LibGuides: Reference Guide: Reference Databases

Reference Databases

In addition to our reference books on the main level of Lewis Library, we have several databases that provide access to the full text of reference resources.

Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Good for “quick-and-dirty” information, such as explanation of a term or brief biographical information about a person. Most of the reference books available in CREDO are one volume, so it’s not the best place for detailed information.
Gale eBooks (Gale Virtual Reference Library) This link opens in a new window
Provides PDF full text for several multi-volume reference books in history, religion, and other fields. Gale eBooks doesn’t cover all subjects, but it’s an excellent resource with detailed information. See the box on the right for a title list.
Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection This link opens in a new window
Provides full text for many reference books published by Oxford University Press. Most are one-volume, but a few are multi-volume (Oxford Encyclopedia of Greece & Rome, 7 volumes; Oxford Dictionary of the Middle Ages, 4 volumes; Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology, 3 volumes).
Dictionary of Literary Biography Complete Online This link opens in a new window
An excellent resource for information on authors, with global scope. 386 volumes as of April 2020. We have about 80 volumes of this in print; see the box on the lower right.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Provides searchable full text for the Grove Dictionary of Art (we have the 34-volume set in print, call number REF N 31 .D500 1996), the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. Also provides images for paintings, statues, and other works of art.

Gale eBooks (GALE Virtual Reference Library)

The following titles are available in PDF in the Gale eBooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library, or GVRL) database as of April 2020:

American Men & Women of Science (29th ed. 2011, 8 vols.) (we have the 2003 edition in print)
Bioethics (4th ed. 2014, 6 vols.; GVRL also has 2004 edition titled Encyclopedia of Bioethics, which we also have in print)
Business Plans Handbook (vols. 1-21, 1993-2011) (we have vols. 1-2 and 4-16 in print on the lower level, call number HD62.7 .B865)
Climate Change: In Context (2008, 2 vols.)
Complete Dictionary of Scientific Biography (2008, 27 vols.) (we have the 1980 edition in print)
Consumer Health Care (2 vols., 2014)
Dictionary of American History (3rd ed. 2003, 10 vols.) (also in print, REF E 174 .D522 2003)
Encyclopedia of Geography (6 vols., 2010)
Encyclopedia of Global Industries (5th ed., 2011, 2 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Global Religion (2012, 2 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Latin American History & Culture (2nd ed. 2008, 6 vols.) (we have 1996 ed. in print)
Encyclopedia of Political Science (2011, 5 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed. 2005, 15 vols.; also in print, REF BL 31 .E466 2005 )
Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine (2011, 4 vols.)
Encyclopedia of Sustainability (2010, 3 vols.)
Environmental Encyclopedia (4th ed. 2011, 2 vols.) (also have 2003 ed. in print and GVRL)
Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine (3rd ed. 2009, 4 vols.; have 2001 ed. in print)
Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health (3rd ed. 2013, 6 vols.; have 2002 ed. in print)
Gale Encyclopedia of Surgery and Medical Tests (3rd ed. 2014, 4 vols.)
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Global Medieval Life and Culture (3 vols., 2009)
History in Dispute (vols. 1-21) (we have vols. 1-12 in print, REF D 20 .H543 2000)
Human Diseases and Conditions (2nd ed. 2010, 4 vols.)
Space Sciences (2nd ed. 2012, 4 vols.)
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture (2nd ed. 2013, 5 vols.) (we have 1999 ed. in print)
Twenty-first Century Novels (3 vols., 2011)
Women in World History (17 vols., 2002) (also have in print, REF HQ 1115 .W600 1999)
Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (2nd ed. 2009, 5 vols.; 1998 ed. in print, REF GN333 .W67)
The Writers Directory (29th ed., 2 vols., 2012; have 2002 ed. in print, REF PS1 .W733 2002)

Dictionary of Literary Biography - print volumes

We have 386 volumes of the Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) online in our database (as of June 2020). If you prefer the print edition, or if the online version omits a graphic for copyright reasons, see the index of volume 244 (REF PS 374 .S5 A398 2001, the latest volume we have) for a cumulative author index (up to vol. 244), and the list below for the volumes we have (and their call numbers—they’re not shelved together).

