Women's Studies Reference Sources

Our Reference Collection, on the first floor of the Library, is arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification System, which groups together items on the same subject. The Library's book stacks, on the second and third floors, and our print periodicals, on the second floor, are also arranged according to this system. Books on feminism and women in general are in HQ 1101 - HQ 2030. Books on other aspects of women's studies are in different parts of the classification. For more information, please see Finding Books for Women's Studies.

In the Reference collection, you will find, among other things, specialized encyclopedias and handbooks, biographical dictionaries for notable women, compilations of statistics, and bibliographies listing key works for the study of many women's studies topics. If you are looking for specific information, please ask for assistance at the Reference desk, also on the first floor.

Here are a few recommended reference sources available at the HSU Library. Use the call numbers to find the print sources in the Reference collection on the first floor of the library. You may also use the call numbers as a guide to finding material on the same subjects in the main book and print periodical stacks.

• Wicca A to Z (Ref BF 1588 .D85 1998)
• Feminist Companion to Mythology (Ref BL 325 .F4 F45 1992)
• Encyclopedia of Women and World Religion (ref BL 458 .E53 1999)
• Notable Twentieth-Century Latin American Women (Ref CT 3290 .N68 2001)
• Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary (Ref E98 .W8 B38 2001)
• Encyclopedia of Women and Gender (Ref HQ 1115 .E53 2001b)
• Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women (Ref HQ 1115 .R69 2000)
• Women's Studies Encyclopedia (Ref HQ 1115 .W645 1999)
• The World's Women, 2000: Trends and Statistics (Ref HQ 1154 .W95 2000)
• Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers (Ref HQ 1236 .R29 2001)
• Routledge Historical Atlas of Women in America (Ref HQ 1410 .P68 2000)
• Sourcebook on Violence Against Women (Ref HV 6250.4 .W65 S68 2001)
• Contemporary Women Artists (Ref N 8354 .C66 1999)
• Women Artists of Color (Ref N8354 .W656 1999)
• The Quotable Woman: The First 5000 Years (Ref PN 6081.5 .Q65 2001)
• American Women Writers (Ref PS 147 .A42 2000)
• International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists (Ref Q 141 .O27 2002)

Subject encyclopedias are especially useful reference sources. Written on general or specialized topics, they have summary articles, often written by scholars or other experts, that give you an overview of a topic. Use subject encyclopedias to

• browse for ideas to research
• develop a framework or context for your specific investigation
• get names of people and places important for the topic, key dates, and other information to use in further research
• use the bibliography or list of recommended books and articles to begin more in-depth research

Here is how to find subject encyclopedias in our online catalog:

• Choose Advanced Search.
• Optional: Click More Limits and limit the search to Reference Collection in the Location box.
• Type the term(s) for the subject you are looking for in the Search for: box.
• Change the first In: menu to subject.
• Type encyclopedias dictionaries in the second Search for: box. (Many encyclopedias are called dictionaries. It just means that their articles are in alphabetical, or "dictionary," order.)
• Change all of these to any of these.
• Change the second In: menu to subject.
• Click the Search button.

For more help with using the Reference Collection, please come to the Reference desk.