Encyclopedias & Reference Books

 START with these databases:

•  Credo Reference
A great place to begin research on any subject. Includes more than 500 trusted titles from over 70 publishers, plus relevant links to other quality sources.
• Gale Directory Library
Directories include: Ward's Business Directory, the Encyclopedia of Associations, the Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory, the Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, and the Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the full text of hundreds of reference books on a wide variety of subjects, including history, business, medicine, science and humanities. Includes tables of content, indexes and illustrations. (Guided Tour)
• Oxford Reference Online
Search Oxford's award winning encyclopedias and scholarly reference titles on an easy-to-use site.
• World Book Online
Start here for background research on any topic. Articles are updated with current events information, useful links on the Internet, a monthly calendar of important dates and a Today in History feature.

Additional databases to search:

• Access Science
Full access McGraw Hill's Encyclopedia of Science, plus research updates in all areas of science and technology.
•  American Book Prices Current
(Only available from within the Library)
ABPC is an essential tool for buying, selling and evaluating books, serials, autographs, manuscripts, broadsides, maps and documents, based on actual auction prices in the US and abroad.
• American National Biography Online
Info on over 17,000 American men and women--from all eras and walks of life--whose lives have shaped the nation. Only deceased persons are profiled.
• Biography in Context
More than 300,000 biographies from respected sources, for individuals from around the world, throughout history to the present. (Guided Tour)
• CQ Almanac
Congressional reporting in one, easy-to-use resource with original analysis and data on major legislation for each Congressional session back to 1945.
• CQ Researcher
Offers in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues, including overviews, statistics and pro/con reporting.
• CQ Weekly
Up to the minute coverage of the U.S. Congress: status of bills, votes and amendments, floor and committee activity, and backroom maneuvering produced by the largest news team on Capitol Hill.
• CultureGrams
Features cultures of 182 countries, including maps, statistics, photographs, national anthems, recipes and currency converters. Includes information about each U.S. state as well.
•  Current Biography Illustrated
Offers the content of the printed monthly magazine Current Biography, in searchable, electronic format. More than 25,000 biographies and nearly 20,000 images.
• Daily Life Online
Explore how others lived and live their lives, and how their lives shaped ours. Content is enhanced with new books, articles, images, maps, primary documents, and more.
•  Demographics Now for Libraries, Illinois Edition
Find geographic-based demographic information perfect for business and marketing plans.
• eBooks
Download books to your reading device or read on your computer.
• Enciclopedia Moderna
(Encyclopaedia Britannica Online)
The most comprehensive encyclopedia in the Spanish language, with articles, photos and images, maps and tables.
La enciclopedia más comprensiva de la lengua española, con los artículos, fotos e imágenes, mapas y tablas.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Complete encyclopedia with related Internet links, best websites rated by EB editors, Britannica's Lives and the Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary.
•  Encyclopedia of Popular Music
30,000 entries cover all genres and periods of popular music from 1900 to the present day, including jazz, country, folk, rap, reggae, techno, musicals, and world music. Complete discographies with a 5-star album rating system are included.
• FirstSearch (OCLC)
Scholarly and general content covering a wide variety of topics including health, education, technology, business, and the social sciences.
• Foundation Center Directory
(Only available from within the Library)
National database of 77,000 grantmakers and over 400,000 grants. One of the most comprehensive resources for non-profits organizations who are seeking funding.
• General Reference Center Gold
Provides one-stop access to general interest magazines, business periodicals, reference books, and newspaper articles. (Search Tips)
• Grove Dictionary of Art Online
Premier art encyclopedia on the Internet covering all aspect of visual arts from prehistory to the present day. Includes biographies of artists and select images of art.
• Historical Statistics of the US
Online edition of the recently updated five volume print compendium of historical statistics. Contains over 37,000 data series, on wide-ranging topics. Users may create customized tables and spreadsheets.
• Lands and People
A unique cultural database of all the countries on the globe. World Atlas included.
• LexisNexis® Library Express
(Access to the legal module is available in-Library only.)
News, consumer, business and legal information.
• Literature Resource Center
Critical analyses, plot overviews, and author biographies of 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers from every age and literary discipline.(Guided Tour)
• Lit Finder
Full-text poems, stories and essays on literature. (Guided Tour)
• Magazines & Newspapers Online, A-Z
Find out what magazines, journals, and newspapers the Library subscribes to online, and then link to the correct database to read articles or issues.
• Musicians and Composers of the 20th Century
Biographical profiles of important figures in all genres of music.
• New Book of Knowledge
Includes The American Heritage Children's Dictionary and The American Heritage Children's Thesaurus.
• New Book of Popular Science
Covers science, technology, and medical topics.
• Oxford English Dictionary
Search the authority on the English language. An unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over 500,000 words, both present and past.
• Oxford Dictionaries Online
Oxford’s innovative modern English dictionary and language reference  service.
• Oxford Language Dictionaries Online
Fully searchable comprehensive bilingual dictionaries and unique study materials that provide help with learning and using an expanding range of languages.
• Plunkett Research Online
For professionals in sales and marketing or anyone researching specific industries. Job seekers and professionals in human resources and recruiting will appreciate the Job Seekers Center.
• Points of View Reference Center
Two hundred topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument).
• Salem History
Includes Milestone Documents, the Great Lives biography series, Great Events from History, The Decades, and more.
• Salem Literature
Includes the full text of Critical Surveys and Masterplots.
• Salem Science
Includes Encyclopedia of Global Resources, Encyclopedia of Global Warming, Forensic Science, and The Solar System.
• Shakespeare Survey
A great resource from Cambridge University Press for students and Shakespeare lovers. Since 1948 Survey has published the best international scholarship in English, and many of its essays have become classics of Shakespeare criticism. Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays. The books are illustrated with a variety of Shakespearean images and production photographs.
• Statistical Abstract of the United States
The ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States
• Ulrichsweb
The authoritative source of bibliographic and publisher information on more than 300,000 periodicals of all types from around the world.
• Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged
Comprehensive dictionary that includes definitions, pronunciations and histories of the words.
• WorldAlmanac
Includes biographies, encyclopedia entries, facts, and statistics.
• WorldCat
Locate books, periodicals, computer programs, films, maps, sound recordings, videotapes and other formats in thousands of libraries worldwide.
• World Data Analyst Online
Detailed statistical comparisons of countries across the world, using both the most recent and historical figures.
• World Geography and Culture
Reproducible, full-color maps, flags, statistics, images, and information about a location's geography, government, history, society, and culture.
• World History
Covers civilizations and cultures of world history from prehistoric times through the modern era.