Vol. 2 American Novelists Since World War II (REF PS 379 .A554)

Vol. 3 Antebellum Writers in New York and the South (REF PS 128 .A5)

Vol. 5 American Poets Since World War II (REF PS 323.5 .A5, 2 parts)

Vol. 6 American Novelists Since World War II, Second Series (REF PS 379 .A554 1980, ser. 2)

Vol. 7 Twentieth-Century American Dramatists (REF PS 351 .A5 1981, 2 parts)

Vol. 8 Twentieth-Century American Science Fiction Writers (REF PS 374 .S35 T88, 2 parts)

Vol. 9 American Novelists, 1910-1945 (3 parts; REF PS 129 .A53)

Vol. 10 Modern British Dramatists, 1900-1945 (REF PR 623 .M633 1982, 2 parts)

Vol. 11 American Humorists, 1800-1950 (REF PS 430 .A444 1982, 2 parts)

Vol. 12 American Realists and Naturalists (REF PS 382 .A466 1982)

Vol. 13 British Dramatists Since World War II (REF PR 623 .M636 1982, 2 parts)

Vol. 14 British Novelists Since 1960 (2 parts) (REF PR 871 .W52 1982)

Vol. 15 British Novelists 1930-1959 (2 parts) (REF PR 871 .W34 1983)

Vol. 18 Victorian Novelists After 1885 (REF PR 871 .V56 1983)

Vol. 19 British Poets 1880-1914 (REF PR 591 .W32 1983)

Vol. 20 British Poets 1914-1945 (REF PR 591 .W34 1983)

Vol. 21 Victorian Novelists Before 1885 (REF PR 871 .V55 1983)

Vol. 22 American Writers for Children, 1900-1960 REF PS 490 .A410 1983)

Vol. 23 *American Newspaper Journalists, 1873-1900 (REF PN 4871 .A499 1983)

Vol. 24 American Colonial Writers, 1606-1734 (REF PS 185 .A39 1984)

Vol. 27 Poets of Great Britain and Ireland, 1945-1960 (REF PR 591 .W36 1984)

Vol. 31 American Colonial Writers, 1735-1781 (REF PS 193 .A38 1984)

Vol. 32 Victorian Poets Before 1850 (REF PR 591 .V4 1984)

Vol. 33 Afro-American Fiction Writers After 1955 (REF PS 153 .N5 A34 1984)

Vol. 34 British Novelists 1890-1929: Traditionalists (REF PR 871 .W23 1985)

Vol. 35 Victorian Poets After 1850 (REF PR 591 .V5 1985)

Vol. 36 British Novelists 1890-1929: Modernists (REF PR 871 .W21 1985)

Vol. 39 British Novelists 1660-1800 (2 parts) (REF PR 871 .B39 1985)

Vol. 40 Poets of Great Britain and Ireland Since 1960 (REF PR 591 .W388 1985, 2 parts)

Vol. 41 Afro-American Poets Since 1955 (REF PS 153 .N5 A38 1985)

Vol. 42 American Writers for Children Before 1900 (REF PS 490 .A408 1985)

Vol. 45 American Poets, 1880-1945, First Series (REF PS 323 .A438 1986 ser. 1)

Vol. 48 American Poets, 1880-1945, Second Series (REF PS 323 .A439 1986 ser. 2)

Vol. 50 Afro-American Writers Before the Harlem Renaissance (REF PS 153 .N5 A23 1986)

Vol. 51 Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 (REF PS 153 .N5 A26 1987)

Vol. 52 American Writers for Children Since 1960: Fiction (REF PS 490 .A420 1986)

Vol. 54 American Poets 1880-1945, Third Series (REF PS 323 .A44 1987 ser. 3, 2 parts)

Vol. 58 Jacobean and Caroline Dramatists (REF PR671 .J333 1987)

