Andean Studies

Search for books, journals, videos, etc. 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:

1. provide specific facts or data in short, factual entries (dictionaries, almanacs, chronologies)
2. offer general background information or summarize scholarship on a particular topic in longer interpretive articles (encyclopedias, handbooks)
3. provide references to past or recent scholarship on a particular topic (bibliographies, guides to the literature). Major sources of this type can be quite broad and offer references on a variety of historical fields; many specialized bibliographies are also available on a single region, person or topic.

Of course, some reference books may serve more than one function: a handbook may summarize scholarship and also provide a selected bibliography.