Essential Reference Sources for a News Library
(Includes Related Web Sites)

Send suggestions to: newsdivisionweb@yahoo.com.

Arts and Entertainment  |  Biography  |  Business  |  Directories  |  Education  |  General  |  Geography  |  History and Current Events  |  Journalism Reference  |  Law  |  Literature  |  Media and Publishing  |  Medical Resources  |  Military  |  Religion  |  Science, Pure and Applied  |  Sports and Games  |  U.S. Government and Politics


ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

American Art Directory. 59th ed. National Register Publishing, 2003-2004. http://www.nationalregisterpub.com/
Contains information about art institutions in the US and Canada.

The complete directory to prime time network and cable TV shows, 1946-present. 8th ed. (Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh). Ballantine Books, 2003.
Provides information on every regular series ever carried on networks, including Emmy awards, theme songs, spin-offs. Name index. Publisher description: http://www.loc.gov/catdir/description/random044/2003105447.html

Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford University Press. http://www.oxfordreference.com/pages/Subjects_and_Titles__2E_PA02
14,000 brief entries for general readers.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 8 vols. 3d ed. Grove's, 1998.
Excellent coverage of performers, groups, significant albums and record companies. Formerly Guinness Encyclopedia. See also Worldwide Internet Music Resources, www.music.indiana.edu/music_resources, an exhaustive list of resources on composers, musicians, genres, journals on everything from bluegrass to opera to world to chamber music.

The Film Encyclopedia. 4th ed. (Ephraim Katz) HarperResource, 2001.
Specialist source. Definitions, profiles of organizations and countries, biographical information with emphasis on non-US.

Internet Broadway Database -- http://ibdb.com
Provides records of productions from the beginnings of New York theatre until today.

Internet Movie Database -- http://www.imdb.com
Latest film and television news updated daily.

Halliwell's Filmgoer's Companion. 12th ed. (Leslie Halliwell) HarperPerennial, 1997.
A standard work for general viewers with concise entries. Also see Internet Movie Database, http://us.imdb.com, a keyword searchable database of information on 200,000 movie and television titles.

The Great Song Thesaurus. 2d ed. (Roger Lax, Frederick Smith) Oxford University Press, 1989. 
A compendium of various lists. Enables user to find title, date and composer of song by title word or subject. 

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. (Stanley Sadie, John Tyrell, eds.) Grove Dictionaries Inc., 2001.
The definitive English language music encyclopedia covering styles, instruments, periods, etc. Also see http://www.grovemusic.com.

Halliwell's Film and Video Guide. 7 vols. HarperPerennial. 1996-2002.
Brief descriptions answer many ready-reference questions about movies. Also see Internet Movie Databases, http://us.imdb.com.

New Harvard Dictionary of Music. 4th ed. (Don Michael Randel) Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2003.
Expands on previous editions' coverage of non-Western music. Well sourced and cross-referenced, but not strong on biographical data.

History of Art. 2 vols. Rev. 6th ed. (Anthony F. Janson) Prentice-Hall, 2003.
Painting, Sculpture, Photography.

Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide. N.A.L., 1999.
Also available on Microsoft Cinemania CD-ROM, with Roger Ebert's Video Companion and 5,001 Nights at the Movies.

The New Grove Dictionary of American Music. 4 vols. 4th ed. (H. Wiley Hitchcock, Stanley Sadie, eds.) Groves, 1993.
Covers American classical and much popular music in great detail, from authoritative contributors. 

New Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford, 1983. 
Essential resource for serious music covering composers, individual works, theory with expanded coverage of jazz, non-Western music and 20th-century innovations. Oxford Dictionary of Music available at http://www.xrefer.com.

The Oxford Companion to American Theater. 2d ed. (Gerald Martin Bordman) Oxford University Press, 1992.
People and plays, chiefly of Broadway.

Oxford Companion to Food. (Alan Davidson) Oxford University Press, 1999.
Authoritative work on the history and use of food and foodstuffs the world over. Also see Global Gourmet, http://www.globalgourmet.com, a comprehensive listing of food-related sources on the internet, including Netfood Directory, with information on nutrition, ethnic and special diets, restaurants, wholesalers, cookbooks, magazines.

"We'll Always Have Paris": The Definitive Guide to Great Lines from the Movies. 1st ed. (Robert A. Nowlan & Gwendolyn W. Nowlan) HarperCollins, 1995.
This out-of-print guide to movie quotes was recommended by Catherine Tierney of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Newslib on January 8, 2003.

