Kayaking? cooking? koalas?
What will you talk about when you meet people?
Gain background knowledge -- then don't neglect to learn about some aspect of your destination that interests you! Movies -- sports -- art or theater. Learn how to consult Cornell's e-resources (books, journals, encyclopedias, images) through links from the Library's home page and research guides.
Country information
Find reliable country information quickly: these are efficient and reliable sources for facts and summaries about national politics, economics, education, infrastructure, media and much more. Use them to gather information or to check your understanding. Online (mostly); access through the Cornell Library Catalog.
- eiu.com [Economist Intelligence Unit] Country Profiles, Country Reports, Country Commerce, Viewswires for nearly 200 countries, regions and organizations.
- Europa World Plus Political, social and economic information about 250+ countries; incudes country maps and a directory of business, cultural and political organizations in each country and 1,900+ international organizations.
- Political Handbook of the World (Print: Olin Ref JF37.P76+, and online) Focuses on country politics, but also addresses the media in each country. Print only.
- World Factbook (US Central Intelligence Administration) "information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities."
- Statesmans Yearbook (Current year in print only: Olin Ref JA51.S79;previous years in multiple formats/locations) "This classic reference work presents a political, economic and social account of every country of the world together with facts and analysis."
Cultural and social information
Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and AfricaCall Number: Olin Library Reference, HM626 .C843 2012. 4 vols.Publication Date: 2012In print and online.
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of World Popular CultureCall Number: Olin Library Reference, HM 621.G74 2007. 6 volumes.Publication Date: 2007Covers six continents, each in one volume, and offers topical essays which include additional resources such as architecture, fashion and appearance, food and foodways, films, books, sports and recreation, transportation and recommended websites. (Print only, unfortunately.)
See also:
ILR School researchers looks at "tight and loose" cultures (Science. 27 May 2011: Vol. 332. no. 6033, pp. 1100-1204)
Read fiction from or about your destination
- Literature Resource CenterLearn more about writers, their works, their lives and their times in this huge full text resource. Includes living and historical writers of both fiction and non-fiction, global coverage. Try searching by author's name or nationality, country, genre, work title, and more.
- Words without Borders"The online magazine for literature in translation." Articles, features, reviews. Especially good for work outside the publishing mainstream.
Float through your research
Dead Sea newspaper; credit: inro, Flickr, Creative Commons license.
Library Research Guides
More library subject and skills guides
Note: Find research guides related to Asia on the Asia collections web sites.
Art, culture and music: start here
- Music & Performing Arts (Alexander Street)Cross-searches audio, video, scores, and full-text reference content from all Alexander Street Press music databases.
- Oxford Art OnlineOxford Art Online enables access and cross-search functionality to Grove and Oxford reference content in one location. Provides access to Grove Art Online, Benezit Dictionary of Artists, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Includes image partnerships with ARTstor, the British Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Art Images for College Teaching, Art Resource, Artists Rights Society and numerous international art galleries and artists.
- Oxford Music OnlineOxford Music Online (OMO) is the access-point for Oxford music reference subscriptions and products, including Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, The Oxford Dictionary of Music, and Encyclopedia of Popular Music. With OMO patrons can cross-search Grove and Oxford reference content in one location. Articles from specialist dictionaries such as The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd ed., are available via OMO.