The purpose of this guide is to lead the beginning researcher to specific Reference sources available for Women's Studies. Many sources in each topic area that cover both genders are not included.  Browse the shelves around anything you find from the list below, and consult with a Reference Librarian for additional suggestions.

A Companion to Gender Studies.  Ed. by Philomena Essed, David Theo Goldberg, and Audrey Kobayashi, Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.
     (REF HQ 1075 B656 2005)     This volume does an amazing job of summarizing many areas of Women's Studies. Look here for Interdisciplinarity (e.g. Area Studies; Queer Studies), Re-positionings (e.g. Lived Body vs Gender; Heterosexuality), Jurisdictions (e.g. Law; Domestic Violence), Nonconformity (e.g. Science & Technology; Prostitution; Arab Women), Mobility (e.g. Globalization; Class), Familiality (e.g. Family in Africa; Caribbean Family), Physicality (e.g. Reproduction; Sport), Spatiality (e.g. Environment; Architecture), and Reflectivity (e.g. Ethics; Religion; Violence of Gender). Use the index for best access.

Reader's Guide to Women's Studies. Ed. by Eleanor B. Amico. Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998.    (REF HQ1180 .R43 1998)
This one volume source provides information on people, topics, and events relating to women's studies and includes lists of sources for further research.  Search the Ely Library Catalog to find out if we own any book of interest listed here.

The Women's Desk Reference. By Irene Franck & David Brownstone. New York : Viking, 1993.    (REF  HQ1236.5 U6 F73 1993) This book "is an A-to-Z encyclopedia covering the whole spectrum of women's concerns, and the key people, organizations, works, and events associated with them."  Further sources, summaries of relevant laws, and lists of organizations complete the work.

Encyclopedia of Feminist Theories. Ed. by Lorraine Code. London ; New York : Routledge, 2000.   (REF HQ1190 .E63 2000)
Each article included in this interdisciplinary book gives a summary of the theory, issue or feminist thinker and further reading lists. Cultural Identities, environmental science, essentialism, mathematics, nationalism and gender, and the self are but a few examples of included entries.

See Also: Encyclopedia of American Social History. Ed. by Mary Kupiec Cayton, Elliott J. Gorn, and Peter W. Williams. New York: Scribner, c1993.    (REF HN57 .E58 1993)   This four volume set covers all areas of American social history in accessible articles alphabetically arranged. Use the index to access topics on women's issues, as the articles are of considerable length and main entries are very broad in scope.

INTERNATIONAL:
The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women's Issues Worldwide. Ed.-in-chief, Lynn Walter.  Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2003.    (REF HQ1115 .G74 2003)

Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women : global women's issues and knowledge. Ed. by Cheris Kramarae and Dale Spender. New York: Routledge, 2000.    (REF HQ1115 .R69 2000)       In four volumes, signed articles with references cover many global women's issues.  This international approach includes topics such as the arts, culture, ecology, education, sexuality, philosophy, politics, religion, violence, peace, and more.

Women in the Third World : a reference handbook.  By Karen L. Kinnear. Santa Barbara, Calif. : ABC-CLIO, c1997.    (REF  HQ1870.9 .K58 1997)                An overview, chronology, facts and statistics, organizations, sources for further reading, and more, provide diverse information on women in third world countries.

Who's Who of American Women. Chicago : Marquis Who's Who, inc.   (REF E176 .W647)
The International Who's Who of Women. London, England : European Publications, c1992.    (REF CT3202 . I58 1992)

Black Women in America : an historical encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Ed. by Darlene Clark Hine. New York : Oxford University Press., 2005.    (REF E185.86 .B542 2005)            This 3 volume encyclopedia "was initiated to reclaim and to create heightened awareness about individuals, contributions, and struggles that have made African-American survival and progress possible."  This edition contains substantial articles with short bibliographies covering people and events.

Notable Twentieth-Century Latin American Women : a biographical dictionary. Ed. by Cynthia Margarita Tompkins and David William Foster. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2001.    (REF CT3290 .N68 2001)

A to Z of Native American Women.  By Liz Sonneborn. New York : Facts on File, c1998.     (REF  E98.W8 S65 1998)  The introduction to this volume provides riveting reading as it lays out the biases of early accounts of Native American women, and draws attention to the importance of women in Native American cultures.  Subjects include mothers, warriors and much more.

