Tips
Encyclopedias are great for:
- choosing a topic
- quick self-education
- perspective on a topic
- variant spellings, vocabulary, terminology
- bibliography
Language Dictionaries
- Language Dictionaries OnlineExcellent list of reputable English and other language dictionaries online.
Statistics
- International Historical Statistics byCall Number: Olin Library Reference, HA 1107 M5x 19984th rev. ed. London: Macmillan Reference Ltd., 1998.
- International Historical Statistics: Africa, Asia, and Oceania 1750-1993.Call Number: Olin Library Reference, HA4675 .M552x 19983rd rev. ed. London: Macmillan Reference Ltd., 1998.
- Historical statistics of the United States.Cambridge [England] ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2006- Millennial ed.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States1878-1959
Washington: Bureau of the Census, 1878- .
Print volumes available in Olin. Latest volume in Reference. Also available in most other libraries. (HA 202) (1960-2012, here) The standard annual summary of statistics, designed to serve as a convenient volume for statistical reference and is a guide to other statistical publications and sources.
Cambridge Histories Online
Excellent resource. Full text. Chapters as pdfs. Extremely high quality essays with rich footnotes and bibliography.
Oxford Bibliographies Online
Peer reviewed annotated sources in a variety of disciplines:
Encyclopedias: Europe, etc
Antiquity (Olin Reference call numbers DE)
- Oxford Classical Dictionary(4th ed.) Also in print at Olin Reference and Olin Room 604 DE5 .O98 1996+ Much more than a dictionary; an essential, and a classic.
- Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO): ClassicsIn progress. Annotated sources.
- Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Stacks DE59 .C58 1988 +Three volumes offer extensive articles and brief bibliography.
- Civilizations of the Ancient Near East byCall Number: Olin Reference DS57 .C55x 1995This four volume work includes articles with bibliographical references and index.
Middle Ages
- Dictionary of the Middle Ages byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Stacks D 114 D55+A major reference source in this area. The articles, written by specialists, cover roughly the years 500-1500 A.D. in the lands of the Latin West, the Slavic world, Asia Minor, the lands of the Caliphate in the East, and the Muslim-Christian areas of North Africa.
- Oxford Bibliographies: Medieval StudiesIn progress. Annotated sources.
Europe (Olin Reference call numbers D-DF)
- Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO): Atlantic WorldIn progress. Annotated entries.
- Encyclopedia of European Social History: From 1350 To 2000Also in print: (Olin Reference HN 373 .E63 2001) 6 Volumes.
- Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet HistoryCall Number: Olin Reference DK14 M6858 volumes, the classic.
- Medieval Germany: An EncyclopediaCall Number: Olin Reference DD126 .M43x 2001+
- Tudor England: An EncyclopediaCall Number: Olin Reference DA315 .T753x 2001
Asia (Kroch Asia Reference)
- Kodansha Encyclopedia of JapanCall Number: Kroch Asia Reference AND Annex DS 805 K76+9 volumes
- Encyclopedia of Asian historyCall Number: Olin and Kroch Asia Reference +DS31 .E564 volumes
Encyclopedias: United States
United States (Olin Reference call numbers E-F)
- The Oxford Companion to United States historyAlso in print, (Olin Reference E174 .O94 2001 +)
- Oxford Bibliographies Online (OBO) : Atlantic WorldIn progress. Annotated entries.