Who's Who in American Art. 25th ed. Marquis, 2003-2004.
Over 11,000 biographies of visual artists in US, Canada & Mexico. Also see http://www.marquiswhoswho.com/

BIOGRAPHY: (see also directories)

American National Biography. Oxford University Press, 1999.

American National Biography. Oxford University Press, Supplement 1 (covers individuals who died post 1991) 2002. Also available online - www.oup.com.

American Men and Women of Science. 21st ed. Gale Publishing, 2002. 22nd ed. To be published Dec. 2004
Biography & Genealogy Master Index. Gale Research, 2004. Indexes all those Who's Who, Current Biography sorts of things; useful if you have more than one or two. Also available online.

Current Biography Yearbook. H.W. Wilson. Annual.
Also available in Biography Reference Bank.

Dictionary of World Biography. (Frank M. Magill, ed.) Salem Press, 1999. 10 vols.
Profiles of important personages from the ancient world through the 20th century.

Encyclopedia of Television News. (Michael D. Murray, ed.) Oryx Press, 1999.
Covers 300 people, organizations, events and issue that have made television news the influential medium it is today. Also available as an eBook.

International Who's Who 2000. 64th ed. Europa, 2003.
18,500 detailed biographies. Also available on CD-ROM.

The Presidents: A Reference History. 3rd ed. (Henry F. Graff, ed.) Charles Scribners Sons, 2002.
Also see broad listing of presidential links at http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president.

U*X*L Newsmakers: The People Behind Today's Headlines. (Terrie Rooney, ed.) U*X*L, 2004.
Annual compilations of 200 newsmakers. Also available as an eBook.

Who's Who in America, Who Was Who in America, Who's Who (British), Who's Who of American Women, regional editions. Marquis. Biennial.
Print and online - www.marquiswhoswho.com.
Biographical dictionaries of notable men and women. Concise contemporary data with index and supplements. Biennial. Also available in Biography Resource Center database, Gale, and Dialog file 234. Oxford Who's Who in the 20th Century available at www.xrefer.com. Also see www.biography.com (A&E Network offering of Cambridge Biographical Encyclopedia) and www.infoplease.com.

World Biographical Index. 14th ed., 2004. Annual. K.G. Saur.
Also available online www.saur-wbi.de.

BUSINESS

A good starting point for online business research: http://money.cnn.com.

Directory of Corporate Affiliations. National Register, 2003. 
Multiple volumes: Master Index, international, U.S. private, U.S. public. Also see http://www.corporateaffiliations.com.

Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory. Dun & Bradstreet Information Services. 2003.
Includes corporate and trade name, SIC code, annual sales and employee counts. Available on CD-ROM as Dun's Million Dollar Disk. Also see http://mddi.dnb.com/mddi

Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance. 10th ed. (Charles J. Woelfel, ed.) McGraw Hill, 1996.

Hoover's Handbooks (American Business, Private Companies, World Business). Hoover's, 2004.
Profiles of major public and private companies. Online at www.hoovers.com: Hoover's corporate directory offers capsule descriptions and financials. Subscription service offers in-depth profiles of 50,000 companies.

International Encyclopedia of the Stock Market. 2 vols. (Michael Sheimo, ed.) Fitzroy Dearborn, 1999.
Defines 2,000 terms about practices, economies, people and history of world stock market. Online: see also Virtual Finance Library, www.cob.ohio-state.edu/dept/fin/overview.htm.

Nelson's Directory of Investment Research. 3 vols. Nelson Publications, published annually. 
Includes information on over 9,000 analysts who work at more than 700 firms and follow over 14,000 public companies around the world. Covers institutional research firms, U.S. public companies, and international public companies. Also see http://www.nelsoninformation.com.

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers. 33 vols. 93rd ed. Thomas Publishing Co., 2003.
Directory of U.S. and Canadian manufacturers. Lists over 168,000 industrial products and services companies. Also see www.thomasregister.com.

Brands and Their Companies. 25th ed. Gale Group, 2003. 
Consumer products and their manufacturers with addresses and phone numbers. Also see http://www.galegroup.com.

The U. S. Industry and Trade Outlook. 38th ed. McGraw-Hill and the International Trade Administration of the Department of Commerce, 2000.
Leading source of U.S. industry and trade forecasts. Also see http://www.outlook.gov.

DIRECTORIES

Accurint -- http://www.accurint.com
People finder and investigation tool.

