Encyclopedias
"The whole purpose of any encyclopedia article is to provide a concise overview of generally "established" knowledge on its topic, written for a nonspecialist audience, with a brief bibliography of highly recommended sources for further study (rather than an indiscriminate printout of "everything"). And there are literally thousands of such [specialized] encyclopedias. (Don't be misled by the word "Dictionary" in the title of many of these sets; in library terminology it refers simply to the alphabetical arrangement of articles, not to their length, and so it is frequently used synonymously with "Encyclopedia.")"
Source: The Oxford Guide to Library Research, p. 3-4.
Encyclopedias in GC Databases
General and subject-specific encyclopedias, dictionaries, and handbooks are a great place to begin your research. Use them to find topic overviews, definitions, facts, and dates and to fill in context on the subject you are studying.
- Brill Online Reference Works
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A selection of Brill Online Reference Works. The GC Library subscribes to a few titles (which have a green icon next to them on the front page):
- Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics (EALL)
- Foreign Law Guide
- Encyclopedia of Women & Islamic Cultures
- Qurʾānic Studies Online (includes Concordance et Indices de la Tradition Musulmane, Dictionary of Qurʾanic Usage, Early Western Korans, Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān, Encyclopedia of Canonical Hadīth, and Qurʾān Concordance)
- Encyclopaedia of Islam (in multiple editions and with a Historical Atlas of Islam)
- Britannica Academic
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This database combines Encyclopædia Britannica and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, as well as content from magazines and academic journals, an interactive world atlas, a country comparison tool, and more. - Cambridge Histories Online
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First published in 1902, Cambridge Histories span subject areas across the humanities and social sciences. The GC’s subscription includes over 400 titles in American History; Ancient & Classical Studies; Asian History, British & European History; Global History, Literature, Middle East & African Studies, Music & Theatre; Philosophy & Political Thought; and Religion.
**GC-subscribed Cambridge content is discoverable in CUNY OneSearch. - Gale Ebooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library)
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Full text of over 1,800 reference works published by Gale, Brill Academic, Cambridge University Press, Elsevier, Greenwood, Sage, Salem Press, Wiley, and others. Titles include American Civil War Reference Library, Ancient Europe, 8000 BC to AD 1000, Encyclopedia of Aging, Encyclopedia of American Religions, Encyclopedia of Case Study Research, Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, Encyclopedia of Urban Studies, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America, Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History, Magill's Survey of World Literature, Vietnam War Reference Library; World Education Encyclopedia. - Grove Art Online
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Search the Grove Dictionary of Art via the Oxford Art Online platform. Grove contains entries on artists, architects, craftsmen, patrons, movements, locations, and periods, as well as bibliographies for further research and thousands of searchable images made available through Oxford’s partnerships with museums, galleries, and other outstanding arts organizations. Browse through Timelines of World Art, Subject Guides or Resources for Educators created by organizations like MoMA and the Met. Create an optional subscriber account to save searches. - Grove Music Online
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Search the Grove Dictionary of Music via the Oxford Music Online platform. Based on a work first published in 1879, Grove has been in continuous publication and has been the foremost English-language encyclopedia of music. Includes over 52,000 articles charting the diverse history, theory and cultures of music around the globe. Hundreds of new articles and article revisions are added each year. Create an optional subscriber account to save searches. - Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
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More than 300 entries on critics, theorists, critical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods from Plato and Aristotle to the present. Updated annually. - Oxford Reference
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Text of nearly 400 Oxford University Press reference works in 25 core subject areas. Titles include Oxford Companions to American Literature, American Theatre, the Bible, British History, Classical Civilization, History of Modern Science, Music, Philosophy, Politics of the World, Shakespeare, United States History, and Western Art. Available titles may be found in OneSearch. - RILM Music Encyclopedias
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RILM music encyclopedias is a full-text compilation of 41 titles published from 1775 to the present, the majority of which are not available anywhere else online. It provides comprehensive encyclopedic coverage of many disciplines, fields, and subject areas, among them popular music, opera, instruments, blues, gospel, recorded sound, and women composers. Its content spans multiple countries and languages—English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, and Greek.
Grove Dictionary of Art
Browse the Reference Shelves
Use the Library of Congress Classification system to find the call number for your subject area. Then, browse the reference shelves in the library to discover encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other authoritative sources on your topic.
Find Encyclopedias in the Library Catalog
Choose the Advanced Search option in OneSearch, WorldCat Discovery or other library catalog. Add the word "encyclopedias" or "dictionaries" as an additional Subject heading to your Keyword or Subject search to find specialized encyclopedias, dictionaries or handbooks on your topic in print and online.
Also try a simple keyword search on your topic with the added word "encyclopedia" to get a larger list of results.