Introduction
Reference sources are a great place to start your research when you need to gather initial information about a topic or get a rough overview of a subject so you can decide what areas to research further. Reference books and online tools are also excellent for looking up a quick fact, definition, or date, and they will often direct you to more sources.
If none of the recommended resources are quite what you're looking for, try a search in the Library catalog for the subject you're researching and "reference", "handbook", "guide", or "companion" to see what reference materials we might have on the subject. Remember that you can always reach out to a librarian for help if your search doesn't turn up promising results!
Selected Reference Sources
We've divided our recommended reference sources into two categories:
- Encyclopedias can provide helpful introductions or overviews
- Dictionaries & Biographical Dictionaries are great tools for tracking influential names and concepts in the field
Encyclopedias
Encyclopedia of Stage Lighting by Call Number: MPAL PN2091.E4 B75 2008This encyclopedia contains more than 1500 detailed entries covering such topics as equipment, methods, concepts, design process, electricity, characteristics of light, and lightboard operations.
Theatre Lighting from A to Z by Call Number: MPAL 792.02503 B664TAn encyclopedia of essential equipment, techniques, and concepts, in some 1,200 alphabetically arranged entries, with extensive cross- referencing, and 350 drawings, diagrams, and charts.
Dictionaries and Biographies
The Broadway Design Roster by Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ; PN2096.A1 O94This reference provides alphabetically arranged entries for the more than 2,300 scenery, costume, and lighting designers who worked on Broadway in the 20th century. It begins with the 1899-1900 season and ends with the 2000-2001 season.
Lighting Design on Broadway by Call Number: Main Stacks 792.0250922 Ow2LOver four hundred individuals who designed lighting are profiled here in biographical sketches, each accompanied by a chronological listing of Broadway credits for lighting, and for scenic and costume design when relevant.
Theatrical Designers by Call Number: MPAL Reference Non-circulating ; PN2096.A1 T443This book provides biographical and analytical data on significant historical and contemporary practitioners and theorists of the theatrical design field who have contributed to the development of the art.
