American Studies Resource Guide: Reference Materials

Dictionaries              Encyclopedias

Indexes                   Other Reference Sources

Reference Materials

This is a selected list of some of the more useful American Studies reference sources. Check IUCAT for more options. Keep in mind that you can search for a topic and add the terms Handbooks, manuals, etc.; Dictionaries; Encyclopedias; or Bibliography to your search. If you need to find an e-book, you can also add the keywords electronic resource. For help with searching IUCAT, please see Books/DVDs/CDs/Videos or Reference Help.

Note: All materials listed are found in the Reference Room and are listed in order by Library of Congress call number.

Dictionaries:

• Black American Military Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary REF E181 .H382 2007
• Blackwell Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Social Thought H41 .B53 1993 Philanthropic Studies Reference (2nd Floor)
• Columbia Dictionary of Modern Literacy and Cultural Criticism REF BH39 .C62 1995 
• Dictionary of American Biography REF E176 .D56 
• Dictionary of American Immigration History  JV6450 .D53 1990 Philanthropic Studies Stacks (2nd Floor)
• Dictionary of American Slang REF PE2846 .C46 2007
• Dictionary of Latino Civil Rights History REF E184 .S75 R69 2006
• Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement REF E185 .61 .L84 1997
• Historical Dictionary of Early North America REF E35 .W475 2005
• Historical Dictionary of Organized Labor REF HD4839 .D58 1996
• Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution REF E209 .M36 1999
• Historical Dictionary of the Great Depression, 1929-1940 REF E801 .H57 2001
• Historical Dictionary of U.S.-Latin American Relations REF F1418 .F457 2005
• Latino and African American Athletes Today: A Biographical Dictionary REF GV697 .A1 L345 2004
• Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations REF PN6081 .A623 2006
• Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary REF PS261 .S595 2006

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Encyclopedias:

• African Americans at War: An Encyclopedia REF U52 .S88 2004, v.1-v.2 
• American Indian Religious Traditions: An Encyclopedia REF E98 .R3 C755 2005, v.1-v.3
• Beat Culture: Icons, Lifestyles, and Impact REF PS228 .B6 B368 2005 
• Black Women in America REF E185.86 .B542 2005, v.1-v.3
• Bulls, Bears, Boom, and Bust: A Historical Encyclopedia of American Business Concepts REF HF3021 .D59 2007
• Civil Rights in the United States REF E184 .A1 C47 2000
• Class in America: An Encyclopedia REF HN90 .S6 C564 2007, v.1-v.3
• Cold War Culture: Media and the Arts, 1945-1990 REF E169 .12 .S39 2000
• The Cowboy Encyclopedia REF E20 .S56 1994
• Encyclopedia of African American Business REF HD2358 .5 .U6 E53 2006, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of African American Military History REF UB418 .A47 W45 2004
• Encyclopedia of African American Society REF E185 .E546 2005, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of American Folklife REF GR105 .E53 2006, v.1-v.4 
• Encyclopedia of American Folklore REF GR105 .W38 2007
• Encyclopedia of American Business History REF HF3021 .G44 2006, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of American History REF E174.5 .E52 1996
• Encyclopedia of American Law Enforcement REF HV8133 .N498 2007
• Encyclopedia of American Opera REF ML102 .O6 W53 2006
• Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections JK2261 .S218 2006
• Encyclopedia of American Urban History REF HT123 .E49 2007, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America REF E188 .E63 1990
• Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Culture REF E169 .12 .E49 2001
• Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology REF GN307 .E52 1996 
• Encyclopedia of Islam in the United States REF BP67 .U6 E53 2007, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture REF E184 .S75 E59 2004, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of Mexican American Civil Rights Movement REF E184 .M5 M458 2000
• Encyclopedia of Multiculturalism REF E184 .A1 E58 
• The Encyclopedia of New York State REF F119 .E53 2005
• Encyclopedia of North American Immigration REF JV6465 .P68 2005
• Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People REF E169.12 .E5 1997
• Encyclopedia of Southern Culture REF F209 .E53 1989 
• Encyclopedia of Southern History REF F207.7 .E52
• Encyclopedia of the American Armed Forces REF UA23 .A875 2005, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of the Chicago Literary Renaissance REF PS285 .C47 P56 2004
• Encyclopedia of the Great Depression REF E806 .E63 2004, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance REF NX512.3.A35 E53 2004, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of the Industrial Revolution in America REF HC105 .O45 2002
• Encyclopedia of the Vietnam War: A Political, Social and Military History Philanthropic Studies Library REF DS557 .7. E53 1998, v.1-v.3
• Encyclopedia of United States National Security REF UA23 .E571274 2006, v.1-v.2
• Encyclopedia of War & American Society REF E181 .E634 2006, v.1-v.3 
• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America REF E184 .A1 G14 2000 
• Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America: Primary Documents REF E184 .A1 G15 1999 
• The Greenwood Encyclopedia of African American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Twenty-first Century REF E185 .61 E54 2003, v.1-v.2
• Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups REF E184 .A1 H35 
• Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopedia REF E184 .S75 L35 2006, v.1-v.3
• New Encyclopedia of the American West REF F591 .N46 1998
• Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature REF PS21 .E537 2004, v.1-v.4
• Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America REF TX349 .E45 2004, v.1-v.2
• Polling America: An Encyclopedia of American Opinion REF HN90 .P8 P645 2005, v.1-v.2
• The Seventies in America REF E169 .12 .S447 2006, v.1-v.3