Headquarters U.S.A. 2004 (formerly Business Phonebook U.S.A.). 26th ed. (Jennifer Perkins, ed.) Omnigraphics. 2003.
See, among others, www.555-1212.com, www.bigyellow.com, www.infospace.com and www.switchboard.com.

Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers. 2 vols. 30th ed. Gale Group, 2004.
Of course.

Encyclopedia of Associations: National Organizations of the U.S. 3 vols. 41st ed. Gale Group, 2004.
Also available on CD-ROM and online: Dialog File 114. See also http://info.asaenet.org and, for international organizations, www.via.org and, for charities, www.guidestar.org.

International Directory of News Libraries. 5th ed. (Andrew Ippolito, ed.) LDA Publishers, 1996. 

United States Zip Code Atlas. American Map Co., 2000.
Great tool for making sense of census data and other data organized by zip code. See http://www.usps.com/zip4/welcome.htm?from=global&page=2132findzip for zip code look-up.

Who Knows: a Guide to Washington Experts. Washington Researchers Publishing. Annual.
Also see Special Libraries Association/St. Petersburg Times collection of links to expert sources, http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/internet/experts.html.

Local telephone directories/yellow pages/cross reference directory 

Directory of local officials/government employees 

Directory of local chapters of Special Libraries Association and American Library Association

Yearbooks and/or alumni directories of local schools, colleges, and universities

EDUCATION

American Association for Higher Education - www.aahe.org.

The American School Directory - http://www.asd.com/.
A searchable database of each of America's 106,000 K-12 schools. Each site is loaded with pages of information, including number of students, number of homerooms, grades, phone and fax numbers, url's, school calendars, administrators, and even a local street map. Subscription only.

The College Board College Handbook 2004. 41st ed. College Board, 2003.
Includes CD-ROM.

College Times http://www.nytimes.com/college/.
A searchable database of recent NY Times articles organized into a directory of related academic fields.

Education Rankings Annual, 2004. Gale Group, annual.

Educational Vital Signs - http://www.asbj.com/evs/.
Education Vital Signs is a compendium of key education statistics and trends for public K-12 schools nationwide. It is published each December as a print and online supplement to The American School Board Journal.

Lovejoy's College Guide 1998. (Charles Straughn, ed.) IDG Books, 1997.
See also US News & World Report college guide, http://www.usnews.com/usnews/rankguide/rghome.htm.

The Independent Schools Guide 2004-2005. 10th ed. Gabbitas Educational Consultants, ed., Kagan Page Ltd. (pub date July 2004)

National Education Association - www.nea.org.

National Faculty Directory. 36th ed. Gale Group, 2004. (April 2004)

Peterson's Four-Year Colleges 2000. 30th ed. Peterson's Guides, 1999.

School District Demographics - http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/.
Provides access to school district geographic and demographic data useful for describing and analyzing characteristics of school districts, children, and K-12 education. Includes data from the 1990 and 2000 censuses.

World List of Universities and Other Institutions of Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Local high school and college yearbooks and catalogs; local college expert directories

GEOGRAPHY

Atlapedia Online - http://www.atlapedia.com/.
Atlapedia Online contains full color physical and political maps as well as key facts and statistics on countries of the world. The Countries A to Z section, provides facts, figures and statistical data on geography, climate, people, religion, language, history, economy & more..for each individual country. The World Maps section provides full color physical and political maps for regions of the world. Check for currency of entries.

CIA World Factbook 1999 and World Factbook 2000 by Brassey's.
Highly acclaimed source for key data on every country in the world. Also available at www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook.

The Columbia Gazetteer of North America, 2000. - http://www.bartleby.com/69/.
With 50,000 entries, the Gazetteer covers every incorporated place and county in the United States, along with several thousand unincorporated places, special-purpose sites, and physical features, as well as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Search, or browse an alphabetic index.

Earth - http://www.alexandria.ucsb.edu/other-sites/Earth.html
Links to reference resources related to the planet Earth and the oceans and continents. Includes links dealing with climates and meteorology, agriculture, the environment, and more. Also includes several kinds of maps.

How Far Is It? -- http://www.indo.com/distance
This service uses data from the US Census and a supplementary list of cities around the world to find the latitude and longitude of two places, and then calculates the distance between them (as the crow flies). It also provides a map showing the two places, using the Xerox PARC Map Server.

Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster (Ed.). 3rd edition. Merriam-Webster, 1997.

