Dance 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. Call numbers for dance are in this range:
GV 1580 - 1799.4
Other sections, such as music (call numbers beginning with M) and anthropology (call numbers beginning with GN), have sources of interest for some dance topics. For details on how dance books are arranged in our Library, please see Finding Books on Dance.
Reference Sources, such as encyclopedias, dictionaries, or directories, are for finding general background information on a subject or for verifying specific facts. Many reference sources have bibliographies that you can use to find more information on your subject. If you are looking for specific information, please ask a librarian.
Besides browsing, you can find reference sources (including some online that HSU students can read on any computer, at any time) by doing a keyword search in the HSU Library Catalog. Set the Limits to “Reference Collection (including Eref),” then type in keywords for your search, such as
| danc? encyc? | “modern danc?” | ballet | choreograph? |
(The ? is a truncation symbol, good to use in keyword searches; “danc?” will find dance, danced, dancer, dances, dancers, dancing, and other words that begin with danc; the quote marks keep the words together as a phrase.)
Here are a few recommended reference sources available at the HSU Library:
- Oxford Dictionary of Dance (ref GV 1585 C73 2000)
- International Encyclopedia of Dance, in 6 volumes (ref GV 1585 I586 1998)
- Fifty Contemporary Choreographers (ref GV 1785 A1 B74 1999)
- Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (ref ML 100 G16 1998 vol. 1-10 )