What are Reference Sources?
Libraries collect and preserve documents of human experience. However, not every experience is documented, and not every documented experience is collected and preserved. How, then, can you know what part of the historical record remains for you to study? Reference sources are your map to the extant records of human experience.
Even if every human experience hasn't been documented, and every document hasn't been preserved, there remains a plethora of sources available for the historian to study. Here at the University of Illinois Library, you have access to over 14 million printed books, 9 million microforms, 120,000 periodicals, 148,000 sound recordings, 1 million audiovisual resources, 280,000 e-books, 29,000 cubic feet of archival records, 3 terabytes of electronic records, and 650,000 maps—that's over 24 million potential primary sources for your research. Reference sources are your map to the Library's collections, and to collections at other libraries.
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedias attempt to summarize, as concisely as possible, the state of knowledge in a field of inquiry. Use encyclopedias to find background information on your topic, and to familiarize yourself with what is already known on the topic. A good encyclopedia can be a valuable starting point for your research, and often contains recommendations for additional reading.
If the word "encyclopedia" reminds you of "Wikipedia," that's not a coincidence. Wikipedia is a free, crowd-sourced online encyclopedia. It is not a bad starting point, but as students at the University of Illinois, you have easy access to more sophisticated and expert reference works.
Three online reference collections that students often find useful are:
- Gale EbooksA very extensive collection of useful reference works published by Gale and affiliated publishers, including general and subject-specific encyclopedias. Gale is a major publisher of encyclopedias and other reference sources.
- Oxford Reference150 core reference works from Oxford University Press, mostly encyclopedias and dictionaries.
- Credo ReferenceLarge collection of encyclopedias and dictionaries. It includes some important reference works in History, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and related fields. Works tend to feature shorter entries, with exceptions.
Below are some encyclopedias relevant to research for this course:
- Encyclopedia of Activism and Social Justice byCall Number: 303.48 OnlineISBN: 141291812XPublication Date: 2007
- Encyclopedia of American Activism, 1960 to the Present byCall Number: 323.040973 D547eISBN: 0874368995Publication Date: 1999
- Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture byCall Number: 973.923ISBN: 9781440801020Publication Date: 20112 vols.
- Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia (and Phraseicon) of the 1960s and 1970s byCall Number: 305.568 M132h 2004ISBN: 1580085474Publication Date: 2004
- The Historical Dictionary of the 1960s byCall Number: 973.923 H629ISBN: 031329271XPublication Date: 1999
- The Historical Dictionary of the 1970s byCall Number: 973.924 H629ISBN: 0313305439Publication Date: 1999
- Historical Dictionary of the Nixon-Ford Era byCall Number: 973.924 H145hISBN: 9780810856288Publication Date: 2008
- The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1500 to the Present byCall Number: 303.6403 In851ISBN: 9781405184649Publication Date: 20098 vols.
- Protest, Power, and Change: An Encyclopedia of Nonviolent Action from ACT-UP to Women’s Suffrage byCall Number: 303.6103 P946ISBN: 0815309139Publication Date: 1997
- Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia byCall Number: 303.4840973 R328ISBN: 1598842218Publication Date: 2011
- The Sixties in America byCall Number: 973.923 ONLINEISBN: 0893569836Publication Date: 19993 vols. Brief, signed articles with suggestions for additional reading.
- The Vietnam Experience: A Concise Encyclopedia of American Literature, Songs, and Films byCall Number: 959.7043373 H559vISBN: 0313301832Publication Date: 1998
- Watergate byCall Number: E860 .H534 2004ISBN: 0780807693Publication Date: 2004Detailed overview, biographical information, chronology, annotated bibliography, and a selection of primary sources.
- The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social and Political Movements byCall Number: 323 ONLINEISBN: 9780470674871Publication Date: 2013Online version of the three volume original. Substantive, signed articles with extensive bibliographies.
Bibliographies and Guides
Bibliographies, handbooks, and guides can assist you in charting a path through the vast amount of research available on a topic. Specialized bibliographies can also help you identify difficult-to-find materials.
- The American Peace Movement: References and Resources byCall Number: 016.327172 H844AISBN: 0816118361Publication Date: 1991-07-01
- The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s byCall Number: 973.923 C723ISBN: 0231113722Publication Date: 2001
- The Radicalism Handbook: Radical Activists, Groups and Movements of the Twentieth Century byCall Number: 303.484 R118ISBN: 0874368383Publication Date: 1995
- Scriptures for a Generation: What We were Reading in the '60s byCall Number: 016.8108 B396SISBN: 0820316423Publication Date: 1994
Vietnam War: the essential reference guide by Call Number: DS557.7 .V5668 2013ISBN: 1610691032Publication Date: 2013- The Wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, 1945-1982 byCall Number: Q. 016.9597043 B937WISBN: 0874363101Publication Date: 1983
- Oxford Bibliography of Military HistoryExtensively annotated bibliographies and bibliographic essays authored by experts in military history. Part of Oxford Bibliographies Online.
Biographical Sources
- American National Biography This link opens in a new windowBiographical dictionary of notable American men and women from all eras of American history who are no longer alive. Includes illustrations and hypertext links to other web resources.
- World Biographical Information System This link opens in a new windowContains biographical profiles of people from all centuries as well as all countries and regions worldwide. Compiles biographical articles from printed reference works published from the 16th to the 20th century, and reproduces these original documents as facsimile images on the screen.
These are general online reference tools for finding biographical information. To find biographies of individuals, see tips in the Books-->Biographies section of this guide.
Factual Information
The most common reference sources of factual information are almanacs, chronologies, and statistical abstracts. Increasingly, databases make it possible to interact with large statistical datasets that until recently would have been possible only with advanced training. Even with the ability to manipulate statistical datasets, it's important to remember that interpreting statistics still requires specialized knowledge, which is why reference sources like statistical abstracts remain important to researchers without that advanced training.
- Historical Statistics of the United States, Earliest Times to the PresentCompiled from the U.S. Decennial Census returns, and other published sources. Includes excellent, explanatory essays by expert demographers. Also includes a detailed subject index.
- Sage Data (formerly Data Planet)1948-present. Statistical data produced by governmental agencies, private organizations, and major intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. Emphasis on the United States, with some international coverage.
- ProQuest Statistical InsightAccess to over 5,000 annual statistical publications of the United States Federal Government, with coverage back to 1973; over 2,200 annual statistical publications of American states and businesses; and over 2,500 annual statistical publications from International governmental and non-governmental organizations, like the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and more.
- Rebels and Renegades: A Chronology of Social and Political Dissent in the United States byCall Number: Q. 303.484 H18rISBN: 041593639XPublication Date: 2002Really more of an encyclopedia, with entries arranged chronologically by year (1620-2001). Each entry comprises a short summary of the event or events, followed by an essay and suggestions for additional reading. At the end of the volume is a small collection of primary source documents (18 documents) and a subject index. The volume is short (360 pages), its scope wide, and the entries relatively long (for a chronology), so that the events selected for inclusion are only the most important.
- Watergate: Chronology of a Crisis byCall Number: Q. 364.13 C76wISBN: 9780871870599Publication Date: 1973