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Reference books have many uses in various stages of your research. Some selected titles are listed here grouped according to the function they fulfill. They are examples only. Effective use of library catalogs and research guides will reveal many more useful reference works.

Dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks - for overviews and quick information:

• An Encyclopedia of World History.Ref D 21.E578 2001
• Dictionary of Concepts in History. Ref D 13.R49 1986
• Europe 1450-1789: encyclopedia of the early modern world. Ref D 209.E97 2004. Also online
• The Oxford Companion to British History. Ref DA 34 .O93 1997
• Columbia Companion to British History. Ref DA 34.H64 1997
• Britain in the Hanoverian Age, 1714-1837. Ref DA 480.B75 1997
• A Companion to Scottish History. Ref DA 757.9.D68 1989
• The Encyclopedia of Ireland. Ref DA 906.E53 2003b
• The London Encyclopedia. Ref DA 679.L78 1986
• Encyclopedia of Social History. Ref HN 28.E53 1994 Essays on selected topics, with very selective bibl. refs.
• The ABC-CLIO World History Companion to the Industrial Revolution. Ref D 359.7 .S74 1996
• Encyclopedia of Medical History. Ref R 133.M34 1985
• Companion Encyclopedia of the History of Medicine. Ref R.133.E5 1993
• Companion to Stuart Britain. DA 375.C684 2003
• Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain. DA 480.C58 2002
• The Longman Handbook of Early Modern Europe, 1453-1763. (Ref D 209.C66 2001) Excludes U.K.

Statistical summaries - for selected, condensed statistical data.

• International Historical Statistics,: Europe 1750-2000. Ref HA 1107.M5 2003
• Abstract of British historical statistics. Ref HA 1135.M52

Historical treatises: major, comprehensive surveys.

• New Cambridge Modern History. D 208.N4; v.3. The Counter-reformation and Price revolution, 1559-1610, edited by R.B. Wernham.--.v.4. Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, edited by J.P. Cooper.--v.5. The Ascendancy of France, 1648-88, edited by F.L. Carsten.--v.6. The Rise of Great Britain and Russia, 1688-1715/25, edited by J.S. Bromley.--v.7. The Old regime, 1713-63, edited by J.O. Lindsay
• Cambridge Social History of Britain. 1750-1950. HN 385.C14 1990. 3 vols.
• Cambridge Cultural History of Britain. NX543 .C36 1992; v. 5. Eighteenth-century Britain
• The Political History of England. 12 vols. DA 30.P7622
• The Cambridge World History of Human Disease. R 131.C233 1993
• Cambridge Economic History of Europe. HC 240.C312
• A New History of Ireland. v.3 Early Modern Ireland, 1534-1691. DA 912.N48; v.4. Eighteenth-century Ireland, 1691-1800

Atlases and maps: Thematic atlases show history in graphic form.

• The Times Atlas of European History. Ref G 1797.21.S1T5 1994.
• The Times Atlas of World History. Ref G 1030.T54 1989
• British History Atlas. Ref G 1811.S1G5 1969
• Historical Atlas of Britain. Ref G 1812.4.S1H5 1987
• Historic Towns: maps and plans of towns and cities in the British Isles with historical commentaries... Ref G 1814.A1H5 1969a
• An Atlas of Rural Protest in Britain 1548-1900. HD1536.G65 A87 1982

Chronologies: lists of historical events in chronological order.

• Handbook of British Chronology. Ref DA 34.P6 1961
• The Timetable of History. Ref D 11.G78 1991
• Chronology of World History. Vol. 2: 1492-1775, Ref D 11.M39 1999
• The People's Chronology. Ref D 11.T83 1992
• The Women's Chronology. Ref HQ 1122.T73 1994

Biography: brief information on persons may be found in the dictionaries, encyclopedias and handbooks listed above, and also in these sources.

• Lives of the Stuart age. Ref CT 781.L35 1976
• Dictionary of National Biography. - British citizens from earliest times. Ref DA 28.D48
• Cambridge Biographical Dictionary. Ref CT 103.C4 1990
• Who's who in history. Ref DA 28.W618 v.3 & v.4

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Bibliographies: lists of publications on a subject (which may be specific or broad). General Historical Bibliographies

• A Bibliography of Modern History. Ref D 208.A1 R63 1968
• AHA Guide to Historical Literature. 3rd ed. Ref D 20.A1 A55 1995

British History Bibliographies

• A Bibliography of English History, 1603-1714. Ref DA 375.A1D25 1970
• A Select Bibliography of British History, 1660-1760. Ref DA 435.A1G86 1969
• Restoration England, 1660-1689. Ref DA 445.A1S3 1971
• Writings on British History. Ref DA 34.A1W74 - 1901-33, 1937-45.
• A Guide to the Historical and Archaeological Publications of Societies in England and Wales, 1901-1933. Ref DA 1.A1M8 1968.
• Guide to the Printed Materials for English Social and Economic History. Ref HC 255.A1W7 1926 2 vols.
• London's Past Online - a bibliography [www.rhs.ac.uk/bibl/london.asp]

Topical Historical Bibliographies

• Bibliography of European Economic and Social History. Ref HC 240.A1 A4 1993
• Bibliography of British Economic and Social History. Ref HC 253.A1 C46 1984
• Society and economy in early modern Europe, 1450-1789: a bibliography of post-war research. Ref.HC 240.T356 1989.
• The Process of Modernization: an annotated bibliography. Ref HM 101.A1 B7 1969.
• Women in Western European History. Ref HQ 1587 .F74 1982 + suppl.in 1986
• Women and Society: a critical review. Ref HQ 1399 .R67 1975

Many other bibliographies are in the Reference Area. Use the online catalog to find them, or browse.
Examples are: A Bibliography of Prostitution (Ref HQ 111.A1 B52 1977); Social Stratification: a research bibliography (Ref HM 821.A1 G55 1970); Alcohol Use and World Cultures (Ref HV 5035.A1 H43 1981); Research on Suicide: a bibliography (Ref HV 6545.A1 M38 1985), Bibliography of the History of Medicine (Ref R 131.A1 B5); ETC.

