Electronic Reference
- Britannica Academic This link opens in a new windowOnline version of the Encyclopaedia Britannica - the largest, most authoritative encyclopedia in the world.
- Credo This link opens in a new windowCredo Reference includes a number of different history encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations.
Databases and specific resources containing background information
The following is a selection of major online reference resources covering American History. These resources provide large amounts of background information and can help during topic selection and the initial stages of your research. Feel free to browse our collection for more online resources by using our Online Library Catalog.
Databases for Background Information
- Credo This link opens in a new windowOnline reference library that provides access to a selection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations in general and subject-specific disciplines. Credo includes interactive mind maps.
- SAGE Knowledge This link opens in a new windowSAGE Knowledge is home to an expansive range of SAGE eBook and eReference content alongside SAGE Video, containing over 4,600 titles. Content includes reference works, academic books, professional development titles and more. This cross-media platform allows users to search and browse over 10,000 items, video, book and reference titles within the Social Sciences.
- CQ Researcher - SAGE This link opens in a new windowReports that explores a single current issue in the news in depth. Topics range from social and teen issues to environment, health, education and science and technology.
Specific Online Resources with Background Information
- The Columbia Guide to American Environmental HistoryThis latest addition to the Columbia Guides to American History and Cultures series has 10 chapters on historical topics and themes; a 60-page dictionary of environmental agencies, concepts, laws, and people important in American environmental history; an environmental history time line; and a lengthy "Resource Guide."
- Managing the Environment, Managing Ourselves : A History of American Environmental PolicyThis book adds insightful interpretations to the history of environmental policy. The reader comes away with important insights about how much of American history, in fact, was about environmental history. Furthermore, the author shows how this history has influenced government management of environmental policy today both negatively and positively with respect to the public interest.