The National Gazetteer of the United States of America. U.S. Geological Survey, 1990.
One for each state, available individually in print and by ftp at Geographic Names Information System, http://geonames.usgs.gov/. (GNIS locates all place names by latitude and longitude. Feature names database available on CD-ROM.)

National Geographic Atlas of the World. 7th ed.. National Geographic Society, 2003. (8th ed, 2004 due 10/04).

The Penguin Dictionary of Geography (Penguin Reference Books), Audrey N. Clark ed. Penguin USA, 2003.

Times Atlas of the World. Harper-Collins, 2003.

Thomas Street Guide and Directory. See http://thomasguides.com.
Street maps, mapping software, road atlases, and wall maps

Local maps: topographic, tourist, land/property ownership.

Local tourist guides, including American Automobile Association.

GENERAL:

Encyclopedias

Encyclopedia Americana. 30 vols. Grolier, 2004.
One of the most comprehensive general purpose encyclopedias, strong on American towns and cities. Also see http://www.go.grolier.com.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 32 vols. Encyclopaedia Britannica Co., 2003.
The most comprehensive, authoritative international encyclopedias in the English language; however, consisting of micropaedia, macropaedia, propaedia and index, inconvenient in print for fact checking. Also available on CD and at www.britannica.com.

Quick reference and statistics

Awards, Honors & Prizes. 2 vols. 23rd ed. Gale Group, 2004.
Directory of organizations sponsoring awards in every field of human endeavor, recognized as the standard work in its field.

Consumer Reports Buying Guide. Consumer Reports Books, annual.
Also see http://www.consumerreports.org.

The People's Almanac Presents the Book of Lists: The 90's Edition. Little, Brown & Co., 1993.
See also Gary Price's List of Lists, http://www.specialissues.com/lol/.

Census of Population 2000. Diane Publishing. 
Also see www.census.gov

Chase's Annual Events. (Helen & William Chase) Contemporary Books. Annual.
Lists and indexes special events, holidays, ethnic celebrations, anniversaries, festivals, historic events. Free updates at www.chases.com.

The Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Columbia University Press, 1998.

County and City Data Book. (U.S. Bureau of the Census), Bernan, 2002. 
A supplement of Statistical Abstract of the United States. Lists latest figures for each county. Available on CD-ROM and at http://www.census.gov/prod/www/ccdb.html. Also See www.factfinder.census.gov.

CQ Researcher 2001. Congressional Quarterly Press, 2002.
In-depth research on dozens of current events, issues, controversies. Available online at http://library.cqpress.com

Emily Post's Etiquette. 17th ed. HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. 
Standard US handbook, legislating for every conceivable social occasion, including divorce and living together. Or: Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. (Judith Martin) Warner Books, 1991. 

Essential Desk Reference. Oxford University Press. 2002.
Historical facts, science, entertainment, sports information, etc.

Gun Digest 2004. 58th ed. (Ken Ramage, ed.) Krause Publications, 2003.
Comprehensive guide.

Europa World Year Book. 2 vols. Europa Publications. Annual. 
Covers United Nations and every country: constitution, government, parties, statistics, media and industry. Available online at http://www.europaworld.com.

Guinness Book of Records. Bantam. Annual.
The classic.

Kelley's Blue Book Used Car Guide. Kelley Blue Book. Annual.
Also available at www.kbb.com.

Librarians Index to the Internet -- http://www.lii.org.
A searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 12,000 resources selected and evaluated by librarians.

The New Way Things Work. (David Macauley, ed.) Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 
Mechanical and industrial processes and scientific principles for laymen. Also available on CD-ROM.

New York Public Library Desk Reference. 4th ed. Hyperion Press, 2002.
There are other NYPL books of chronologies, lists. etc. Also available on CD-ROM as part of Toolworks Reference Library.

Political Handbook of the World. McGraw-Hill Book Co.
Political parties, parliamentary turnouts and historical background on many countries.

Refdesk.com -- http://www.refdesk.com
Refdesk indexes and reviews quality, credible, and current information-based sites and assists readers in navigating these sites

Robert's Rules of Order Revised. 10th ed. (Henry M. Robert/Sarah C. Robert, ed.) Perseus Publishing, 2000.
The standard guide to parliamentary rules, with charts, tables and lists.

Statesman's Yearbook: The Politics, Cultures & Economies of the World. St. Martin's Press. Annual.
Also see Central Intelligence Agency Factbook at www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html.

