Research Librarian
Reference Sources for Film & Media
Below are links to film and media reference sources and collections:
- Reference Universe This link opens in a new windowSearchable index of the library's entire reference collection, both print and electronic.
- AFI Catalog This link opens in a new windowProduction and cast information plus extensive plot summaries for American films from 1893-1974, with records for selected major films from 1975-2011.
- Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism This link opens in a new windowHundreds of entries on critics and theorists, schools, and movements.
- FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals Database (1972 to present) This link opens in a new windowIndex of the world's foremost academic and popular film journals.
- Film Index International This link opens in a new windowDetails on thousands of films from the silent era to the latest blockbusters, with searchable plot summaries and full cast and crew lists.
- IMDb (Internet Movie Database)Online database of information related to film, television, video games, and streaming content online, including cast, production crew and personal biographies, plot summaries, trivia, reviews and ratings.
- The NumbersThe largest freely available database of movie industry information on the web. Market analysis coverage from 1995 to the present.
- Yale Film Analysis GuideA guide to the vocabulary of film studies, techniques of cinema, and examples of film sequence analysis
- American Archive of Public BroadcastingInformation about, and digitized historical content created by public media. A collaboration between the Library of Congress and GBH.
- Directors NotesInterviews with and articles about filmmakers and film process.
Reference Sources for Contextual Research
- Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new windowStandard source for quantitative information about the U.S., updated and with 37,000 data series.
- Perry-Castañeda Library Map CollectionThe PCL Map Collection includes more than 250,000 maps from the Perry-Castañeda Library at the University of Texas at Austin. A large collection of digital maps from around the world.
- Atlas of the BiosphereThe Atlas of the Biosphere was created as a Masters Thesis project of the University of Wisconsin's Nelson Institute Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE). The project goal was to provide information about the environment and human interactions with the environment. Includes downloadable data/maps about the environment, including land use, human impacts, ecosystems, and water resources.
- American FactfinderAmerican FactFinder provides access to data about the United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas. The data in American FactFinder come from several censuses and surveys.
- Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowStatistical tables and charts covering various aspects of social, political and economic conditions of the United States.
- Social Explorer (1790 to present) This link opens in a new windowAccess to data from the U.S. Census, American Community Survey, religious congregations, and other sources, with options to create thematic and interactive maps and reports.
- DiversityData.orgIndicators of diversity, opportunity, quality of life and health for various racial and ethnic population groups in all U.S. metro areas
- ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new windowWorld's largest archive of computerized social science data, with abstracts and data.
- Statistical Insight (ProQuest) This link opens in a new windowSearches U.S. federal government (1974-present), international intergovernmental (1983-present), state government and privately published documents (1981-present) that contain statistics. Many tables are available online as images or Excel files.
- FEDSTATSStatistics from more than 100 agencies in the United States Federal Government.
- National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS)Provides, free of charge, aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2000.
- National Neighborhood Indicators PartnershipGreat clearinghouse of local level data -- collaborative effort by the Urban Institute and local partners
- Association of Religion Data ArchivesQuantitative data sets for the study of American religion.
Tip: What are reference sources, and why would I use them?
Reference sources can include encyclopedias, bibliographies, dictionaries, handbooks, and atlases.
- They provide overviews of and background information on a topic
- They help you identify or refine your topic
- They provide quick, reliable facts
- They include bibliographies that will lead you to additional sources of information on your topic
You can find the Library's collection of reference books on Floor 1 of Frost. We also have many online databases that include collections of edited scholarly encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference sources.