Background reading is an essential starting point to any research project. The purpose of background reading is to get an overview of your topic, and to begin to become acquainted with the key terms, names and events associated with your topic.
These subject-specific reference books are available at the Berntsen Library. They are worth a trip to the library in order to get a concise, authoritative overview of your History topic as you begin your research. This list represents just a sampling of the many print reference books available at the Berntsen Library. Search Library Search, the library's catalog, or browse the 900s section of the Reference collection to find more history reference books.
*Gasp!* Why is a library guide telling you to search Wikipedia? Like other reference sources, you might want to consult Wikipedia for background reading and fact gathering, but do not cite it as a source in your paper. For this particular class, the real value of Wikipedia is the list of links at the end of the article. These links will sometimes lead you to digitized collections of primary sources on your topic.
Search one or more of the following e-Reference resources in order to get a good, authoritative overview of your history topic.