Statistical Abstract of the United States 2003. Various publishers: Statistical Abstract of the United States 2003. 123rd ed. Hoover's, 2004. Identical to government version. 
Includes comparative international statistics. A basic tool. Also available in pdf format at http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-03.html. For interactive comparative statistics denominated in common currency, see University of Pennsylvania World Tables at http://pwt.econ.upenn.edu.

Time Almanac 2004: With Information Please. Time Life, 2003. 
For information on United States and countries of the world, sports records, awards, people. Also available at www.infoplease.com.

The Value of a Dollar: Prices and Incomes in The United States: 1860-1999. 2nd ed. (Scott Derks, ed.) Grey House Publishing, 1999.
This book lists what things cost throughout the years.

World Almanac and Book of Facts. World Almanac. Annual. 
Includes dates, U.S. population statistics, U.S. associations and institutions, countries and flags, sports. Quotes sources.

Yellow Books. Leadership Directories. Annual.
Directories of Congress, federal and state governments, corporations. Online version at http://www.leadershipdirectories.com. For government personnel, also see Federal Web Locator, www.infoctr.edu/fwl.

Local/state almanacs and statistical compilations

HISTORY AND CURRENT EVENTS

The American Books of Days. 4th ed. (Jane Hatch, Stephen Christianson) H. W. Wilson, 2000.
Describes the varieties of holidays, customs, festivities, folklore and anniversaries connected with each day of the year.

Chase's Calendar of Annual Events, The Day-to-Day Directory to Special Days, Weeks and Months 47th ed., 2004. McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books. Annual.

Chronicle of America. DK Pub., 1997.

Encyclopedia of American History. HarperCollins, 1995.
A chronological manual of government, events and people. Indexed. No bibliography or sources.

Encyclopedia of World History, 6th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Facts About the Presidents. (Joseph Kane) 7th ed. H. W. Wilson, 2001
Also see broad listing of presidential links at http://www.ibiblio.org/lia/president/.

Facts on File News Digest: The Indexed Record of World Events (Facts on File Yearbook, 2003). Facts on File News & Service, 2004.

Facts on File, weekly world news digest. Facts on File, 1941-
Cumulated annually on CD-ROM, Ebsco.

Famous First Facts: A Record of First Happenings, Discoveries and Inventions in American History. 5th ed., expanded and rev. (J.N. Kane) And International Famous First Facts. Wilson, 1997.
Extensively indexed and cross-referenced.

HyperHistory Online - www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html.
Presents 3,000 years of world history with over 2,000 files interconnected throughout the site. Several hundred links to the world wide web. Based on the synchronoptic concept.

The Weather Almanac. 11th ed. (Richard Wood) Gale Research, 2003.
In-depth weather records for 108 major U.S. cities, a climatic overview of the country and information about hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. Also see www.about.com on weather.

This Day in American History (Ernie Gross, ed.). McFarland & Company, 2001

Military history works

Local/state history books

JOURNALISM REFERENCE

Dictionaries

Definitions, translations, idioms, specialty vocabulary for 200 languages, including endangered ones, and glossaries for 60 fields of endeavor at www.yourdictionary.com.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Also available on CD-ROM.

The Random House Dictionary of the English Language. 2nd ed. (Stuart B. Flexner) Random House, 1987.
Includes word origin dates, Americanisms. Meant to reflect the language as actually used: "antiliterary."

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles. 5th ed. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Third Barnhart Dictionary of New English. H. W. Wilson, 1990. Out of print.
Dictionary supplement that treats 12,000 terms which came into use between 1960 and 1990.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language. Merriam-Webster, 2002.
Language as actually used, with illustrative quotations. Also see collegiate dictionary, www.m-w.com/netdict.htm.

Other books

Acronyms, Initialisms and Abbreviations Dictionary. 34th ed. Gale Group, 2004.
Also try www.acronymfinder.com.

The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. Rev. & updated ed. (Norm Goldstein, ed.) Perseus Publishing, 2002.
The bible. 

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 16th ed. (Ivor H. Evans/Adrian Room) HarperCollins, 2000.
1894 edition available at www.bibliomania.com.

Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Dictionary of American Slang. 3rd ed. (Robert L. Chapman) HarperResource, 1998.
See Aussie, gay, show biz and rap slang at www.yourdictionary.com.

Elements of Style. 4th ed. (William Strunk/E.B.White) Allyn & Bacon, 2000. 
The standard. Also available at www.bartelby.com.

Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins. 2nd ed. (William and Mary Morris) HarperResource, 1988. 
Pop etymology.

New Fowler's Modern English Usage. 3rd ed. (Fowler/Burchfield) Oxford University Press, 2000.

