Resources such as subject encyclopedias,dictionaries, biographical sources, chronologies can help get background information and focus your topic. The reference collection in Sawyer Library is an excellent place to begin if you want to find: a summary of a topic; a list of recommended resources; factual information
Pornography and Sexual Representation
REF HQ 472 .U6 S56 2001 (three volumes)
Comprehensive guide to research on the subjects of sex and pornography, providing research guidance and historical notes in addition to broad surveys of literature and historiography of the topics.
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women. Global Women's Issues and Knowledge
REF HQ1115 .R69 2000
Great resource to locate background information on any topic related to women's experience. One of the few resources with a good international focus. Includes bibliographical references. Good subject index and cross-references.
Women's studies encyclopedia
REF HQ1115 .W645 1999
Good starting point for information about women in all fields of study. American focus.
Organized alphabetically. Articles include bibliographical references. Detailed keyword index but not always good cross-references.
Feminism. A reference handbook
REF HQ1410 .H365 1998
Great source for background information. Includes a brief history of feminism in the U.S., a chronology,
biographical sketches, chapters on feminists, equal rights amendments, violence against women, women
in politics. Also include a directory of organizations and lists of print and nonprint resources.
Encyclopedia of American social history
REF HN57 .E58 1993
Cross disciplinary. Relevant articles include: Feminist Approach to Social History (Vol.1 p. 319); Gender (Vol.1. p483); Sexual Orientation (Vol. 1 p. 497); Women and Work (Vol. II p.1541); Women's Organizations (Vol. III p.1667); Gender Roles and Relations (Vol. III p.1945); Bibliography and detailed index.
Feminist chronicles, 1953-1993
REF HQ1420 .C37 1993
Documents the history of the feminist movement in the United States. Organized chronologically, each year includes Events, Issues and The Backlash. Part III "The Early Documents" include the founding documents of N.O.W. Short bibliography and an index.
Significant contemporary American feminists: a biographical Sourcebook
REF HQ1412 .S56 1999
Biographical information on American feminists. Each profile includes a list of writings and a bibliography. Biographical information is available in numerous other sources, including databases such as Biography Index. For assistance in locating biographical material, check with a librarian.
Biography Resource Center
Comprehensive and current online biographical source. Includes entries from biographical dictionaries and articles from scholarly and popular journals.
Statistical handbook on women in America
REF HQ1420 .T34 1996
Statistical portrait of women's lives in America. Organized around 4 themes: Demographic events and characteristics; Employment and economic status; Health characteristics; Social characteristics. Most of the reports used to create the tables are in the library. Includes an index and a glossary.
Statistical record of women worldwide
REF HQ1150 .S73 1995
Published as an official document for the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995. Statistics compiled from periodicals, government documents and reports. Includes statistics on Attitudes and Opinions; Crime; Domestic Life; Education; Health and Medical Care; Income. (Also available at http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/gender/intro.htm).
Statistical Abstracts of the United States
Reference Desk
Standard resource for statistics published annually by the U.S. government. Organized thematically.
Always check the source for the data.
Professional women and minorities
REF HQ1410 .P7
Annual publication. Includes a wealth of data on women in the work force and minorities. Includes data on enrollment, degrees granted and work force. Good table of contents and index.
Women in the Third World: an encyclopedia of contemporary issues
REF HQ1870.9 .W6548 1998
Collection of essays on the life of women in the Third World. Covers subjects such as: Movements for Change; Women and the Environment; Sex-Role Ideologies; Political and Legal Contexts.
Where women stand: an international report on the status of women in over 140 countries, 1997-1998
REF HQ1154 .N39 1997
Good source of information about the status of women world-wide. Organized by broad subject categories: Women in Today's World; Women's Education; Women's Employment; Marriage and Divorce; Family Planning; Women's Health; Violence against women. Also includes Country Profiles.
The St. James Press gay & lesbian almanac
REF HQ76.3.U5 S75 1998
Comprehensive encyclopedia on gay and lesbian issues. Organized in broad subject categories including an excellent chapter on Organizations and one on Significant Documents. Bibliographical notes at the end of each chapter and bibliography.
The gay and lesbian movement: references and resources
REF HQ76.5 .R53 1996
Excellent annotated bibliography of the history of the movement. Organized chronologically in three section: Foundations and Philosophies, 1864-1939; Years of Hiding and Resistance, 1924-1968; The Song of Stonewall: From Gay Liberation to AIDS, 1969-1993. Includes information on national organizations as well as on the regional communities. Good index.
Women's information directory: a guide to organizations, agencies, institutions, programs, publications, services, and other resources concerned with women in the United States
REF HQ1115 .W64 1993
Although a little dated, this directory is a good starting point for information on women's organization. Includes national and regional organizations, educational and cultural programs, scholarships and awards, research and government organizations, business groups and publications and publishers.
Encyclopedia of women's associations worldwide: a guide to over 3,400 national and multinational nonprofit women's and women-related organizations
REF HQ1883 .E53 1993
Same type of directory as the one listed above but with an international scope. Organized by country.
U.S. women's interest groups: institutional profiles
REF HQ1904 .U2 1995
Reference work on women's organizations. Includes history of the groups (including groups no
Longer in existence). Analyzes evolution of the groups.
Associations Unlimited Directory information for approximately 460,000 international and U.S. national, regional, state, and local nonprofit membership.
The radicalism handbook. Radical activists, groups and movements of the Twentieth Century
REF HN17.5 .R356 1995
Organized in two main sections: Biographies (short biographical sketches of prominent figures of social activism) and Groups and Movements (description of activist movements worldwide). Unfortunately there is no subject access to this handbook.
Protest, power, and change: an encyclopedia of nonviolent action from ACT-UP to women's suffrage
REF HM278 .P76 1997
Guide to nonviolent action worldwide. Includes articles on Women and Nonviolent Action in the United States since 1950; Women Strike for Peace; Women's Suffrage; ACT-UP. Includes bibliographical references. No subject access but a detailed index.
Women transforming politics: an alternative reader
HQ1236.5.U6 W668 1997
Collection of essays on women and politics. Particularly interesting are Part 2 "Counsciousness
Raising, Cultural Politics, and Grassroots Organizing"and Part 3 "Participation, Electoral Politics,
and Movement Building".
Sawyer library is a depository for Federal government documents. Documents published since 1992 can be found in FRANCIS.
Here is a sample of government documents about women available in Sawyer. All these titles are located in the Government Documents section (Sawyer Lower Level).
Female victims of violent crime U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996
J 29.28:F 34
also online at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/vsx2.htm
Bringing Beijing home: the Fourth World Conference: a success for the world's women
L 36.102:B 39 Washington, D.C.: Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, and the President's Interagency Council on Women, the White House, 1996
Combating violence against women
Y 4.J 89/2:S.HRG.104-842
hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, second session, on S. 1729, a bill to amend Title
18, United States Code, with respect to stalking, May 15, 1996.
How well do women fare under the nation's retirement policies?
Y 4.AG 4/2:W 84/17.
A report by the chairman and ranking Republican of the Subcommittee on Retirement Income and Employment of the
Select Committee on Aging, House of Representatives, One Hundred Second Congress, second session.
The Stanton House: Women's Rights National Historic Park, Seneca Falls, New York
I 29.88:W 84/3
Building Conservation Branch, Northeast Cultural Resources Center, Northeast Region, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the interior, 1998.