionary of national biography, unfortunately still incomplete (to date up to L).
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Allgemeine deutsche BiographieCall Number: Olin Library stacks, CT1053 .A43Leipzig: Duncker, 1875-1912. 56 volumes.
The outstanding German biographical dictionary, containing long, signed articles, with bibliographies, on persons from early times to the end of the 19th century. -
American biographical archiveCall Number: Microfiche CT213 .A51 1995, shelved in microforms alcove Olin Library Lower LevelPublication Date: 1995London ; New York : K.G. Saur, [1986- 1995].
This set reproduces entries from biographical sources. Includes Canadians.
Indexed by American biographical index (Olin Library Reference + CT213 .A511 1998 ).
Statistics
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Historical Statistics of the United StatesCambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006- Millennial ed.
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Statistical Abstract of the United StatesAvailable on the Census Bureau's website.
Standard annual summary of statistics on the social, political and economic organization of the United States. A fabulous statistical reference and guide to other statistical publications and sources.
Print volumes in Cornell Library
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International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia, and Oceania 1750-1993Call Number: Olin Library Reference, HA4675 .M552x 1998Presents comparative statistics for 80 African and Asian countries (including Cyprus, Turkey, and the Near East), derived from official governmental and intergovernmental publications, and supplemented by unofficial sources. Dates of coverage vary, but the majority of tables begin during the first half of the 19th century. Topics include climate, population, labor force, agriculture, industry, external trade, transport and communications, finance, prices, education, and national accounts.
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International Historical Statistics : Europe 1750-2005 byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, HA1107 .M5 2007 +Publication Date: 2007Provides key economic and social indicators for European countries over the last 255 years, serving as an essential reference source.
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International Historical Statistics: the Americas, 1750-1993Call Number: Olin Reference HA175 .M55x 1998Presents comparative statistics for 26 North, Central, and South American countries, mostly from the mid-19th century to the early 1970s. Tables are grouped in 11 broad subject areas.
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Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970Call Number: Olin Library Reference, HA 202 A385 1976 +
Superior to Wikipedia on most topics & disciplines:
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International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciencesby N. J. Smelser (Editor-In-Chief); P. B. Baltes (Editor-In-Chief) An ambitious project to map and describe the state of the art in all fields encompassed within the social and behavioral sciences. Available in both print (26 volumes) and online editions, it comprises 4,000 articles, commissioned by 52 section editors, and includes 90,000 bibliographic references as well as comprehensive name and subject indexes. Alphabetically organized and extensively cross-referenced.