Delgado Community College Libraries: English: Reference Materials

Examples of Reference Books in the Library

There are encyclopedias and dictionaries on all topics, and they are outstanding sources of background information. These titles and many more are available in the library. Please use our online catalog to continue your search.

International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences by William A. Darity
Call Number: 300.3 I61(2)
ISBN: 9780028659657
Publication Date: 2007-11-09
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender by Fedwa Malti-Douglas
Call Number: 306.703 E56
ISBN: 9780028659602
Publication Date: 2007-08-23
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature by Jay Parini (Editor) The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature gathers together 350 essays from more than 190 leading scholars on the whole of American literature, from European discovery to the present. At the core of the Encyclopedia lie essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists. Figures such as Whitman, Melville, Faulkner, Frost, and Morrison are discussed in detail with each examined in the context of his or her times, an assessment of thewriter's current reputation, a bibliography of major works, and a list of major critical and biographical works about the writer. Entries on major works place them in their historical context and offer a range of possibilities with regard to critical approach. The Encyclopedia also contains essays on literary movements,periods, and themes, pulling together a broad range of information and making connections between them. Each entry has its own primary and annotated secondary bibliography, and a system of cross-references helps readers locate information with ease. It is an outstanding reference source for students and scholars, libraries, and readers interested in American literature.
ISBN: 0195156536
Publication Date: 2004-01-29
Africana by Kwame Anthony Appiah (Editor); Henry Louis Gates (Editor) Ninety years after W.E.B. Du Bois first articulated the need for the equivalent of a black Encyclopedia Britannica," Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr., realized his vision by publishing Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience in 1999. This new, greatly expanded edition of the original work broadens the foundation provided by Africana. Including more than one million new words, Africana has been completely updated and revised. New entries on African kingdoms have been added, bibliographies now accompany most articles, and the encyclopedia's coverage of the African diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean has been expanded, transforming the set into the most authoritative research and scholarly reference set on the African experience ever created. More than 4,000 articles cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religion, ethnic groups, organizations and countries on both sides of the Atlantic. African American history and culture in the present-day United States receive a strong emphasis, but African American history and culture throughout the rest of the Americas and their origins in African itself have an equally strong presence. The articles that make up Africana cover subjects ranging from affirmative action to zydeco and span over four million years from the earlies-known hominids , to Sean "Diddy" Combs. With entries ranging from the African ethnic groups to members of the Congressional Black Caucus, Africana, Second Edition, conveys the history and scope of cultural expression of people of African descent with unprecedented depth."
Call Number: 909.0496 Af25(2)
ISBN: 9780195170559
Publication Date: 2005-04-07
Encyclopedia of Race and Crime by Helen Taylor Greene (Editor); Shaun L. Gabbidon (Editor)
Call Number: 364.973089 E56
ISBN: 9781412950855
Publication Date: 2009-04-14
Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention by Bonnie S. Fisher; Steven P. Lab (Editor)
Call Number: 362.88 E56
ISBN: 9781412960472
Publication Date: 2010-02-02

Browse the Shelves in the Library

Call numbers should help you browse the shelves.

300 Social sciences
305 Social groups
306 Culture & institutions
400 Language
420 English & Old English
421 English writing system & phonology
422 English etymology
423 English dictionaries
425 English grammar
800 Literature & rhetoric
809 Literary history & criticism
810 American literature in English
820 English & Old English literature

