REFERENCE BOOKS

Guidebooks to Information Sources

The following handbooks will identify and discuss the reference sources, periodical indexes, bibliographies and major publications pertinent to your research.

American Military History: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources. STACKS E181.B58 1995
Discovering Washington: A Guide to State and Local History. REF F890.2.P48 1989
Guide to Historical Method. REF D16.S47 1980
Guide to the Records in the National Archives Relating to American Indians. REF CD3023.A46 1948
Handbook for Research in American History: A Guide to Bibliographies & Other Reference Works. REF E178.P78 1987
Handbook of Hispanic Cultures in the United States: History. REF E184.S75.H365 1993
Handbook of the American Frontier: Four Centuries of Indian-White Relationships (3 vols.). REF E76.2.H43 1987
Indians of North America: Methods & Sources for Library Research. REF E77.H13 1983
Japan Information Resources in the United States, 1995. REF DS801.J265 1995
Library Research Guide to History. REF D16.F87
Reference Guide to United States Military History (5 vols.). REF E181.R34 1991
Using Government Publications. REF Z1223.Z7.S4 1985
For additional reference sources consult, Guide to Reference Books, REF Z1035.1.G89 1996

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Use these sources to understand terminology, obtain background information, identify issues, and get names, dates and an initial literature review.

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. REF E208.B635 1991
Civil War Dictionary. REF E468.B7
Dictionary of American Diplomatic History. REF E183.7.F5
Dictionary of American History. REF E174.D52 1976 and 2 vol. supplement (1996)
Dictionary of Concepts in History. REF D13.R49 1986
Encyclopedia of American History. REF E174.5.M847 1976
Encyclopedia of American Social History (3 vols). REF HN57.E58
Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies (3 vols.). REF E45.E53 1993
Encyclopedia of the South. REF F207.7.O27 1985
Encyclopedia of Washington. REF F891.E53 1994
Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America (2 vols.). REF E184.A1.G14 1995
Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. REF E78.N77.R79 1986
Handbook of the American Frontier. REF E76.2.H43 1987
Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups. REF E184.A1.H35
Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War. REF E806.H58 1985
Oxford Companion to American History. REF E174.J6
Reader's Encyclopedia of the American West. REF F591.R38
Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. REF E76.2.R4 1993
Reference Guide to Unites States Military History (5 vols.). REF E181.R34 1991
War and American Popular Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. REF E181.W26 1999

Chronologies

Sources, which are arranged by date, are used to gain an overview of a time period, for placing events in sequence and comparing contemporary events.

Asimov's Chronology of the World. REF D11.A76 1991
Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events & People from 1619 to the Present. REF E185.H64 1991
Encyclopedia of American Facts and Dates. REF E174.5.C3 1972
Great Events from History: North American Series. REF E45.G74 1997
Vol.1, 15,000 BC-1819; Vol. 2, 1820-1895; Vol. 3, 1895-1955; Vol.4, 1956-1996.
The Vietnam War Almanac. REF DS558.V53 1985
World War II Almanac: 1931 - 1945. REF D743.5.G64

Collections of, and Indexes to Documents and Primary Sources:

CBS News: Face the Nation 1954-1983. STACKS E743.C59a
A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Confederacy, including the Diplomatic Correspondence, 1861-1865. REF F487.C746
Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada. REF E172.A538
Documents of American History (2 vols.). REF E173.C66 1973a
Foreign Relations of the United States (Covers 1861-1968). US DOCS S1.1:861 to S1.1:968
Guide of the Microfilm Edition of the Oregon Province Archives of the Society of Jesus Alaska Mission Collection. REF E78.A3.G84 1980
Guide to the Records in the National Archives of the United States Relating to American Indians. REF E93.H45 1982
History and Prehistory in the National Park System and the National Historic Landmarks Program. REF E160.H58 1987
Official Museum Directory. REF AM10.A2.O4 1994
Pacific Northwest Tribes Missions Collection of the Oregon Province Archives of the Society of Jesus, 853-1960. REF E78.N77
United States Treaties & Other International Agreements. (1950-present). US DOCS S9.12:v.1-35

Public Papers of the Presidents (Shelved in the U.S. Documents Area):

Herbert Hoover AE2.114.931
Harry S. Truman AE2.114.945
Dwight D. Eisenhower AE2.114.953
John F. Kennedy AE2.114.961
Lyndon B. Johnson AE2.114.963-64
Richard Nixon AE2.114.969
Gerald R. Ford AE2.114.974
Jimmy Carter AE2.114.977
Ronald Reagan AE2.114.981
George Bush AE2.114.989
William J. Clinton AE2.114.994 

Statistical Sources

Handbook of Economic Statistics. REF HA115.U54a 1989
Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. REF HA202.B87 1975
Statistical Record of Hispanic Americans. REF E184.S75.S74 1993
Statistical Record of Native North Americans. REF E98.P76.S73 1993
Statistical Yearbook. REF HG 6046 C57
World Almanac (1900-present). REF A67.N5.W7 Latest volume at Reference Desk

Biographical Sources

Biographical sources can help you locate information on specific individuals. Besides providing information on your topic they can be used to find the qualifications and background of authors of books and articles.

American Autobiography 1945 -90. REF CT220.A54 1982
American Diaries. REF CT214.A74 1983 Vol.1: Diaries written 1492-1844; Vol. 2: Diaries written 1845-1980.
American Historians, 1607-1865. REF E175.45.A48 1984
American Historians, 1866-1912. REF E175.45.A483 1986
Annals of America (22 vols.). REF E173.A793
Biography and Genealogy Master Index. REF CT214.B57
Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy. REF E467.W2
Black Women in America (2 vols.). REF E185.86.B542 1993
Dictionary of African Historical Biography. REF DT352.6.L56 1987
Dictionary of American Biography (26 vols.: 1929 + Supplements to 1970). REF E176.D562b
Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography. REF F596.T515 1990
National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (1891) (53 vols.). REF E176.N28
New York Times Obituary Index 1858-1968. REF CT213.N47
Notable American Women 1607 - 1950. REF CT3260.N57
Washington Biographical Dictionary. REF CT266.W36 1993

Atlases and Photographs

Atlas of Ancient America. REF E61.C66 1986
Atlas of American Indian Affairs. REF G1201.E1.P7 1990
Atlas of the Twentieth Century. REF G1021.H67 1982
Columbia Gazetteer of the World (3 vols.). REF G103.5.C645 1998
First World War Atlas. REF G1037.G5 1971
Place-name Changes since 1900: A World Gazetteer. REF G103.5.R66
The Women's Atlas of the United States. REF G1201.E1.G5 1995
A World Atlas of Military History, 1945-1984. REF G1030.H37 1984b

History Department at Gonzaga University

Email the History Bibliographer at Foley Center Library, David Kingma, ext. 3814.