Communication Resources

Background reading is an essential starting point to any research project.  Background reading may suggest a research topic or provide an overview of your topic.  It also will lead to other resources related to your topic. 

A good place to begin your background reading is in a subject-specific reference book.  The Berntsen Library collects reference books in both print and online formats.  

*Note: Reference books are considered tertiary sources and are not typically referred to or cited in research papers.

Electronic Reference is available on any topic.

Reference books are located on the main floor of the library. 

You can locate reference and other books in Library Search, or you can browse the collection using the Dewey guide below. 

The items listed below are a sample of the subject specific reference available in the library and electronically.

*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  Like other reference sources, you might want to consult Wikipedia for background reading and fact gathering, but do not cite it as a source in your paper.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 as well as to online bibliographies and other resources.

Use these numbers to browse the library's collection of books.