LibGuides: History: Background Information

Encyclopedias & Dictionaries

Encyclopedias

Dictionary of American History - E 174 .A43 - Ten volume reference set that covers all aspects of American history.

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture - F1406 .E53 1996 - A five volume encyclopedia that covers all aspects of Latin American history and culture.

Global Encyclopedia of Historical Writing - D 13 .G47 - A two volume encyclopedia of the study of history and the practice of writing about the past.

NOTE - Individual countries, regions and peoples have specific call number locations in which works about them are located. Consult OneSearch or a Reference Librarian for specific call number locations for reference works in the history of the country you are interested.

Dictionaries

American National Biography - Ref CT213.A68 1999. 24 volume successor to the Dictionary of American Biography published in 1999. This set is much more inclusive in scope than the DAB, and covers notable Americans who died prior to 1996. For biographical information on living persons,use a Who's Who in America, or consult with a Reference Librarian for assistance.

Dictionary of American Biography - E176.D563. A scholarly American biographical dictionary with signed articles and bibliographies. Contains noteworthy persons of all periods since the Colonial period. This 20 volume set was produced between 1928 and 1937, but may still be used in conjunction with the more recently published American National Biography published in 1999.

Oxford Companion to British History - DA 34 .O39 - A Dictionary of important people, places, and events in the history of Great Britain.

World History - D 9 .W47 1994 - A single volume "dictionary of important people, places, and events from ancient times to the present." Contains about 10,000 brief entries that identify people, places, and events. Also contains chronologies of events.

NOTE - There are historical dictionaries covering virtually every country and period in world history. They are filed according to their own specific call numbers. Consult the CTW Online Catalog or a Reference Librarian to locate specific reference materials.

Useful Guides

American National Biography Online This link opens in a new window
Biographical information about notable deceased Americans since pre-colonial times. Note: 1 simultaneous user.

ArchiveGrid
ArchiveGrid is a collection of over two million archival material descriptions from collections held by thousands of libraries, museums, historical societies, and archives. It provides information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and other archival materials. It also provides contact information for the institutions where the collections are kept. ArchiveGrid data is primarily focused on archival material descriptions for institutions in the United States.

Handbook of Latin American Studies (HLAS Web) This link opens in a new window
The Handbook is a bibliography on Latin America consisting of works selected and annotated by scholars. Edited by the Hispanic Division of the Library of Congress, the multidisciplinary Handbook alternates annually between the social sciences and the humanities. Each year, more than 130 academics from around the world choose over 5,000 works for inclusion in the Handbook. Continuously published since 1936, the Handbook offers Latin Americanists an essential guide to available resources.

Middletown History Resources
Primary and secondary sources on the history of Middletown, CT, and the surrounding area.

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Brief biographical articles on notable deceased people in British history.
3 simultaneous users only.
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History Web Sites

Note: It is important to keep in mind that anyone can publish information on the Internet. You need to be very careful about evaluating and citing information found on the Web.

Meta Sites/Guides to history Sites - These sites list, and often evaluate, web sites relevant to research in History.

History Sites--Librarians' Index to the Internet - A lengthy listing of librarian-vetted history sites.

History Central Catalog - History section of the World Wide Web Virtual Library index of Internet resources