American Women in Science : A biographical dictionary.  By Martha J. Bailey.  Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, c. 1994.    (REF Q141 .B25 1994)          One volume focusing on “American women scientists – primarily in the physical and natural sciences – in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.”  Entries are brief, but provide good background information.  Indexed.
See Also:  American Women in Science : A Biographical Dictionary 1950-Present   (REF Q141 .B254 1998)
and Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science : Pioneering Lives From Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century.   (REF Q141 .B5285 2000)

Encyclopedia of Marriage and the Family (2nd ed.). Ed. by James J. Ponzetti, Jr.. New York : Macmillan Reference USA, c2003.    (REF HQ9 .E52 2003)       This updated set now contains four volumes with substantial articles covering such topics as: chronic illness, demography, communes, alimony & spousal support, family policy, etc. A thorough index provides many access points to the multi-faceted articles.

See also:  Handbook of Parenting. By Marc H. Bornstein. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995.
   (REF HQ755.8 .H357 1995)

Health

The New Our Bodies, Ourselves : a book by and for women.  Boston Women's Health Book Collective. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1992.   (REF RA778 .N67 1992)

Women's Health Concerns Sourcebook. ed. by Heather E. Aldred. Detroit, MI : Omnigraphics, c1997.
    (REF RA778 .W7543 1997)   This volume includes "mental health concerns prevalent among women such as…eating disorders, and depression". Here find resources for women related to health issues, including lists of books, pamphlets, and organizations.

Encyclopedia of Women in American History. Armonk, N. Y. : Sharpe Reference, 2002.
(REF HQ1410 .E53 2002)       These three volumes cover American History from Colonization to "the Present" with simple entries on everything from individuals to movements, social issues, and organizations.  Topical entries (e.g. Lesbians, Religion) are repeated in each volume to cover related historical changes.  Use the index for best access.

A History of Women in the United States : state-by-state reference. Ed. by Doris L. Weatherford.  Danbury, Conn. : Grolier Academic Reference c2004.       (REF HQ1410 .H58 2004)   This four volume set attempts to cover major people and events in the history of women in the United States.  It includes illustrations and maps as well as further readings on each topic.  For a more concise but somewhat older history, see The Handbook of American Women's History (2nd ed), edited by Angela M. Howard & Frances M. Kavenik.  (REF HQ1410 .H36 2000).

The Timetables of Women's History : a chronology of the most important people and events in women's history. Karen Greenspan. New York : Simon & Schuster, c1994.    (REF  HQ1121.G74 1994)
Brief entries for each year are arranged in columns organized by topic such as daily life, occupations, education, science, reform, etc.

What American Women Did, 1789 - 1920 : a year-by-year reference. Coppens, Linda Miles. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., 2001.  (REF HQ1154 .C665 2001)         Accomplishments of American women during this time period are placed in "a framework of seven categories : domesticity, work, education and scholarship, religion, arts, joining forces, and law and politics."  The thorough index covers topics, people, organizations, and book titles.

Women and Gender in Medieval Europe:  an encyclopedia.  ed. by Margaret Schaus.  New York :  Routledge, c2006.
(REF HQ 1149 .E85 W66 2006)      Along with topics such as women's patronage of the arts, female mysticism, women's medicine and understanding of the female body, as well as women's roles in poltics and diplomacy, this volume also reflects the daily reality of medieval women from all walks of life.  Longer entries include "References and Further Reading" lists.

Women's Rights. by Christine A. Lunardini; foreword by Betty Friedan. Phoenix, AZ : Oryx Press, 1996.
   (ERC  HQ1236.5.U6 L85 1996)
This volume is organized following the historical development of women's rights. Although housed in the Educational Resource Center, it is aimed at upper high school and college freshmen students.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace : a guide to the law and a research overview for employers and employees.  Titus E. Aaron, with Judith A. Isaksen. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, 1993.   (REF KF3467 .A915 1993)

ABC-CLIO Companion to Women in the Workplace.  Dorothy Schneider and Carl J. Schneider.  Santa Barbara, Calif. ABC-CLIO, c1993.     (REF HD6095. S34 1993)       Here find broad topics such as artists, inventors, slavery;  specific events such as Uprising of the 20,000; legal cases; individuals; associations; ethnic groups such as Hispanic Americans, Chinese Americans, Black Americans; and a few odd topics like biological clock and sandwich generation.

See also the microfiche set, Library of American Civilization, to access historical materials.  Ask for a guide at the Reference Desk.