Numbers in the Newsroom: Using Math and Statistics in News (Sarah Cohen and Len Bruzzese) Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc., 2001.

Roget's International Thesaurus. 6th ed. (Roget/Chapman) HarperResource, 2001.
See also Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, www.bartleby.com.

Foreign language dictionaries (such as Cassell's French, Spanish, German, Italian, etc. by MacMillan)

LAW

See www.findlaw.com

Black's Law Dictionary. 7th ed., (Henry C. Black), West Publishing, 1999. 

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. 2 vols. 4th ed. (David G. Savage) Congressional Quarterly Press, 2004.
See also, among others, www.supremecourtus.gov

Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory. 26 vols. Martindale-Hubbell, 2004. 
Biographical listings of U.S. and international attorneys and firms with law digest. Available on on CD-ROM and at http://www.lexis.com.

Local ordinances, state laws/statutes 

Local/state attorney directories 

LITERATURE

Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. 4th ed. HarperResource, 1996.
Brief entries identify writers, titles, genres and terms with literary associations.

Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. (Justin John/Kaplan Bartlett, ed.) 17th ed. Little Brown & Co., 2002.
First edition also available at www.bartleby.com and www.bibliomania.com.

BrainyQuote. www.brainyquote.com - 43,000 quotes from 10,000 authors, searchable by topic or author.

Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies. 12th Ed. (Tessa Kale, ed.) Columbia University Press, 2002.
Souped-up version, Columbia Granger's World of Poetry online for a fee.

Complete Works of Shakespeare. Addison-Wesley, 1997; The Complete Pelican Shakespeare. Penguin Doubleday 2002.
Full text also available at www.bibliomania.com.

Contemporary Novelists. 7th ed. St. James, 2000.
Available through Biography Resource Center database, Gale.

Contemporary Poets. 7th ed., St James, 2000.
Available through Biography Resource Center database, Gale.

Norton Anthology of American Literature. 6th ed. 2003. (Nina Baym, ed.) W.W. Norton, 1998.

Oxford Companion to American Literature. 6th ed. (Hart/Leininger) Oxford, 1995.

Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. 5th ed. Getty Ctr for Education in the Arts, 1999.

Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit & Wisdom From History's Greatest Wordsmiths, by Mardy Grothe. HarperResource, 2004.

Respectfully Quoted, a Dictionary of Quotations, by Suzy Platt. Barnes and Noble, 2002.

MEDIA AND PUBLISHING

Books in Print. Bowker. Annual in print, updated daily online www.booksinprint.com.
Also available, Spanish Books in Print, www.spanishbooksinprint.com.

Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook. R.R. Bowker. Annual.
Profiles of 4,800 AM radio stations, 8,900 FM radio stations and 2,100 television stations in the United States, plus 1,900 Canadian radio and television staties. Digital TV and cable systems also included.

Editor & Publisher International Year Book. Editor & Publisher Co. Annual.
Lists news, picture and syndicated services, worldwide dailies, buyer's guide. Also available on CD-ROM.

Fulltext Sources Online. Information Today. www.fso-online.com.
An indispensable tool - a directory of over 22,000 full-text newspapers, journal, magazine, newsletters and transcripts from 28 aggregator products. Purchasers have access to the "private zone" which tracks journals with free Internet archives.

Gale Directory of Databases. Gale Research. Annual, 2 volumes - Fall/Spring.
Profiles thousands of databases available worldwide in a variety of formats. Also available on CD-ROM.

Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media. Gale Research. Annual.
Thousands of listings for radio and television stations and cable companies. Also available on CD-ROM.

Literary Market Place: Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry. Information Today, Inc. Annual.
Available online www.literarymarketplace.com. Also available, International Literary Marketplace.

MPA Directory of Music Publishers. www.mpa.org/agency/pal.html.
Directory of music publishers and an index of publishers' imprints with hypertext links to entries in the directory of publishers.

Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory. R.R. Bowker. Annual.
Available online www.ulrichsweb.com.

Writers Directory. Gale Research, Annual. Print and eBook formats.
Bibliographical, biographical and contact information for more than 18,250 living authors worldwide who have at least one English publication. Entries typically include name, pseudonyms, addresses, citizenship, birth date, specialization, career information and a bibliography. Contact information includes e-mail addresses where available.

MEDICAL RESOURCES

Barbara Hijek, then of the St. Petersburg Times, presented "Medical Resources for News Libraries" at the 1996 SLA Annual Conferece. It includes recommended medical sources as well as information about why news libraries should consider owning such resources.

