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Women's Studies Resources: Background Info

Getting Started with Reference

Reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases and handbooks. Entries in such sources tend to be rather short and they are meant to help you get started with research on a new topic.

Subject-Specific Online Reference Resources

General Reference Databases

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