Research Librarian
Alana Kumbier
they/them or she/her
Contact:
Frost Library
413-542-5454
Subjects: Arabic, Asian Languages & Civilizations, Black Studies, Chinese, Classics, History, Japanese, Philosophy
Reference Sources
Below are links to reference sources and collections that are most useful for this subject:
Collections of reference works
Use these databases to search the indexes and tables of contents of multiple reference books at once.
- Reference Universe This link opens in a new windowSearchable index of the library's entire reference collection, both print and electronic.
- Gale Virtual Reference Library This link opens in a new window70 reference e-books, including multivolume works like the Encyclopedia of Religion, American Decades, and more.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new windowDigitized entries from Oxford's Dictionaries, Companions and Encyclopedias, spanning multiple subject areas.
- Cambridge Companions This link opens in a new windowScholarly surveys of authors, literary history, culture, and philosophy.
- Cambridge Histories This link opens in a new windowProvides political, economic and social history, philosophy, and literature of selected countries and subjects.
Subject-Specific Reference Works
These are key reference works in the history of Africa and the diaspora.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt by ISBN: 9780195102345Entries on ancient Egyptian civilization, from the predynastic era to its eclipse in the seventh century CE.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the near East by Entries on sites, languages, material culture, archaeological methods, organizations and institutions, and major excavators and scholars of the field.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History by Entries cover six main areas: biographies; geography and history; comparative culture and society, including adoption, abortion, performing arts; organizations and movements, such as the Egyptian Uprising, and the Paris Commune; womens and gender studies; and topics in world history that include slave trade, globalization, and disease.
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.