Q. My professor suggested I use an encyclopedia to get background information for a research paper. How can I find an encyclopedia?

Encyclopedia articles are a great way to find introductory information on a topic. The College Libraries has many encyclopedias both in print and online. Print encyclopedias in Crumb Library are located on the first floor in the Reference area and can be found by browsing or by searching the library catalog. Try doing an Advanced Search using Subject term "Encyclopedias" AND a topic such as "Mythology," and limit your search to Books.

We have several Reference Databases that include general encyclopedias such as Britannica Academic and Literature Resource Center.  You can also try searching the Gale eBook collection.

We also have many topical encyclopedias in our Encyclopedia Collections, for example: 

• Art and Art History 
• History
• Women and Gender Studies
• Social Justice

... click here to see all of our subject collections.