1. Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
Encyclopedias attempt to summarize the state of knowledge in a field of inquiry. A good encyclopedia can be a valuable starting point for your research.
Two online reference collections that students often find useful are: Credo Reference, and Gale Virtual Reference Library.
Encyclopedia of American Environmental History by Call Number: Q. 333.720973 En19ISBN: 0816067937Publication Date: 2011- Encyclopedia of gardens : history and design byCall Number: Q. 635.03 En192ISBN: 1579581730Publication Date: 2001
The New Encyclopedia of Southern Culture by Call Number: 975.003 En192 2006ISBN: 0807831700Publication Date: 2007-11-19- The Mexican American Experience: An Encyclopedia byCall Number: 973.046872 M475mISBN: 0313316430Publication Date: 2003
- Encyclopedia of American Social History byCall Number: 301.0973 EN19ISBN: 0684192462Publication Date: 19933 vols.
- Encyclopedia of Immigration and Migration in the American West byCall Number: 978 | 304.878 ONLINEISBN: 1412905508Publication Date: 2006Online version of the 2 volume original. Signed entries with bibliographies ("Suggested Reading"). Bibliographies not annotated. Includes a "Reader's Guide" that arranges the entries by broad topics, a subject index, and several research guides related to the subject of the encyclopedia.
- Encyclopedia of American Urban History byCall Number: 973 | 307.764 ONLINEISBN: 0761928847Publication Date: 2006Online version of the 2 volume original. Signed entries with brief bibliographies ("Further Readings and References"). Bibliographies not annotated. Includes a "Reader's Guide" that arranges the entries by broad topic, and a subject index.
- Dictionary of American History byCall Number: 973 ONLINEISBN: 0684314150Publication Date: 20033rd ed. Online version of the standard, 10 volume reference work on American history--excellent place to begin.
- Immigration and Asylum: From 1900 to the Present byCall Number: 325.0904 ONLINEISBN: 1576077969Publication Date: 2005Online version of the 3 volume original.
- American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation byCall Number: Q. 305.800973 AM354ISBN: 0028972082Publication Date: 19972 vols.
- Encyclopedia of North American Immigration byCall Number: Q. 304.87003 P871eISBN: 0816046581Publication Date: 2005
- Encyclopedia of American Immigration byCall Number: Q. 304.87303 En193ISBN: 0765680289Publication Date: 20014 vols.
- Immigration in America Today: An Encyclopedia byCall Number: 304.873 ONLINEISBN: 0313312141Publication Date: 2006
- Dictionary of American Immigration History byCall Number: 325.7303 D561ISBN: 0810822415Publication Date: 1994
- Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups byCall Number: 973.0403 H261ISBN: 0674375122Publication Date: 1980
- Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World byCall Number: 304.8 ONLINEISBN: 0306483211Publication Date: 2004Online version of the 2 vol. original.
- Encyclopedia of Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the Present byCall Number: Q. 973.04956 J2712000ISBN: 0816040931Publication Date: 2000
- Latino America: A State-by-State Encyclopedia byCall Number: 973.0468003 L3492ISBN: 0313341168Publication Date: 20082 vols. See also: Latino Chronology: Chronologies of the American Mosaic.
- The Borderlands: An Encyclopedia of Culture and Politics on the U.S.-Mexico Divide byCall Number: 972.1003 B644ISBN: 0313339961Publication Date: 2008
- Ethnic Chicago: A Multicultural Portrait byCall Number: 305.800977311 ET35 1995ISBN: 0802870538Publication Date: 1995
- Encyclopedia of the U.S. Government and the Environment: History, Policy, and Politics byCall Number: 363.70561 En192ISBN: 9781598842371Publication Date: 20112 vols.
- Encyclopedia of Urban Studies byCall Number: Q. 307.76003 En192ISBN: 9781412914321Publication Date: 2009
2. Bibliographies and Guides
- Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1820-1870 byCall Number: 305.9 B458dISBN: 0313336989Publication Date: 2007Continued by Daily Life in Immigrant America, 1870-1920.
- United States Immigration: A Reference Handbook byCall Number: 304.873 M613UISBN: 0874368456Publication Date: 1996
- U.S. Immigration: A Reference Handbook byCall Number: 325.73 L541uISBN: 1851095438Publication Date: 2003
- Refugees in America in the 1990s: A Reference Handbook byCall Number: 362.870973 R259ISBN: 0313293449Publication Date: 1996Continues: Refugees in the United States: A Reference Handbook.
