Access, use, and reproduction of the electronic resources made available through the Grinnell College Libraries are governed by license agreements with publishers which may impose greater restrictions on use than does copyright law. The user is responsible for observing these agreements as well as the copyright laws of the United States (Title 17, United States Code), including the fair use guidelines that protect scholarship and research.
When accessing subscription databases from off-campus, you will be asked to sign in using your campus username and password. If you have any problems accessing library resources from off campus, please contact Rebecca Ciota or Tony Lewis.

This fully-searchable database indexes over five million book reviews from thousands of publications, covering a wide range of subjects. It incorporates the entire run of the print version of the Book Review Index from 1965 to the present.

An easy-to-use online reference tool for starting research. Gather background information on your topic from hundreds of full-text general and subject-specific reference titles, as well as numerous images, audio files, and video clips.


Fully integrated and cross-searchable collection of over 135 academic dictionaries providing short-entry content, as well as many of Oxford’s encyclopedias and companions and other scholarly works.

1998-current ed. Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia and four almanacs. A source for biographies, encyclopedia entries, facts, statistics, dates, and information about a wide variety of subjects.

Customized search engine for the library's print and online reference works, with some full text.
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries--General

Digital multimedia version of the premier English-language encyclopedia.

Contains the complete text of the 20-volume Second Edition, first published in 1989, together with its 3-volume Additions Series, published in 1993 (volumes 1 and 2) and 1997 (volume 3).
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries--Disciplinary


Contains reference material covering all major scientific disciplines with articles drawn from McGraw-Hill encyclopedias, dictionaries, and yearbooks, as well as videos, curriculum materials, and links to primary source documents.

Focuses on African history and culture with articles that cover prominent individuals, events, trends, places, political movements, art forms, business and trade, religions, ethnic groups, organizations, and countries throughout Africa.

Designed to support global awareness, this database brings together a wide range of authoritative content that enables students to critically analyze and understand the most important issues of the modern world. Over 600 international newspapers, magazines, and academic journals are represented, with dedicated topic pages for 250 countries and 400 global issues such as economics, diplomacy, climate change, and more.

Written by an international team of specialists and presents an authoritative guide not only to ten centuries of literature produced in the territory now called France, but also to the rich literary output of other French-speaking countries around the world.

Written by distinguished scholars from around the world, the Dictionary covers all aspects of the classical world from literature and history to religion, science, and archaeology. It also contains many thematic entries on subjects relevant to the 21st century such as nationalism, race, gender, and ecology.

Covers all key aspects of European history, society, and culture from 500 to 1500 CE, as well as the Byzantine Empire, Islamic dynasties, and Asiatic peoples of the era. Over 800 scholars have assembled thousands of comprehensive entries, lavishly supplemented by hundreds of illustrations and dozens of maps.

This work examines our shared history "from the bottom up," with entries on numerous topics, including the way automobiles shaped American lives, the westward movement of settlers and farmers in the 18th and 19th centuries, the transformation of work over time, the women's suffrage movement, counterculture, leisure activities, consumption patterns, voting habits, population movements, racial divides, and many more. This resource is intended to help readers develop a richer framework for understanding the social experience of Americans throughout history.

This work provides detailed, comprehensive treatments of the latest approaches to, and methods for, interpretation of the Bible. The Encyclopedia contains entries ranging in length from 3,000 to 5,000 words, each with a bibliography for further reading and cross-referenced to other useful points of interest within the Encyclopedia.

Documents and interprets the books read by children throughout the world. 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.

In nearly 700 entries, the Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895 documents the full range of the African American experience during that period—from the arrival of the first slave ship to the death of Frederick Douglass—and shows how all aspects of American culture, history, and national identity have been profoundly influenced by the experience of African Americans. 2006 edition.

Focusing on the making of African American society from the 1896 "separate but equal" ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson up to the contemporary period, this encyclopedia traces the transition from the Reconstruction Era to the age of Jim Crow, the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, the Brown ruling that overturned Plessy, the Civil Rights Movement, and the ascendant influence of African-American culture on the American cultural landscape. 2009 ed.

Covers more than three millennia of Jewish religious thought, custom, law, and practice, from traditional approaches to Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and post-denominational Judaism. Brief definitions and longer essays, all supplemented with bibliographies, enlighten readers about the major figures, folklore, and events in the history of Judaism throughout the world. 2011 edition.

