History and Biographies
From off campus you will be asked to log in with your MyNova username and password.
- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window (Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) includes full-text encyclopedias, handbooks, and other sources for multidisciplinary research. (VIVA, NVCC)
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- World History Modern Era This link opens in a new window Covers a broad range of modern history topics in depth, includes images, videos and provides easy-to-navigate access to authoritative information for research purposes.
- Oxford African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window Over 8,000 articles by top scholars that focus on the lives and events which have shaped African American history and culture. Also includes images and primary sources. (NVCC)
- Britannica Academic This link opens in a new window Fully-searchable collection of authoritative encyclopedia articles. (NVCC)
- Biography (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window Biographical information on over 380,000 people from throughout world history; from encyclopedias and news articles. (NVCC)
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Daily Life
- Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life in America Select the dates you need from the "Choose a Volume" dropdown menu.
- Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th- and 21st-Century America Select the years you want from the "Choose a volume" dropdown menu.
Popular Culture (fashion, music, television, etc.)
- Pop Culture Universe This link opens in a new window A collection of reference articles on pop culture in America in the 20th century. Browse by decade. (NVCC)
- Bowling, Beatniks, and Bell-Bottoms: Pop Culture of 20th- and 21st-Century America Select the years you want from the "Choose a volume" dropdown menu.
- Greenwood Encyclopedia of Daily Life in America Select the dates you need from the "Choose a Volume" dropdown menu.
Career Information
- Ferguson's Career Guidance Center This link opens in a new window Includes information on job and industry profiles, job-hunting and workplace skills, career and industry resources, and college planning and financial aid. (NVCC)
Literature Information
- Literature Resource Center (Gale) This link opens in a new window Full-text biographies and critical analyses of writers and their work from a variety of periods and disciplines. (VIVA)
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Health, Science, and Technology
- Salem Press Science This link opens in a new window A full-text database of reference articles on global warming, environmental issues and forensic science. (NVCC)
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- Science (Gale In Context) This link opens in a new window Science topic overviews, biographies, periodical articles, images, videos and detailed experiments. (VCCS)
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- Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window (Formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) includes full-text encyclopedias, handbooks, and other sources for multidisciplinary research. (VIVA, NVCC)
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U.S. States
- AtoZ: The USA This link opens in a new window A wealth of reference information about all fifty U.S. states. Includes information about demographics, crime, the economy, history, maps and more. (NVCC)
- The West Virginia Encyclopedia Free online encyclopedia, from the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Why to Use Encyclopedias
An encyclopedia is a type of reference book. Use a reference book to:
- Define important vocabulary words related to your topic,
- Find a basic overview and main issues related to your topic,
- Find references to additional resources, and
- Discover important background information related to your topic.
Search Tips
- Hover over the 
next to the title of each link to learn a little bit more about the publication.
- Since encyclopedia articles focus on basic, general information about a topic, what you type in the search box should also be general:
YES: cold war
YES: cold war AND effects
NO: effects of the cold war on the american lifestyle in the 1950s
Salem History Encyclopedias is a good choice for many topics, including music and fashion.