LibGuides: HI384: Nazi Germany (Choi): Finding Reference Books

Reference Books

Why use Reference Books?

Locating background information in general and subject specific encyclopedias and dictionaries and other reference resources will help you put information in context.

Consulting reference materials will help you:

Get an overview of the subject.
Note key concepts/developments.
Identify significant authors.
See a chronology/timeline.
Discern connections/interrelationships with other developments.
Develop a list of search terms.
Obtain primary sources.
Use the bibliographies to locate other information on your topic.

Below are some suggested resources to get you started. Use the Library Search to find more titles of interest or Ask a Librarian who can recommend resources for your specific topic:

Salem Press History This link opens in a new window
Salem Press History provides online access to historical information with an emphasis on, but not limited to, American events. Electronic books include encyclopedias on immigration, economic history, and American history by decade, as well as U.S. and world primary source documents.
Encyclopedia Britannica This link opens in a new window
Encyclopedia Britannica is an authoritative general-knowledge database of thousands of articles written by field experts, a World Atlas, and the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Also included: primary source material, multimedia sources, biographies, journal and magazine articles, and Web sites selected by Britannica editors.
Gale EBooks This link opens in a new window
Gale EBooks provides digital reference books on topics such as business, the environment, history, literature, geography, science, sociology, and technology. Search the database, or browse by collection or title.
Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) provides the authoritative spellings, etymology and definitions for more than 500,000 words. The OED also traces word usage from first recorded occurrence to the modern period with more than 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of language sources. Search and browse by subject, part of speech, language of origin, region, and more.
World Factbook This link opens in a new window
Produced by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. Free resource.