Guides to Reference Sources for History

• Sources of Information for Historical Research. Ref D 20.A1 S64 1994
• History : illustrated search strategy and sources. Ref D16 .F87 1995
• The American Historical Association's guide to historical literature. Ref D 20.A1 A55 1995 v.1-2

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Primary Sources: Among the many types of primary sources of interest to historians are books, government records, personal memoirs, and other artifacts of civilization. Collections of important primary sources include libraries and archives. Directories help researchers locate pertinent collections. Examples of these directories are:

• Guide to the Contents of the Public Record Office. (U.K.) Ref CD 1043.A553
• Sources of English Local History. Ref DA 32.5.A1 S8 1981
• Texts and Calendars: an analytical guide to serial publications. Ref DA 30. A1M8 1958
• Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States. Ref CD 3022.A45
• Directory of Archives and Manuscript Depositories. Ref CD 3020.D49 1988
• Guide to the National Archives of the U.S. (Ref CD 3023.U54 1974)
• Guide to records in the New York State Archives. Ref CD 3404.N4
• Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers. Ref Z 731.D57

Primary sources are also becoming more available in digital form. Check our web page for "Primary Sources for European History", and the page of History: Portals

Books: Attempts have been made to identify and list all early books published in English. These "catalogs" list the books by author, and note the libraries which report having a copy of the book.

• English Short-Title Catalogue of Books Printed in England, Scotland and Ireland, and of English Books Printed Abroad, 1475-1640. ("Pollard & Redgrave") - 1475-1640. (Crumb Ref Z 2002.P77 1976). Crumb Library has most of this collection on microfilm.
• Short-Title Catalog. ("Wing") - 1641-1700. (Crumb Ref Z 2002.W52). Crumb Library does not own the microfilm of this set.
• English Short Title Catalogue (1473-1800) online at: http://estc.bl.uk/F/?func=file&file_name=login-bl-list
  More about using the English Short Title Catalogue.
  
  
• Google Books [books.google.com]- is an ongoing project to digitize and make freely available many publications that are beyond copyright protection. Search using keyword from the title of known publications, or by subject.

Diaries, Correspondence, and other Papers: private papers of sufficient interest may be published for the use of historians and other interested parties. Some examples:

• British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries - a digital collection, 1558-date
• The Diaries of John Evelyn. DA 447.E9A44
• The Complete Letters of Lady Mary Wortley Montague. DA 501.M7A48
• The Writings and Speeches of Oliver Cromwell. DA 426.A15 1970. 4 vols
• The Diary of Samuel Pepys. DA 447.P4A4
• The Diary of John Milward. DA 447.M5A3 (1666-1668)

Collections of Historical Documents: selected documents and papers of historical interest

• English Historical Documents. - 12 volumes DA 26.E55. (vol 6 & 7 not yet publ.)
• Parliamentary History of England, 1066-1803. 36 volumes J 301.H5
• The English Renaissance : an anthology of sources and documents. DA 310.R46 1998
• European Society in the Eighteenth Century. HN 373.F64 1969b
• Family, Sex, and Marriage in England, 1500-1800. HQ 615.S76 1977
• The Leveller tracts, 1647-1653. DA400 .H3
• The eighteenth-century constitution, 1688-1815, documents and commentary. JN 210.W54
• Parliamentary History of England. 1066-1803. J 301.H5 (36 vols)
• Debates in the House of Commons. 1667-1694. Anichitell Grey. Microfiche Wa/JN1        

Another primary source is the accumulating record of thought and observation in the popular press - newspapers and magazines, as described below.

Periodicals: Writing and illustrations in periodicals are important historical artifacts. Wide circulation magazines in England date from around the end of the 17th century. Examples to be found in Crumb Library are:

• Defoe's Review, 1704-1713 (DA 490.D33)
• Spectator, 1711-1714 (PR 1365.S7 1965) Also online as Spectator Text Project.
• Internet Library of Early Journals: 1731- 1869. [www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/] Includes substantial runs of: Gentleman's Magazine; The Annual Register; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society; Notes and Queries; The Builder ; Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. They can be searched or browsed online.

Indexes to the contents of magazines came much later. Listed here are indexes which cover popular interest and news magazines (rather than professional historical journals), which enable you to look for articles by subject:

• Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature. 1890-date Ref.AI 3.R48
• Poole's Index to Periodical Literature. 1802-1881 Ref.AI 3.P7
• Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals. 1824-1900 Ref. Z 2005.H6

Newspapers: Newspapers are published everywhere in many languages. Back issues are almost always available only as microfilm. The most comprehensive list of foreign newspapers is Newspapers in Microform: Foreign Countries Ref PN 4855.A1L5 1948-83. Most newspapers available in microfilm can be obtained through Interlibrary Loan. Few newspapers have indexes to their contents, but some of the most important ones do. A project to digitize the London Gazette (1665-date) is underway. Crumb Library has on microfilm The Times (London) 1788-1997 at AP 4.T5.

Indexes to Newspapers: use these to search for stories on particular subjects

• Palmer's Index to the Times [of London ]. 1790-1905. Microfilm - at the end of the Times (London) Microfilm AP 4.T52.
• Official Index to the Times [of London]. 1785-86, 1906-date. Ref AI 21.T46
• New York Times Index. 1851-date. Ref AI 21.N45