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The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature A breathtaking achievement, it covers an enormous range of writers - from Sojourner Truth to Frederick Douglass, Ralph Ellison to Toni Morrison. It contains entries on major works (including synopses of novels) and also incorporates information on literary characters, as well as on character types such as Aunt Jemima and Brer Rabbit.
Encyclopedia of Rhetoric Its 150 entries, written by leading scholars, bring together expertise in classical studies, philosophy, literature, literary theory, cultural studies, speech, and communications in a comprehensive treatment of the art of persuasion.
The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 3rd ed. It not only presents the reader with all the essential facts about the authors, tales, and characters from ancient myth and literature, but it also places these details in the wider contexts of the history and society of the Greek and Roman worlds.
The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States This Companion provides a comprehensive survey of women writers across four centuries of American history. There are biographical entries on poets, novelists, and playwrights, such as Emily Dickinson, Gertrude Stein, Kate Chopin, Maya Angelou, Wendy Wasserstein, and Tama Janowitz, as well as writers who have made contributions in other fields.
The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, 3rd ed. The best-selling Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms (formerly the Concise dictionary) provides clear, concise, and often witty definitions of the most troublesome literary terms from abjection to zeugma.
The Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion, 3rd ed. The Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion is both a useful and user-friendly reference work for students of English literature and language, as well as for non-native English speakers for aid with unusual references, and an absorbing volume for all lovers of literature and culture in general.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature The Encyclopedia includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works and essays on literary movements, periods, and themes.
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature The Encyclopedia provides comprehensive coverage of literature from the Abbey Theatre to Israel Zangwill, covering the entire history of literature in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in the major literary languages (Anglo-Saxon, English, Welsh, Scots, Irish, and Latin).
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature With a global perspective that pays attention to significant international trends and the multicultural expansion of the field, it includes brief biographies of every major author and illustrator. Also included are feature essays on all genres of children's literature, individual works, and prominent trends and themes, as well as general essays on the traditions of children's literature in many countries throughout the world.

The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature Presents a multiplicity of authors, texts and themes gathered together into one authoritative source. The key attractions are entries on writers, entries on individual works, Biblical and mythological characters and events, literary and critical terms and movements, and entries describing historical, cultural and social events.
Continuum Encyclopedia of American Literature Composed of signed biographical-critical entries, this Encyclopedia serves as both guide and companion to the study and appreciation of American literature.
A History of South African Literature A critical study of South African literature, from colonial and pre-colonial times onwards.
Holocaust Literature: An Encyclopedia of Writers and Their Work Featuring alphabetically organized bio-critical essays on writers of memoirs, novels, poetry, short stories, and drama, ranging in length from 1,500 to 7,000 words, this comprehensive scholarly work presents a broad spectrum of voices remembering, interpreting, and reinterpreting one of the twentieth century's most politically and emotionally charged events.
Key Concepts in Postcolonial Literature Provides an overview of the main themes, issues, and critical perspectives that have had the greatest effect on postcolonial literatures.

American History Through Literature 1820-1870 Designed for the general reader, this set presents literature not as a simple inventory of authors or titles but rather as a historical and cultural field viewed from a wide array of contemporary perspectives. The set, which is "new historicist" in its approach to literary criticism, endorses the notion that not only does history affect literature, but literature itself informs history.
Arts and Humanities Through the Eras Profiling milestones and movements in the arts, literature, music and religion from a specific period, each volume in this set helps students and researchers understand the various disciplines of the humanities in relation to each other, as well as to history and culture. An overview of the period and a chronology of major world events begin each volume.
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History A five-volume set and supplement covering all aspects of the African-American experience from 1619 to the present day. Using biographies, historical essays, and thematic pieces, many written by foremost scholars, it addresses a wide array of subjects in over 2,300 articles to define in one source the cultural roots, participation in American life, and current condition of the African-American community.
Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender Addresses issues of sex and gender at the personal and the social level; examines issues of identity, status, class, ethnicity, race, and nation; of sexuality and the body; of social institutions and the structures of representation. Topics include changing conceptions of "the feminine," the family and masculinity, religion, morality, cultural images, medical practice, public health, economy and society and many more.
World Literature and Its Times Examines the relationship between the political/social climate during which books were written and the works themselves. This volume focuses on major fiction, poetry and nonfiction from Great Britain and Ireland, from the Celtic migrations to the Reform Bill.

English: Reference Materials

Reference Overview

Examples of Reference Books in the Library

Browse the Shelves in the Library

Try the Reference Databases