Reference Materials
Why Reference Sources?
Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper? Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?
Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases. Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run. Use reference sources to:
- find a topic
- narrow your topic
- find keywords
- get background information on your topic
Collections of Many Online Reference Books in one place:
Credo Reference and Gale eBooks / Gale Virtual Reference Library and Salem Press
Oxford Reference and Sage Knowledge Reference also have thousands of scholarly, academic articles, but they are a bit more difficult to use. Click here to find instructions on how to use these collections of reference books.
County and City Extra: Special Historical Edition, 1790 - 2010. (Census statistics) Reference HA 203 .C 683 2015
Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census. Reference HA 37 .U 55 E 53 2012
Historical Statistics of the United States. Reference HA 202 .H 57 2006 Also available online.
Mapping Census 2000: The Geography of American Diversity. General G 1201 .E 25 B 7 2001
Statistical Abstract of the United States. Most recent print edition in downstairs Ready Reference HA 202 .U 5 S 93. Also available online. Older editions upstairs in the General Collection under the same call number. You can also find many other official U.S. Census publications near that call number.
This Is Who We Were series, companions that describe various periods of American history, and include Census data.
List of COD databases for finding Statistics