Surveys American literature in 350 essays from leading scholars, encompassing the range and depth of American literary history from the 1600s to the present. The Encyclopedia includes essays on poets, playwrights, essayists, and novelists, as well as major works, literary movements, periods, themes, historical perspectives and social context. 2004 edition.
Print Location: Burling Reference PS 21 .E537 2004

Provides comprehensive coverage of the entire history of literature in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and substantial accounts of individual authors and detailed histories of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions. 2006 edition.

Focusing primarily on developments since 1945, this encyclopedia offers comprehensive coverage of all aspects of human rights theory, practice, law, and history by leading scholars and human rights experts . The coverage includes major figures, organizations and institutions, human rights events and crises, and human rights norms.

Online encyclopedia that addresses literary works, writers, cultural movements, and historical events around the world, with interactive features that enable the user to place literature within its historical context.

Draws together the diverse historical and contemporary experiences in the United States of Latinos and Latinas from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Central America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Over 900 A-to-Z articles written by academics, scholars, writers, artists, and journalists, address such broad topics as identity, art, politics, religion, education, health, and history.

With over 650 biographies of influential women and over 600 topical articles covering topics such as geography and history, culture and society, organizations, movements, and gender studies, Women in World History is the definitive reference work in the field.
Searchable online encyclopedia of art, including images. Also offers essays, news items, and a directory of Art Museums Worldwide.

Gateway to art research and access point for full-text Oxford art reference publications, including The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Oxford Companion to Western Art. Searchable database also includes specially commissioned articles and bibliographies.

Gateway to music research and access point for full-text Oxford music reference publications, including Grove Music Online, The Oxford Companion to Music, and The Oxford Dictionary of Music.

An unprecedented collection of the impertinent, vile, censored, hip, witty, and fascinating slang words of the English language. Covering five centuries of innovation in all English-speaking regions of the world. Over 100,000 words are defined; each word is authenticated by genuine and full-referenced citations of its use.

This database brings together a wide array of informed, differing viewpoints to help students develop their critical-thinking skills. Researchers and debaters will find over 20,000 pro/con viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps, infographics, and other tools covering contemporary issues in a range of disciplines.

A high quality French-English/English-French online dictionary with audio pronunciations and other interactive features.

Profiles more than 7,000 scholarships, fellowships, loans, internships, work study, and other education-related financial aid available to high school students, undergraduates, graduates, post-graduates, and professionals.

Searchable database featuring two unique directories that provide contact information for multinational business firms, showing "who operates where" and “who owns whom.” Useful for seeking employment and internships, sourcing, selling, building a business, or tracking competitors.
Subject Guide created and maintained by Grinnell College librarians.

This database indexes over 2,000 publications containing biographical information on noteworthy people, living and deceased, from all over the world. A wide range of fields of endeavor and periods of history are represented in its sources.
MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (7th ed.) and the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (3rd ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.
Print Location: LB2369 .G53 2016
On permanent reserve at the circulation desk. A second copy is available on the 2nd floor and can be checked out.

Completely searchable and easy to use, providing quick answers to your style and editing questions. The Chicago Manual of Style Online also provides convenient tools, such as sample forms, letters, and style sheets, along with fully searchable Q&A content.
This style guide contains information on the Chicago Manual of Style method of document formatting and citation. These resources follow the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, which was issued in September 2010.
Print Location: Reserves Z253 .U69 2010
On permanent reserve at Burling and Kistle.
APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition, second printing.
An online tutorial for using the APA style of writing papers and citing sources.
Print Location: Perm. Reserve (Burling & Kistle) BF76.7 .P83 2001
Print Location: Perm Res LB2369 .T8 2010
On permanent reserve at the circulation desk.
Online research management, writing, and collaboration tool designed to help researchers at all levels easily gather, organize, store, and share all types of information and to instantly generate citations and bibliographies.
A basic help guide for RefWorks. Includes information on adding citations as well as links to other help documents regarding Write-n-Cite and creating annotated bibliographies
= Restricted resource
= Images
= Video files
= Audio files
= Scholarly articles
= Quantitative data
= Newspapers
= Highly recommended

Phil Jones
Humanities Librarian & Coordinator of Research Services
Tel: 641-269 3355
Or, request a Library Lab. Phil will get in touch with you to set up an appointment to meet.