Search here for books, articles, journals and other print materials, videos, sound recordings, e-books, e-journals, databases, and indexes in our local libraries and special collections.
To search for reference materials in both print and digital format in the Library's Catalog, type in the keyword of interest and a type of reference work. Types of reference works can include: dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibliographies, almanacs, directories, atlases, and handbook.
Ex. You can search for
"Latin America*" AND encyclopedia
Try keywords in other languages to view reference materials in other languages on your topic. You can also utilize the "Subject" and "Genre" filters on the left-hand side of the results page to further narrow your search.
In general, reference books in history are designed to do one of the following:
Of course, some reference books may serve more than one function: a handbook may summarize scholarship and also provide a selected bibliography.