- Dictionary of American historyA classic ten volume encyclopedia. (Also in print--Olin Reference E174 .D52x 2003 +)
- Encyclopedia of American foreign policyAlso in print, (Olin Reference E183.7 .E52x 2002 +)
- Melton's encyclopedia of American religionsCall Number: Oversize BL2525 .M449 2009 +
- Encyclopedia of American Cultural & Intellectual HistoryCall Number: Olin Reference E169.1 .E624x 2001
- Encyclopedia of American Social HistoryCall Number: Olin Reference AND Stacks HN 57 .E56 19923 volumes
- Encyclopedia of American Political HistoryCall Number: Olin Stacks and Reference E 183 .E56 +3 volumes
- Encyclopedia of the ConfederacyCall Number: Olin Reference E487 .E564 volumes
- Encyclopedia of the United States in the Nineteenth CenturyCall Number: Olin Reference E169.1 .E626x 20013 volumes
- Encyclopedia of the American Civil War: a Political, Social, and Military HistoryCall Number: Olin Reference E468 .H47x 20005 volumes
- Encyclopedia of Southern CultureCall Number: Olin Reference F 209 .E56 1989
- Women during the Civil War : an encyclopediaCall Number: Olin Reference E628 .H37x 2004
- Encyclopedia of the American Civil War : a political, social, and military historyCall Number: Olin Reference E468 .H47x 2000Five volumes
- St. James Encyclopedia of Popular CultureAlso Olin Reference E 169.1 S764x 2000. 5 volumes
- Encyclopedia of the United States in the Twentieth CenturyCall Number: Olin Reference E740.7 .E56 19964 volumes
- The Encyclopedia of Civil Rights in AmericaCall Number: Africana Reference AND Olin Stacks E185.61 E544x 19983 volumes
Biography
- American National BiographyAlso in print, Olin Reference + CT213 .A68x 1999
- American biographical archiveCall Number: microfiche CT213 .A51 1995 shelved in microforms alcove Olin Library Lower LevelThis set reproduces entries from biographical sources. Includes Canadians. Indexed by American biographical index (Olin Library Reference + CT213 .A511 1998
- Dictionary of National Biography (online)The standard work for English biography. also in print at Olin Reference DA28.D4 O95 2004, 21 volumes plus supplement
- British biographical archive: a one-alphabet cumulation of 324 of the most important English-language biographical reference works originally published between 1601 and 1929Call Number: Microfiche CT773 .B86, Olin Lower Level1236 microfiches. Indexed by British biographical index (Olin Reference +CT773 .B86 1998)
- Dictionnaire de biographie françaiseCall Number: Olin Reference +CT 143.D55An important dictionary of national biography, unfortunately still incomplete (to date up to L)
- Archives biographiques françaisesCall Number: Microfiche CT1003 .I532 Olin Lower Level1065 microfiches. Indexed by Archives biographiques françaises (Olin Reference +CT1003 .I53x 1998)
- Allgemeine deutsche BiographieCall Number: Olin stacks CT1053 .A4356 volumes. The outstanding German biographical dictionary, containing long, signed articles, with bibliographies, on persons from early times to the end of the 19th century.
- Deutsches biographisches Archiv: eine Kumulation aus 254 der wichtigsten biographischen Nachschlagswerke für den deutschen Beriech bis zum Ausgang des neunzehnten JahrhundertsCall Number: Microfiche CT1053 .D48; Olin lower level1447 microfiches. Indexed by: Deutscher biographischer Index (Olin Library Reference +CT1053 .D48 1998)
Guides, Directories, Bibliographies
- Dictionary of Concepts in History byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Stacks D13 .R59Arranged in dictionary format, this source explains "key concepts of contemporary historical analysis" (Introduction).
- Historical periodicals directory byCall Number: Olin Reference + Z6205 .H673
- Historical journals : a handbook for writers and reviewers byCall Number: Library Annex Z6205 .S92A guide for writers interested in placing works for publication in historical journals. Brief sections offering advice on articles and book reviewing are followed by an alphabetical listing of about 700 historical journals.
- Sources of information for historical research byCall Number: Olin Reference Z6201 .S64x 1994The coverage of sources is comprehensive, organized by geography (country or continent), genre, and type of holding. All works listed are annotated.
- The modern researcher byCall Number: Mann Library AND Annex D13 .B29 1992The classic guide to historical research in an updated, revised version.
- Harvard Guide to American History byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Uris Stacks Z 1236 .H23 1974Includes bibliographical references to materials in political, social, constitutional, and economic history. Divided into nine parts: 1) Research Methods and Materials, 2) Biographies and Personal Records, 3) Comprehensive and Area Histories, 4) Histories of Special Subjects, 5) America to 1789, 6) U.S., 1789-1860, 7) Civil War and Reconstruction, 8) Rise of Industry and Empire, and 9) Twentieth Century. Volume II also contains an index of names and a subject index.
- The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature byCall Number: Olin Reference AND Uris Stacks +Z6201.A51 G9 1995A new edition of a standard reference work. A comprehensive guide to historical literature for all periods and areas of the world in two volumes. Useful for retrospective bibliography and primary source material.