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Indexes:

**The following indexes can be found either electronically or in print format.**

• American Statistics Index REF HA215 .A4
• Arab American Yearbook: The Resource and Referral Guide for and about Arab Americans REF E184.A65 A73 2007/2008
• Biography and Genealogy Master Index
  This database indexes any print product that includes biographical information
  on multiple persons from all time periods, geographical locations and fields of
  endeavor. It also acts as an index to other indexes.
• National Index of American Imprints Through 1800 REF Z1215 .E924
• Social Sciences Citation Index 
  REF E173 .A793 
  Coverage of the Science Citation Index Expanded, the Social Sciences Citation
  Index, and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index are all included in this database.
  Hits will result in cited materials several scholarly publications that are from 1987 to
  the present.
• The Annals of America 
  REF Z7161 .S65 
• The National Cyclopedia of American Biography 
  REF E176 .N29 
• J-STOR
  J-STOR is a reliable and comprehensive archive of important scholarly journal literature. Several
  disciplines that are covered include African American Studies, History, Language & Literature, and
  Latin American Studies. Individual Journals can be searched as well as specific disciplines.
• Project Muse
  This database combines award-winning biographies and full-text articles from hundreds of
  periodicals. Search for people based on birth and death year, nationality, ethnicity, occupation
  or gender.
• International Index to the Performing Arts through ProQuest
  IIPA Full Text draws its content from more than 200 scholarly and popular performing arts
  periodicals, and also indexes a variety of documents such as biographical profiles, conference
  papers, obituaries, interviews, discographies, reviews and events. Also, it covers nearly all
  aspects of performing arts, from scholarly studies to snapshots of popular culture.

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Reference Sources:

• American Attitudes: Who Thinks What about the Issues that Shape Our Lives REF HN90 .P8 M58 1998
• American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature 
  REF D20 .A447 1995 STACKS (3rd Floor)
• American Immigrant Cultures: Builders of a Nation 
  REF E184 .A1 A63448 1997 
• The American Woman 
  REF HQ1402 .A52 1999/2000
• Atlas of Contemporary America: Portrait of a Nation REF G1200 .D6 1994
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-1989:
  the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774 to October 21, 1788, and the
  Congress of the United States, from the First through the One Hundredth
  Congresses, March 4, 1789 to January 3, 1989, inclusive. 
  REF JK1010 .A5 1989
• Books in American History: A Basic List for High Schools and Junior Colleges REF E178 .W53 1981
• Britannica Online
  Gateway to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 
• Cold War America, 1946-1990 REF E741 .G76 2003
• Events that Changed America in the Eighteenth Century REF E195 .E94 1998
• Handbook for Research in American History: A Guide to Bibliographies and other Reference Works REF E178 .P78 1987
• Handbook of North American Indians 
  REF E77 .H25 
• Harvard Guide to American History 
  REF E18 .F72 1974
• History of the United States of America: A Guide to Information Sources REF Z1236 .C33 
• Merriam Webster's Online
  This link accesses Webster's Dictionary Online as well as
  its Thesaurus.
• Oxford Companion to American History 
  REF E174 .J6 
• Reader's Guide to American History REF E178 .R43 1997
• Revolutionary America, 1783-1800 E162 .P86 1995
• Statistical Handbook on Women in America 
  REF HQ1420 .T34 1996  
• Tiller's Guide to Indian Country: Economic Profiles of American Indian Reservations REF E93 .T55 2005
• Writings on American History (1902-1990)
  REF Z1236 .L332

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