MILITARY

Army Dictionary and Desk Reference. 2nd ed. Timothy Zurick. Stackpole Books, 1999. (3rd edition due Sept 2004)

Brassey's International Intelligence Yearbook: 2003 edition. Brassey's, Inc, 2003.
Handbooks also available for many weapon types, military history, etc … see www.brasseysinc.com.

DOD Dictionary of Military Terms (Dept of Defense).
See www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/. As amended Dec 2003.

Encyclopedia of American Military Aircraft. Joe Baugher, web author.
See www.csd.uwo.ca/~pettypi/elevon/baugher_us/

Financial Aid for Veterans, Military Personnel, and Their Dependents 2004-2006. Gail Ann Schlacter. Reference Service Press, 2004.

How to Locate Anyone Who is or Has Been in the Military / Armed Forces Locator Guide, (8th edition) by Lt. Col. Richard S. Johnson & Debra Johnson Knox, MIE Publishing, 1999.

Jane's Directories - includes Fighting Ships, Aerospace, All World Aircraft, Warships, Ammunitions, etc. Most published annually. Jane's Information Group.
See www.janes.com. Also available on CD.

Rank: The Story Behind Names of Different Rank, 1998.
www.history.navy.mil/trivia/trivia04.htm

Standard Catalog of Military Firearms: The Collector's Price and Reference Guide, 1870 to the Present. 2nd ed. Krause Publications, 2003.

The World's Most Dangerous Places. 5th ed. Robert Y. Pelton. HarperResource, 2003.

U.S. Army Center for Military History. U.S. Army.
See www.army.mil/cmh-pg/.

RELIGION

Broad list of academic religious studies links at http://www.academicinfo.net/religindex.html.

Bulfinch's Mythology. (Thomas Bulfinch) Gramercy Books, 2003.
Also available on audio cassette, as an eBook and at www.bulfinch.org.

Churches and Church Membership in the United States, 1990. Glenmary Research Center, 1992. 
Watch www.glenmary.org for Religious Congregations Membership Study based on 2000 census of Christian and Jewish affiliation.

Religious Congregations & Membership in the United States 2000. Glenmary Research Center, 2002.
Also see http://www.glenmary.org/grc/RCMS_2000/Catholic_findings.htm.

Encyclopedia of American Religions. 7th ed. (J. Gordon Melton, ed.) Gale/Thomson-Gale, 2002.
Also available as an eBook.

The HarperCollins Concise Guide to World Religions. (Eliade/Couliano) HarperSanFrancisco, 1999. 

HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion. (Jonathan Z. Smith, ed.) HarperSanFrancisco, 1995.

The Holy Bible (King James and others).
Also available at http://www.bartleby.com and http://www.gospelcom.net.

The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Expanded edition. (James Strong) Nelson Reference, 2001.
Available, among other places, at Christian website Crosswalk, http://bible.crosswalk.com.

SCIENCE, PURE AND APPLIED

Audubon Society Field, Pocket and Nature Guides to birds, fishes, insects, etc., mostly published by Knopf; and Peterson's Field Guide series from Houghton Mifflin, also on birds, butterflies, mushrooms, reptiles, dogs, insects, trees... 
Note that some are divided by region. Those with maps to indicate ranges go out of date as populations shift. 

Kirk-Othmer Concise Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology. 4th ed. Wiley-Interscience, 2003.
Condenses the 24-volume Kirk Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology

Environment Encyclopedia and Directory. 3rd ed. Europa Publications Limited, 2001.
The ultimate source bo ok, providing explanations of terms and information on organizations, publications, research programs, projects and key people.

Environmental Encyclopedia. 2 vols. 3rd ed. Gale/Thomson-Gale, 2003. eBook released 2003.
In-depth coverage of 1,300 topics and terms. See http://www.galegroup.com.

Field Guide to the Birds of North America. 4th ed. Fully rev. and updated. National Geographic, 2002.

Gale Encyclopedia of Science. 3rd. ed. (K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, eds.) Gale, 2004.

Gray's Anatomy. 
The classic 1918 edition is available, illustrated, at www.bartleby.com.

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. 17 vols. Gale/Thomson-Gale. 
For more information see http://www.gale.com/servlet/BrowseSeriesServlet?region=9&imprint=000&titleCode=GALE&edition=2.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill, 2002. 
Chockfull of acronyms, synonyms, abbreviations, photographs, drawings, tables. Also available, with Concise Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, on Science Navigator CD-ROM.

Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 17th ed. (Beers/Berkow) Merck & Co., 1999.
Includes definitions, etiologies, symptoms and treatments for medical conditions. Merck Index Online in Dialog file 304. Available online at http://www.merck.com/mrkshared/mmanual/home.jsp.

Physician's Desk Reference. Medical Economics Co. Annual.
Compendium of official FDA-approved prescription drug labeling. Also available on CD-ROM as part of the PDR Electronic Library and at http://www.pdr.net. See also The Internet Drug Index, http://rxlist.com.

Physician's Desk Reference to Non-Prescription Drugs and Dietary Supplements. Medical Economics Co., 2003.
Also available on CD-ROM as part of the PDR Electronic Library.

Science & Technology Desk Reference: Answers to Frequently Asked and Difficult to Answer Reference Questions in Science & Technology. 2nd ed. Gale/Thomson-Gale, 1996.
Based on Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's reference file, arranged under 20 broad topics. Subject index and excellent bibliography.

Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 27th ed. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000. 
A standard. Available online at http://www.stedmans.com. See also Medlineplus, www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus and Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary at www.xrefer.com.

Toxics A to Z: A Guide to Everyday Pollution Hazards. (J. Harte) U of California Press, 1991.

Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia. 2 vols. 9th ed. Wiley, 2002.
This standard emphasizes concise entries but includes some longer signed articles. Also available on CD-ROM.

Local medical directories 

SPORTS AND GAMES

According to Hoyle: Official Rules of More than 200 Popular Games of Skill and Chance with Expert Advice on Winning Play. (Richard L. Frey) Fawcett Columbine, 1996.

Chase's 2000 Sports Calendar of Events. (Steve Gretscheir) Contemporary Books, 1999.
A day-by-day directory to local, regional and national sporting and recreational events. Ceased with 1999/2000 ed.

Information Please Sports Almanac. Hyperion ESPN Books. Annual.
Also available at http://www.infoplease.com/sports.html

Rules of the Game: the Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of all the Sports of the World. Diagram Group, 1999.
Covers over 150 international sports and their governing bodies. Indexed, copiously illustrated.

Sports Illustrated 2004: Sports Almanac. Time, 2003.
Covers everything that happened the past year in 17 major sports, with stats, records, and essays. Also available on CD-ROM.

Local team sports guides and sports almanac

U.S. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

The Almanac of American Politics 2004. (Michael Barone), National Journal, 2004.
Profiles every senator, representative and governor. With maps, interest group ratings, campaign information. Purchasers of print edition entitled to search web edition at http://nationaljournal.com/almanac.

Background Notes (U.S. State Dept.) -- http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/.

Congressional Staff Directory. CQ Press. Semi-annual.
Biographical and location data on members of Congress and their committees and staffs and on governors and selected mayors.

Federal Staff Directory. 2 vols. CQ Press. 
Also see http://www.fsd.cq.com/scripts/index.cfm.

FirstGov -- www.firstgov.gov.
Government statistics.

National Association of Secretaries of State -- http://www.nass.org/sos/sos.html.

Search on corporate names and officers.

Official Congressional Directory. United States Government Printing Office. 
Available at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/legislative.html.

The Sourcebook to Public Record Information : The Comprehensive Guide to County, State & Federal Public Record Information. 2nd ed. BRB Publications Inc., 2000.
Current contact information for all state agencies and regulatory boards.

State and Local Government on the Net -- http://www.statelocalgov.net
Links to over 9000 government Web sites.

Stateline -- http://www.stateline.org.
Overviews and statistics on criminal justice, education, homeland security and other economic topics.

Thomson Research -- http://research.thomsonib.com
Real time access to SEC filings.

The United States Government Manual. USGPO and Bernan Press. 
Available for free at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/executive.html.

Washington Information Directory. Congressional Quarterly. Annual.
Source for contact info about agencies, diplomats, policy groups, Congress. CQ's www.GovStaff.com can be downloaded and searched.

Local/state publications of the same type: directories, blue books, city charters, etc. 

Local/state/federal budgets.
Download federal budget at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/index.html.


This page was last updated in May 2004 by information professionals Dodie Ownes, Jeanie Straub and Rick Thompson; previously updated in 2000 by Lorraine Moneypenny, it was adapted from a list originally edited by Ellie Briscoe of the National Geographic Society Library and Barbara Gellis Shapiro.

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Amy Disch
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