About Reference Tools | Encyclopedias, Dictionaries,
Compendia |
Bibliographies
Biographical Dictionaries |
Chronologies |
Statistics
The reference collection is an excellent place to begin your research if you want a quick and easy way to find:
Reference books are organized by subject, just as are books on the circulating stacks. Here at Williams, we use the Library of Congress classification schedules (LC call numbers) to arrange our resources. Use these schedules to find call number ranges to browse in the reference collection and stacks:
When you find a reference book:
Below are some common types of reference resources. In most cases, the links take you to the FRANCIS record with the full publication information, location, and call number.
One of the best ways to begin any history research project is to find an article on your topic in a specialized encyclopedia or dictionary. Usually, the articles are written by scholars specializing in the subject and are followed by a short list of recommended resources. Selected encyclopedias are listed below.
To identify additional encyclopedias, browse the reference collection in the call number area for your topic (see above for LC Classification Schedule).
Bibliographies are helpful for identifying primary and secondary sources on your topic. Oftentimes you will use the bibliographies that are in the secondary sources you are reading, but you should also investigate book-length bibliographies as well. These bibliographies can provide additional leads and sometimes help you to identify the "classic" works on your topic. Selected bibliographies are listed below.
To find bibliographies on a topic, do a keyword search in FRANCIS for s:[broad topic] and s:bibliography.
Example: bibliographies on slavery
Biographical sketches can be found in the specialized encyclopedias listed above, and are also available in Encyclopaedia Britannica Online and Biography Resource Center. Selected biographical dictionaries are listed below.
Chronologies are great for researching world issues, events, and people contemporary to your topic. Selected chronologies are listed below.
Need numbers to support your claims? Try one of the following historical statistics compendia.
Statistical resources for particular groups (women, racial and ethnic groups, etc.) can be found in the reference collection with other materials related to that group. For additional resources, see the Finding Statistics help page.