About
Encyclopedias & Country Guides
REES Related
REESWeb
- REESWebA database of web resources for the Russian and East European area. Functionality includes keyword searching; browse by subject, geographical region, culture, and time period; as well as a calendar for Russia & Eastern Europe related events around the world.
Biography
Biography
- Biography and genealogy master index This link opens in a new windowIndexes more than 12.7 million biographical sketches in more than 3,400 volumes and editions of current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world.
Online Sources
Online Reference Sources about the World
Political Handbook of the World (Online Edition)Call Number: Available online through KU Libraries subscription.Political information on every country in the world with entries on over 120 intergovernmental organizations. This guide is renowned for its extensive coverage of major, minor, and anti-systemic political parties that exist in each political system. It also provides names of cabinet members, key ambassadors, and international memberships of each country.
Sage Reference OnlineCall Number: Available online via KU Libraries subscription.Sage Reference Online contains a selection of encyclopedias and other ready-reference books covering a range of subjects in the social sciences disciplines.
Britannica OnlineCall Number: Available online through KU Libraries subscription.Provides coverage and integrated searching of the following encyclopedias and multiple reference tools: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Britannica Student Encyclopedia; Britannica Internet Guide; Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary; Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Thesaurus; and World Atlas.
Print Reference Sources
Paper Encyclopedias about REES Countries
Encyclopedia of Russian History by Call Number: Watson Library-Reference, DK14 .E53 2004ISBN: 0028656938Publication Date: New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004.Concise encyclopedia in 4 volumes.
The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History (MERSH) by Call Number: Watson Library-Reference, DK14 .M6ISBN: 0875690645MERSH is an extensive reference work about Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eurasia. It is consulted by scholars, students, librarians, and other researchers worldwide. This multi-volume work includes indexes and many supplements. 61 volumes.
Country Guides
Country Guides
- UNdata This link opens in a new window The largest and most authoritative compilation of U.N. and agency statistics (economic, social, financial, and developmental). Continuously updated.
- Background Notes from the U.S. State Department Provides facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of countries.
- BBC News: Country Profiles Full profiles provide an instant guide to history, politics, and economic background of countries. They also include audio and video clips from the BBC archives.
- CIA: The World Factbook The World Factbook provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. The Reference tab includes: maps of the major world regions, as well as Flags of the World, a Physical Map of the World, a Political Map of the World, and a Standard Time Zones of the World map.
- Country Indicators for Foreign Policy The CIFP database includes measures of domestic armed conflict, governance and political instability, militarization, religious and ethnic diversity, demographic stress, economic performance, human development, environmental stress, and international linkages in the form of over one hundred performance indicators for 196 countries, spanning fifteen years (1985 to 2000) for most indicators. These indicators are drawn from a variety of open sources.
- Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) Country Profiles The Food and Agriculture Organization for the United Nations and its 183 members highlights information as one of the priority areas in fighting hunger and achieving food security. The FAO Country Profiles and Mapping Information System is a pioneering information retrieval tool which groups the organization's vast archive of information on its global activities in agriculture and development in a single area and catalogues it exclusively by country.
- Governments on the WWW Very detailed links for every country. Somewhat outdated (from approx. 2002).
- International Crisis Group: Reports by Country Not all countries are represented, just those which are involved or potentially involved in conflict situations.
- International Planned Parenthood Federation - Country Profiles The profiles compiled by the International Planned Parenthood Federation include brief background information, sections on sexual & reproductive health and family planning services in the country, and statistics on population, fertility and contraception, mortality, health, and education & employment.
- OECD Global Reach Links only to documents with an individual country focus. Includes both member and non-member economies, but with more information for member countries, especially a statistical profile with over 100 indicators. For links to OECD publications which cover all countries, see OECD iLibrary below.
- Social Security in Other Countries Links to websites of countries' social security programs.
- Social Security Programs Throughout the World A biannual publication highlighting the principal features of social security programs in more than 170 countries.
- Social Watch Social Watch is an international network informed by national citizens' groups aiming at following up the fulfillment of the internationally agreed commitments on poverty eradication and equality. It produces an annual report as well as individual country reports.
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics Country Profiles Country profiles feature key statistics and indicators on education, science and technology, and culture and communication on a country-by-country or regional basis.
- World Public Opinion Provides information and analysis about public opinion on international policy issues from around the world.
- World Values Survey This global research project explores people’s values and beliefs, how they change over time, and what social and political impact they have. It is carried out by a worldwide network of social scientists who, since 1981, have conducted representative national surveys in almost 100 countries. The WVS is the only source of empirical data on attitudes covering a majority of the world’s population (nearly 90%).