Quotations

The New Quotable Woman. Compiled and ed. by Elaine Partnow. New York : Facts on File, 1992.
    (REF PN6081.5 .N49 1992)
Quotes organized chronologically by author--not alphabetically--require the index for access.  The words of women from biblical characters to Candice Bergen and everyone in-between are included.

The Beacon Book of Quotations by Women.  Compiled by Rosalie Maggio. Boston : Beacon Press, c1992.
   (REF PN6081.5 .B43 1992)
This source is organized by topic.  The volume makes for an entertaining browse.

American Women:  who they are and how they live. Ithica, NY: New Strategist Publications, Inc.    (REF  HQ1421 A486 1997)
This refreshing version of a statistical source prefaces each table with a comment such as: "One in five women is a college graduate;" "about three-quarters of working women have full-time jobs;" etc.  Statistics may differ now, but trends are interesting.

The Women's Atlas of the United States.  By Timothy H. Fast & Cathy Carroll Fast. New York : Facts on File, c1995.
   (REF G1201.E1 G5 1995)           Using clearly organized maps, this atlas provides statistical information by state on a variety of topics under the headings of education, demographics, employment, family, health, crime, and politics.

Statistical Record of Women Worldwide.  Ed. by Linda Schmittroth.  Detroit:  Gale Research Inc., 1991.      (REF HQ1150 S73 1991)         Despite the dated publication date for this volume, it is filled with statistics on a tremendous variety of topics.  This source can lead you to agencies and organizations that compile statistics and that have Web sites with recent figures on the same topics.

The World's Women, 1995 : trends and statistics. New York : United Nations, 1995.           (REF  HQ1154 .W95 1995)
This United Nations source provides full articles analyzing how conditions affecting women are changing (or not).  Topics covered are health issues; population and environment; education and training; work; and power and influence.

Statistical Handbook on the American Family.  ed. by Bruce A. Chadwick & Tim B. Heaton.  Phoenix, AR:  Oryx Press, 1999.    (REF HQ 536 .S727 1999)

Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000     Limited to WSC community
    (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Women)
Provides the full text of books, images, documents, scholarly essays, commentaries, and bibliographies, documenting the multiplicity of women’s reform activities. The database includes introductory essays that interpret the documents, bibliographies, related web links, a Dictionary of Social Movements, and a collection of images. The project will continue to grow each year.

Academic Search Premier    Limited to WSC community
    (Internet Site:  http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Academic)
Expanded Academic ASAP     Limited to WSC community
    (Internet Site:  http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Expanded Academic)
All these indexes provide general subject coverage. For magazine and journal references as well as full-text articles.

Sociological Abstracts vie CSA      Limited to WSC community
    (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/dbalpha.htm#Soc Abs)
Contains abstracting and indexing coverage as well as some full-text for periodicals in Sociology including the fields of women's studies, and social work.

Ely Library Catalog. For books, audio-visual materials, etc. in the Ely Library
    (Internet Site: http://catalog.lib.wsc.ma.edu/)
The following is an example of subject headings relevant to women's studies for use in the Ely Library Catalog. Do not limit yourself to this list! Use the Library of Congress Subject Headings (Big Red Books) located by the card catalog for more possibilities—or browse the online catalog for ideas. See Database Searching Guides for more help.

WAVE:  Women's Audiovisuals in English
    (Internet Site: http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WAVE/About.html)
This is a database "maintained by the University of Wisconsin System Women's Studies Librarian's Office that lists documentary, experimental, and feature film and video productions by and about women."  Included are those available from distributers as well as those no longer in print but possibly available at other libraries.  Ask a Reference Librarian for help locating these if you are having difficulty finding them.

See Also:
For more Databases that contain related indexing, choose specific subjects from the Electronic Databases by Subject list accessible from the Ely Library Home Page (http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu) or browse Quick Links to Databases.
 

WWW Resources by Subject  [Ely Library at Westfield State College]
    (Internet Site: http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/wwwres.htm)
These links include categories for Sociology, Psychology, History, Political Science, Education Web sources and more.

Try also the list of Internet Search Engines And Subject Directories
    (Internet Site:  http://www.lib.wsc.ma.edu/engines.htm)
Refer to the tutorial: Searching the World Wide Web for information on the Internet, Netscape, and the World Wide Web, as well as for instructions on using web search engines, evaluating Internet Sites, and using subject specific search guides.
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