What are Reference Sources?
Libraries collect and preserve the graphic records of human experience.1 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 graphic 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 13 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.
Half of one aisle at the University Library's remote storage facility on Oak Street.
Encyclopedias
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 India byCall Number: 954 ONLINEISBN: 0684313499Publication Date: 2005Online version of the 4 volume original.
- Encyclopaedia of Indian culture byISBN: 03910228225 vols. See also the newer, 2 vol. Encyclopaedia of Indian culture, the Dictionary of Indian culture, and Tirtha : the treasury of Indian expressions.
- 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 the American Civil War: A Political, Social, and Military History byCall Number: Q. 973.703 En192ISBN: 1576070662Publication Date: 20005 vols. Signed entries with brief bibliographies ("Further Reading"). Includes chronology, glossary, and an almanac of factual information. Last volume is a compilation of primary source documents.
- Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas byCall Number: 973.0496073 ONLINEISBN: 0028658167Publication Date: 2005Online version of the 6 volume original.
Bibliographies
- Oxford Bibliography of the Atlantic HistoryExtensively annotated bibliographies and bibliographic essays, arranged by broad and specific topics, each compiled and annotated by experts. Part of Oxford Bibliographies Online.
- Bibliography of Asian StudiesMulti-disciplinary. Indexes journal articles, books, and book chapters, principally in Western languages on all subjects (especially humanities and social sciences) pertaining to East, Southeast, and South Asia. Indexes publications from 1971-present.
- Academic Search Ultimate This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Academic Search Ultimate in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). A scholarly, multidisciplinary database providing indexing and abstracts for over 10,000 publications, including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, and others. Also includes full-text access to over 5,000 journals. Offers coverage of many areas of academic study including: archaeology, area studies, astronomy, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, ethnic & multicultural studies, food science & technology, general science, geography, geology, law, mathematics, mechanical engineering, music, physics, psychology, religion & theology, women's studies, and other fields.