As a more consistently reliable alternative to Wikipedia, use published reference works like encyclopedias and bibliographies to find background information and suggestions for further reading, compiled by experts.

In addition to the reference works and collections listed below, you can find more specific resources in our Online Reference Collection.

Subject specialist librarians and archivists are eager to assist you with your research, and in most cases can save you a lot of time, especially if you meet with them early in order to plan out your research strategy. Please feel free to contact us directly, via email:

• The subject librarian for History is Celestina Savonius-Wroth, cswroth@illinois.edu.
• The History, Philosophy, and Newspaper Library staff can also help with most history-related questions, hpnl@library.illinois.edu. 
• The subject librarian for Business is Carissa Phillips, choller@illinois.edu.
• The subject librarian for Economics is Yoo-Seong Song, yoosong@illinois.edu.  
• The subject librarian for Government Information is Sanga Sung, ssung@illinois.edu.

For assistance using the University Archives, contact our archivists at illiarch@illinois.edu.

Please check the list of Subject Specialists to find out who specializes in other areas related to your project.