- Cultural landscape bibliography : resources in the National Park System byCall Number: DOC. I 29.82:C 89/2000Publication Date: 2000Also available Online.
- Nineteenth century American public landscape design byCall Number: 016.7114 C73e no.67-73Publication Date: 1969Also available Online.
- American Garden Literature in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection (1785-1900): From the Newengland Farmer to Italian Gardens: An Annotated Bibliography byCall Number: 016.7126 W837aISBN: 0884022536Publication Date: 1998
- The built environment : a subject index 1800-1960 byCall Number: 016.9098 R918BISBN: 0576400068Publication Date: 1989
- Pioneers of American landscape design : an annotated bibliography byCall Number: 712.0922 P659Publication Date: 1993
- A Guide to the History of Illinois byCall Number: 016.9773 G941ISBN: 0313241104Publication Date: 1991
- A Nation of Peoples: A Sourcebook on America’s Multicultural Heritage byCall Number: 305.800973 N213ISBN: 0313299617Publication Date: 1999
- American Indian Sovereignty and Law: An Annotated Bibliography byCall Number: Q. 016.34273087 Am351ISBN: 0810862352Publication Date: 2009
- The American Settlement Movement: A Bibliography byCall Number: 016.362557 B234aISBN: 0313307563Publication Date: 1999Documents from the Settlement House Movement, of which Jane Addams's Hull House was probably the most famous.
- Multiculturalism in the United States: A Comparative Guide to Acculturation and Ethnicity byCall Number: 305.800973 M9192005ISBN: 0313324042Publication Date: 2005
- The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: An Annotated Bibliography byCall Number: 016.0704 H671IISBN: 0313246386Publication Date: 19873 vols.
- The Ethnic Press in the United States: A Historical Analysis and Handbook byCall Number: 070.4840973 ET38ISBN: 0313238790Publication Date: 1987
- Conserving America: A Bibliographical Buide to Printed Material in the British Library Relating to American Environmental History and Thought byCall Number: 016.36370973 W617CISBN: 071234411XPublication Date: 1996
- Environmental Racism and the Environmental Justice Movement: A Bibliography byCall Number: 016.363703 N759eISBN: 0937855766Publication Date: 1995
- Illinois History: An Annotated Bibliography byCall Number: 016.9773 W612IISBN: 0313282358Publication Date: 1995See also A Guide to the history of Illinois by John Hoffmann (Call No. 016.9773 G941).
- Racial and Ethnic Diversity in America : a Reference Handbook byCall Number: 305.800973 Ag94rISBN: 157607983XPublication Date: 2003
- The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature byCall Number: 016.9 G9411995ISBN: 0195057279Publication Date: 19952 vols. Online resource. Also available in print through our catalog. A little old, but still highly regarded, and useful as a starting point into just about any historical topic. An excellent introduction to historiographical themes and seminal works.
- The Environment in the Twentieth-Century American West: A Bibliography byCall Number: Q. 016.333720978 J177EPublication Date: 1990
- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Issues in the Twentieth Century: A Bibliography byCall Number: DOC. D103.43:870-I-14Publication Date: 1984Also available Online.
3. Biographies
- Shapers of the Great Debate on Immigration: A Biographical Dictionary byCall Number: 325.73 B814sISBN: 0313303398Publication Date: 1999
- Biographisches Handbuch der deutschsprachigen Emigration nach 1933 byCall Number: Q. 325.2430922 B52ISBN: 3598100876Publication Date: 1980-1983Vol. 1 in German; vols. 2 and 3 in English.
Three good, general sources for biographical information are
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index This link opens in a new windowAn index to biographical information in hundreds of reference sources, many available only in print.
- Biography In Context This link opens in a new windowFull text collection of over 300,000 biographies, from throughout history, and across the globe.
- American National Biography This link opens in a new windowStandard reference work for American biography.
- European Immigrant Women in the United States: A Biographical Dictionary byCall Number: 920.720869 L715EISBN: 0824053060Publication Date: 1994
- The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633 byCall Number: 929.374 AN24GISBN: 088082042xPublication Date: 1996
- Women Building Chicago, 1790-1990: A Biographical Dictionary byCall Number: Q. 305.40977311 W842ISBN: 0253338522Publication Date: 2001
- American Biographical ArchiveBiographical entries from 626 reference works (in 933 volumes), originally published between 1702 and 1998, containing often-difficult-to-locate biographical information. Part of the World Biographical Information System.
