Reference Resources

Black Thought and Culture
Black Thought and Culture is a landmark electronic collection of approximately 100,000 pages of non-fiction writings by major American black leaders—teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other figures—covering 250 years of history. It contains 1297 sources with 1100 authors, covering the non-fiction published works of leading African Americans including the words of Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Huey P. Newton, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Cornel West, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and hundreds of other notable people.

URL: http://www.alexanderstreet2.com/bltclive/
Book Index with Reviews
Book Index with Reviews (BIR) helps you find information on the books you want and need to read. BIR is a cooperative effort between NoveList, EBSCO Publishing and Baker & Taylor.

URL: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=BIR&defaultdb=kdh
ClasePeriodica
CLASE indexes documents published in Latin American journals specializing in the social sciences and humanities. PERIODICA covers journals specializing in science and technology. Offers access to more than 300,000 bibliographic citations from documents published in 2,600 scholarly journals published in the Spanish, Portuguese, French and English languages.

URL: http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/dbname=ClasePeriodica;FSIP
Credo Reference
Credo Reference is a 24/7 online reference library that provides access to a selection of over 400 reference books. Credo Reference includes encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri and books of quotations, as well as a range of subject-specific titles covering everything from art to accountancy and literature to law. A current alphabetical list of all available titles can be found here.

URL: http://www.credoreference.com/advanced.do
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica is the world’s most comprehensive reference product, a distinction it has held since its first publication in 1768. Encyclopedia Britannica Online includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and the Britannica Book of the Year. You can also use Encyclopedia Britannica Online to search an Internet directory that includes more than 300,000 links to Web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.

URL: http://www.search.eb.com/
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. In many cases, these are multi-volume reference works previously only available in a physical form in the library. Now you can access them online from the library or remotely 24/7. Chicago State has access to more than 40 titles. Featured titles include Contemporary Black Biography, a 71 volume biographical reference source and International Directory of Company Histories, a massive 93 volume encyclopedia of business history. A current alphabetical list of all available titles can be found here.

Reference titles included in the Gale Virtual Reference Library include

  1. Contemporary Black Biography. v. 47 (2005) — v. 71 (2009)
  2. SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. 2 vols. 2008.
URL: http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/uiuc_csu?db=gvrl
Illinois Researcher Information Service
The IRIS Database currently contains over 9,000 active federal and private funding opportunities in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. In addition to funding opportunities for faculty, the IRIS Database also contains fellowships and scholarships for grad students and undergrads. Users can search IRIS by sponsor, deadline date, keyword, and other criteria. Most IRIS records contain live links to sponsor Web sites, electronic forms, or Electronic Research Administration (eRA) portals. The IRIS Database is updated daily.

URL: http://iris.library.uiuc.edu/~iris/search.html
Issues and Controversies
In-depth investigations of today's top issues

URL: http://www.2facts.com/Direct2.aspx?ItemID=WE57&ID=95663
Learning Express Library
Learning Express Library provides access to a broad range of online practice tests (over 300) based on the official exams. This resource provides practice tests and preparation materials for tests such as the ACT, SAT, GED, MCAT, ASVAB, Firefighter, Police Officer, and many more. Includes interactive skill-building courses, comprehensive courses in math, reading, and writing, essay writing practice, resume writing and workplace skills enrichment.

URL: http://www.learnatest.com/lel/
Oxford English Dictionary
The electronic Oxford English Dictionary is the accepted authority on the evolution of the English language over the last millennium. Presents the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over half a million words, both present and past. It also traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations.

URL: http://dictionary.oed.com/
RefWorks
RefWorks—an online research management, writing and collaboration tool—is designed to help researchers easily gather, manage, store and share all types of information, as well as generate citations and bibliographies. To utilize this resource, you must set up an account with Refworks utilizing your CSU email user name and password.

URL: http://www.refworks.com
Statesmans Yearbook
This book is an authoritative and accessible volume containing information essential for diplomats, politicians and all statesmen involved with international affairs.

URL: http://www.statesmansyearbook.com
The World Almanac
The world's most trusted reference source.

URL: http://www.2facts.com/Formslogin.asp?db=WA
The World Almanac Encyclopaedia
An encyclopaedia from the world's most trusted reference source.

URL: http://www.2facts.com/Formslogin.asp?db=WAE
Who’s Who? -- Marquis Who’s Who on the Web
Marquis Who’s Who on the Web, a ‘high-speed’, searchable online database, features comprehensive profiles on 1.2 million of the most accomplished individuals from all fields of endeavor including: government, business, science and technology, the arts, entertainment, and sports.

URL: http://search.marquiswhoswho.com

General Interest Databases

Academic Search Complete—is the world's largest scholarly, multi-disciplinary full text database containing full text for over 5,300 scholarly publications, including more than 4,400 peer-reviewed publications. Offers indexing and abstracts for 9,300 journals on nearly every area of academic study.

Gale Virtual Reference Library—is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research. These reference materials once were accessible only in the library, but now you can access them online from the library or remotely at all times.

JSTOR Arts and Sciences 1 (119 titles) is JSTOR’s first collection—includes core journals in economics, history, political science, and sociology, as well as in other key fields in the humanities, social sciences, ecology, mathematics, and statistics. Arts and Sciences IV (112 titles) has a strong focus on the professions of business, education, and law, and also includes titles in psychology, public policy and administration.

Newsbank—provides full-text articles from the electronic editions of record for nearly 500 U.S. newspapers – including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun Times.


Reference Resources