Library Guides: Find News: Reference Works

Why Reference?

Reference works are an excellent first stop in your research and are incredibly useful for the following:

Getting an overview of a topic
Getting topic ideas for a paper topic or narrowing your topic
Brainstorming keywords for searching and learning the vocabulary used by authors in that area
Learning the key works on a given topic
Discovering the key authors on a given topic

Reference works are a good starting off point, but should not be cited in your research as they are not considered primary or secondary sources. The only exception is when reference works contain primary and secondary sources (like collections of documents and essays).

Electronic Reference Resources

Points of View Reference Source (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Points of View Reference Center covers hundreds of topics, each with an overview (objective background/description), point (argument), and counterpoint (opposing argument). Each topic features a Guide to Critical Analysis which helps the reader evaluate the controversy.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
Gale Virtual Reference Library is a database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.

Streaming Video Collections

Kanopy This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Kanopy is a streaming video resource with a broad collection on every subject imaginable and from leading producers such as: The Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, New Day Films, HBO, California Newsreel, and more. Their website makes it easy to watch, share and discuss films across campus.

All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception, and the Spirit of I.F. Stone
Independent journalists Jeremy Scahill, Glenn Greenwald and Michael Moore expose government lies and corporate deception, inspired by the legendary investigative journalist I.F. Stone.
Berkeley in the Sixties
Six years in the making and with a cast of thousands, Berkeley in the Sixties recaptures the exhilaration and turmoil of the unprecedented student protests that shaped a generation and changed the course of America. Many consider it to be the best filmic treatment of the 1960s yet made.
Out in the Night: Criminalization of Race, Gender Identity and Sexuality
Under the neon lights in a gay-friendly neighborhood of New York City, four young African-American lesbians are violently and sexually threatened by a man on the street. They defend themselves against him and are charged and convicted in the courts and in the media as a 'Gang of Killer Lesbians'.