Vol. 65 *French Novelists, 1900-1930 (REF PQ 671 .F677 1988)

Vol. 68 *Canadian Writers 1920-1959, First Series (REF PR 9186.2 .C344 1988)

Vol. 61 American Writers for Children Since 1960: Poets, Illustrators, and Nonfiction Authors (REF PS 490 .A45 1987)

Vol. 74 American Short-Story Writers Before 1880 (REF PS 374 .S5 A362 1988)

Vol. 76 Afro-American Writers, 1940-1955 (REF PS 153 .N5 A29 1988)

Vol. 82 Chicano Writers, First Series (REF PS 153 .M4 C48 1989 Ser. 1)

Vol. 93 British Romantic Poets, 1789-1832, First Series (REF PR 591 .B52 1990)

Vol. 96 British Romantic Poets, 1789-1832, Second Series (REF PR 591 .B54 1990)

Vol. 98 Modern British Essayists, First Series (REF PR 927 .M622 1990)

Vol. 100 Modern British Essayists, Second Series (REF PR 927 .M624 1990)

Vol. 101 British Prose Writers 1660-1800, First Series (REF PR 871 .B35 1991)

Vol 102 American Short-Story Writers, 1910-1945, Second Series (REF PS 374 .S5 A3962 1991, ser. 2)

Vol 104 British Prose Writers 1660-1800, First Series (REF PR 871 .B36 1991)

Vol. 105 American Poets Since World War II, Second Series (REF PS 323.5 .A5 1991, ser. 2)

Vol. 113 Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers (REF PQ 7082 .N7 M55 1992 ser. 1)

Vol. 115 Medieval Philosophers (REF B 721 .M45 1992)

Vol 116 British Romantic Novelists, 1789-1832 (REF PR 871 .B44 1992)

Vol. 120 American Poets Since World War II, Third Series (REF PS 323.5 .A5 1992, ser. 3)

Vol. 122 Chicano Writers, Second Series (REF PS 153 .M4 C484 1992)

Vol 126 Seventeenth-Century British Nondramatic Poets, 2^nd series (REF PR 591 .B48 1993)

Vol. 130 American Short-Story Writers Since World War II (REF PS 374 .S5 A398 1993)

Vol 131 Seventeenth-Century British Nondramatic Poets, 3^rd series (REF PR 591 .B46 1983)

Vol 143 American Novelists Since World War II, Third Series (REF PS 379 .A554 1994 ser. 3)

Vol 145 Modern Latin-American Fiction Writers (REF PQ 7082 .N7 M55 1994 ser. 2)

Vol 151 British Prose Writers of the Early Seventeenth Century (REF PR 871 .B32 1995)

Vol. 152 American Novelists Since World War II, Fourth Series (REF PS 379 .A554 1995)

Vol 156 British Short-Fiction Writers 1880-1914: The Romantic Tradition (REF PR 870 .B82 1995)

Vol 162 British Short-Fiction Writers 1915-1945 (REF PR 870 .B84 1996)

Vol. 165 American Poets Since World War II, Fourth Series (REF PS 323.5 .A5 1996, ser. 4)

Vol. 169 American Poets Since World War II, Fifth Series (REF PS 323.5 .A5 1996b, ser. 5)

Vol. 176 Ancient Greek Authors (REF PA 3064 .A63 1997)

Vol. 193 American Poets Since World War II, Sixth Series (REF PS 323.5 .A5 1998, ser. 6)

Vol. 194 British Novelists Since 1960, Second Series (REF PR 871 .W555 1998)

Vol 199 Victorian Women Poets (REF PR 591 .V6 1999)

Vol. 202 Nineteenth-Century American Fiction Writers (REF PS 377 .N56 1999)

Vol. 208 Literature of the French and Occitan Middle Ages: Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries (REF PQ156.L577 1999)

Vol 211 Ancient Roman Writers (REF PA 6013 .A535 1999)

Vol. 244 American Short-Story Writers Since World War II, Fourth Series (REF PS 374 .S5 A398 2001)