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World Cultures
Reference Books
These specialized reference books provide background material on a topic and are often a
good place to start your research.
Books held in the Reference collection at the
Brighton campus (LeRoy V. Good Library) have "Ref" in front of their
call number. Books held in the Reference collection at the Damon City
Campus Library have "City Ref" in front of their call number.
| African Folklore
(Ref GR 350 .A33 2004) |
| American Regional Folklore
(City Ref GR 105.34 .M66 2004) |
| Asian American Encyclopedia
(Ref E 184 .06 A827 1995) |
| CultureGrams (Ref GT 150 .C85 2005) |
Countries and Their Cultures
(City Ref GN 307 .C68 2001); and
online
through the "Gale Virtual Reference Library" database
(off-campus use
requires login) |
| Death and the Afterlife
(Ref GT 3150 .T25 2000) |
| Dictionary of Chicano Folklore
(Ref GR 111 .M49 C37 2000) |
Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History
(Ref E 185 .E54 1996;
City Ref E 185 .E54 1996) |
| Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (Ref GT 2850 .E53 2003) |
| Encyclopedia of World Cultures
(Ref GN 307 .F53 1991) |
| Fashion, Costume and Culture (City Ref G T511 .P46 2004
Vols.1-5) |
| Festivals and Holidays
(Ref GT 3925 .F47 1999) |
| Food and Culture (City Ref GT 2850
.E53 2003 Vols.1-3) |
| Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America
(Ref E 184 .A1 G14 1995) |
| Gale Encyclopedia of World Tribes
(Ref E 77 .G15 1998)
|
Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life
(Ref GT31 .G74 2004; City Ref GT31 .G74 2004) |
| Holiday Symbols and Customs (Ref GT 3930 .H6 2003) |
| How People Live (Ref GN 333 .A75 2003) |
International Handbook of Funeral Customs
(Ref GT3150 .M27 1998; City Ref GT 3150 .M27 1998) |
| The Latino Encyclopedia (Ref E 184 .S75 L357 1996) |
Marriage Customs of the World
(Ref 2690 .M65 20004; City Ref 2690 .M65 2004) |
| Marriage, Family, and Relationships (Ref GN 480
.B76 1994) |
| Multicultural Manners (City Ref BJ 1838 .D74 1996) |
| Traditional Festivals (City Ref GT 3925.R68 2005 Vols.1&2) |
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Facts & Figures
Use these sources to find and check facts
about topics, people, events.
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To Locate Other Books
Use the MCC Library Catalog to find books in our circulating collection about the country you are researching.
Some search terms to use in combination with
the name of your country include:
| Anthropology |
| Civilization |
| Culture |
| Description and Travel |
| Ethnology |
| Folklore |
| Manners and Customs |
| Social Life and Customs |
Use the Basic Keyword Search option in the Library catalog and the strategies shown below to search for books:
1.) Country name, region, or continent + the
word “Culture”
For Example: Asia and Culture
2.) Country name, region, or continent + the words “Social
Life and Customs”
For Example:
France Social Life and Customs
3.) Country name, region, or continent + the
word “Civilization”
For Example: Africa and Civilization
| Accessing the MCC Library Catalog |
| Go to
http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library |
| Click "Find Books and Media at
the MCC Libraries" |
| Type your words the
"Search Term(s)" box, then press the "Go" button |
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How to Find Articles
The MCC Libraries subscribe to a number of
different electronic databases you can use to search for magazine,
journal, and newspaper articles about a specific country.
Some databases are
full-text and therefore have entire articles from certain
publications available online for you to print directly from the
computer.
Library databases to search for articles about
countries and cultures include:
| Academic Search Premier |
| Custom Newspapers |
| JSTOR Electronic Journals |
| MasterFile Premier |
| OmniFile Full Text
Select |
The "National Geographic",
"Smithsonian", and
"History Today" magazines often publish articles containing cultural
information on a country. Search the Academic Search Premier, and OmniFile
Full Text Select databases to see if any articles have been written
in these magazines about the country or culture you are researching.
The websites for
National Geographic,
Smithsonian,
and History Today magazines also have
special features to supplement your research.
| To Access MCC Libraries Article Databases |
| Go to
http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library |
| Click "Find Articles and
Online Databases" and select a database |
If off-campus, click “Access
from Home” and follow directions to
log-in to EZproxy |
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Selected Websites
-
Background Notes – These
publications from the U.S. Department of State include facts about
the land, people, history, government, political conditions,
economy, and foreign relations of various countries.
-
Country Insights - Country facts and cultural information on
countries of the world from the Centre for Intercultural Learning,
Institute of Foreign and International Trade Canada.
-
Country
Studies Area Handbooks – A continuing series of books prepared by the Federal
Research Division of the Library of Congress that provide historical,
social, economic, and political analyses of individual countries.
-
Cultural Profiles Project - Developed in association with the AMNI
Centre at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto, Canada,
this site provides overviews of life and customs in many countries.
PDF versions of these reports are also available.
-
Foreign Government Resources on the Web
– This site from the University of Michigan Documents Center
provides links to news resources, embassies, and background
information on many countries.
-
OneWorld.net -
This site publishes U.S. and international perspectives on global
issues gathered from OneWorld partners worldwide and includes
in-depth guides on topics and countries.
-
Portals to the World –
From the Library of Congress, this site contains selective links
providing authoritative, in-depth information about the nations and
other areas of the world.
-
The World Factbook – This source provides profiles on countries and territories around the
world and includes information about their geography, people,
government, economy, communication, transportation, and military.
- Search Academic and Professional Subject Directories – Web links contained in these
directories are selected and updated by subject experts and are
considered to be authoritative and reliable and therefore recommended
for academic research.
P. Czaja, Revised 7/2008,
http://www.monroecc.edu/go/library
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