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Women's Studies Resources

Background information and reference resources


Background information can help you prepare for further research by explaining concepts related to your topic, especially if you are researching an unfamiliar topic or discipline. Entries in reference resources tend to be short and can help you get started with research on a new topic, identify trends in a subject area, and define unfamiliar terms or people from your readings. Reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and handbooks. 

General Reference Databases

Subject-Specific Online Reference Resources

Reference Books

Biographies

A to Z of American Women in the Visual Arts
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. N6505 .K59 2002

American First Ladies
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. E176.2 .A4 2002

American Women Stage Directors of the Twentieth Century
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. PN2286.8 .F55 2008

Contemporary American Women Fiction Writers
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. PS374 .W6 C66 2002

Significant Contemporary American Feminists
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1412 .S56 1999

Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1115 .W6 1999 vol. 1-17

Dictionaries

Wimmin, Wimps and Wallflowers:  An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Gender and Sexual Orientation Bias in the United States
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ76.45 .U5 H47 2001

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1190 .E63 2000

Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ76.3 .U5 E53 2004 vol. 1-3

Encyclopedia of Obesity and Eating Disorders
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. RC552 .E18 C37 2000

Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ16 .E52 2007 vol. 1-4

Encyclopedia of Women and Crime
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HV6046 .E56 2000

Encyclopedia of Women and Gender
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1115 .E43 2001 vol. 1-2

Encyclopedia of Women's History in America
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1410 .C85 2000

The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. PQ6055 .F46 2002 vol. 1-2

Gay Histories and Cultures:  An Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ75.13 .G37 2000

Girlhood in America:  An Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ777 .G5745 2001 vol. 1-2

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women's Issues Worldwide
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1115 .G74 2003 vol. 1-6

International Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ9 .E52 2003 vol. 1-4

International Encyclopedia of Women's Suffrage
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. JF851 .H28 2000

Lesbian Histories and Cultures:  An Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ76.5 .L4395 2000

Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1115 .R69 2000 vol. 1-4

Women and Music in America Since 1900:  An Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. ML82 .W625 2002 vol. 1-2

Women in Higher Education:  An Encyclopedia
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. LC1569 .W66 2002

Women in the Third World
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1870.9 .W6548 1998

Guides

The Rights of Women: The Basic ACLU Guide to Women's Rights
Available as an eBook.

Women's Legal Guide
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. KF478 .W674 1996

Women's Liberation Movement in America
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1421 .B47 1999

Handbooks

Abortion: A Reference Handbook
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ767.5 .U5 C67 1991

Domestic Violence: A Reference Handbook
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HV6626.2.M43 2008
Also available as an eBook.

Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Reference Handbook
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ76.3 .U5 N48 2009
Also available as an eBook.

Handbook of Lesbian and Gay Studies
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ75.15 .H36 2002

Rape in America: A Reference Handbook
Available only as an eBook.

Sexual Harassment: A Reference Handbook
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. KF4758 .E36 1993
Also available as an eBook.

Victims Rights:  A Reference Handbook
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. KF9763 .G58 1997

Quotations

The Quotable Woman: The First 5,000 Years
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. PN6081.5 .Q65 2001

Statistics

American Women
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1421 .A486 1997

The American Woman, 2003-2004:  Daughters of a Revolution–Young Women Today
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1421 .A476 2003

Statistical Handbook on Women in America
CALL NUMBER:  Ref. HQ1420 .T34 1996