Why Use Reference Books?
Use reference books (encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries etc.) to get an overview of topics you may be interested in researching. The more background information you have on a topic of interest, the more you will be able to think of promising research questions. The information in reference books tends to be factual or widely accepted information, rather than critical and or debatable information and ideas.
Gale Virtual Reference Library
- a collection of reference books
- something on most topics
- a good starting point
Reference Tools
Biographical Dictionary of Dance by Call Number: Main Library GV1785.A1 C58 1982 [Regular Loan]ISBN: 0028702603Publication Date: 1982-09-01- Black Dance by Call Number: EGS REF Z7514.D2 A33 1989 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 0824088085Publication Date: 1989
- The Book of the Dance by Call Number: Main Library GV1601 .D4 [Regular Loan]Publication Date: 1963
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet by Call Number: Main Library GV1585 .K6313 1987 [Regular Loan]ISBN: 0193113309Publication Date: 1987
A Core Collection in Dance by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1594 .C67 2001 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 0838981186Publication Date: 2001
Dance Words by Call Number: Main Library GV1585 .P74 1995 [Regular Loan]ISBN: 3718656019Publication Date: 1995
Dictionary of Classical Ballet Terminology by Call Number: Main Library GV1585 .R95 1997 [Regular Loan]ISBN: 0952484803Publication Date: 1998- The Encyclopedia of Dance and Ballet by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1585 .E53 1977b [Non-circulating]ISBN: 0399119558Publication Date: 1977-10-28
The Encyclopedia of World Ballet by Call Number: Main Library GV1585 .S66 2015 [Regular Loan]ISBN: 9781442245259Publication Date: 2015
International Dictionary of Ballet by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1585 .I57 1993 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 1558620842Publication Date: 1993
International Dictionary of Modern Dance by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1585 .I58 1998 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 1558623590Publication Date: 1998
International Encyclopedia of Dance by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1585 .I586 1998 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 9780195173697Publication Date: 2004- Les grands ballets : répertoire de cinq siècles de danse by Call Number: Main Library GV1585 .T4714 2008 [Regular Loan]Publication Date: 2008
The Music and Dance of the World's Religions by Call Number: MUSIC REF ML128 .S17 R87 1996 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 0313295611Publication Date: 1996
The Oxford Dictionary of Dance by Call Number: MAIN REF GV1585 .C73 2000 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 9780199563449Publication Date: 2010
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance by Call Number: MAIN REF PN2035 .O94 2003 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 9780198601746Publication Date: 2003
The Queer Encyclopedia of Music, Dance, and Musical Theater by Call Number: EGS REF ML100 .Q44 2004 [Non-circulating]ISBN: 1573441988Publication Date: 2004
Websites
- Society of Dance History Scholars: ResourcesA well-maintained directory of annotated links to a variety of resources of interest to dance scholars, ranging from organizations to digital collections.
- An American Ballroom CompanionFrom the Library of Congress American Memory project. A collection of over 200 digitized social dance manuals from 1490 to the early twentieth century.
- Online Archive of California (OAC) This link opens in a new windowSearch on "dance" to find over a dozen collections of primary source material related to dance in California repositories, including UC.
- Invitation to the Dance: Library of CongressAn overview of the rich collections of dance-related primary source materials at the Library of Congress.
- Library of Congress: Finding AidsBrowse by subject: Library of Congress finding aids for primary-source collections. There are dozens of collections with dance-related materials.
- BalletCompaniesOver 3,000 links to ballet and dance companies around the world.
Woman Dancing on Flower
Lithograph poster, [c. 1895]. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.