Reference books, specifically encyclopedias and handbooks, provide brief, reliable information about a topic. They are excellent sources for finding background information, important concepts, names and dates. These sources often include lists of books and articles for further reading. Background sources generally do not count toward the number of required sources because they provide overviews rather than substantial information.
Students can request free photocopy of pages in reference sources at the Reference Desk. Staff members will attempt to make copies at the time of the request, but students should generally expect to pick up photocopies one or two days after the request has been submitted. A scanner is also available in the reference area for copying information. Assistance is available at the Reference Desk.
This database includes the complete text of over 350 scholarly books in the Cambridge History Series. Each title is also listed individually in the library's online catalog. These titles provide excellent bibliographies for further research under Databases on the library website.