- Asian American Biography byCall Number: 920.00929507 As42ISBN: 0810396874Publication Date: 19952 vols.
- Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Americans byCall Number: 920.009268 M575b 2001ISBN: 0816043302Publication Date: 2001
- Modern American Environmentalists: A Biographical Encyclopedia byCall Number: 363.70092273 M72ISBN: 0801891523Publication Date: 2009
4. Atlases
- Atlas of American Diversity byCall Number: Q. 305.800973 Sh63aISBN: 0761991271Publication Date: 1998
- The Settling of North America: The Atlas of the Great Migrations into North America from the Ice Age to the Present byCall Number: Q. 304.8097022 SE78ISBN: 0026162725Publication Date: 1995
- Atlas of American Migration byCall Number: Q. 304.80973022 F613aISBN: 0816031584Publication Date: 1998
- An Atlas of International Migration byCall Number: Q. 304.80223 SE37AISBN: 1873836309Publication Date: 1993
- Atlas of Hispanic-American History byCall Number: Q. 973.0468 Oc34aISBN: 0816041296Publication Date: 2009
- Atlas of Asian-American History byCall Number: Q. 973.0495 Av12aISBN: 0816036993Publication Date: 2002
- We the People: An Atlas of America’s Ethnic Diversity byCall Number: F. 305.800973 AL53WISBN: 0029014204
5. Guides to Newspapers and Periodicals
- Ayer Directory of PublicationsCall Number: 016.071 Ay2ISBN: 01451642Publication Date: 1880-presentUse this annual directory to identify newspapers and periodicals by place of publication (e.g. newspapers published in Danville, Illinois), or by subject (e.g. periodicals about landscaping, gardening, parks, municipal government), or by non-English language groups (e.g. newspapers in German, Croatian, Korean).
- Guide to the American Ethnic Press: Slavic and East European Newspapers and Periodicals byCall Number: 071.3025 W99GPublication Date: 1986
- The German Language Press of the Americas = Die deutschsprachige Presse der Amerikas byCall Number: 016.070484 AR6GE1976ISBN: 3794034228Publication Date: 1976-19803 vols.
- American Labor Union Periodicals: A Guide to their Location byCall Number: 016.33187 N11APublication Date: 1956
- Radical Periodicals in America, 1890-1950: A Bibliography with Brief Notes byCall Number: 016.33505 G58R1966Publication Date: 1966Includes a very useful guide to the major radical parties and movements during this time period, as well as information on their relationship to each other (presented as a genealogical chart).
- African-American Newspapers and Periodicals: A National Bibliography byCall Number: Q. 015.73035 Af83ISBN: 0674007883Publication Date: 1998Arranged alphabetically by title, with a geographic index, as well as an index of editors and a subject index. Known locations are indicated.
- Anarchist Periodicals in English Published in the United States, 1833-1955: An Annotated Guide byCall Number: 016.3358305 L855aISBN: 0810872544Publication Date: 2010
- Hispanic Periodicals in the United States, Origins to 1960: A Brief History and Comprehensive Bibliography byCall Number: 015.73034 K131hPublication Date: 2000
- Chicago in Periodical Literature: A Summary of Articles byCall Number: 016.977.31W93CPublication Date: 1940
- The Immigrant Labor Press in North America, 1840s-1970s: An Annotated Bibliography byCall Number: 016.0704 H671IISBN: 0313246386Publication Date: 19873 vols.
- The Ethnic Press in the United States: A Historical Analysis and Handbook byCall Number: 070.4840973 ET38ISBN: 0313238790Publication Date: 1987
- Index to Black PeriodicalsCall Number: 325.2605 IND1AISBN: 0899-6253Publication Date: 1984-1999Continues: Index to Periodical Articles by and about Blacks (see above).
Continued by: G.K. Hall Index to Black Periodicals (see below). - The Civilian Conservation Corps Camp Newspapers : a Guide byCall Number: 016.33372 C333CPublication Date: 1991The actual newspapers can be borrowed, through Inter-Library Loan, from the Center for Research Libraries.