If you need help, please contact Baharak Yousefi, Librarian for History, International Studies, Graduate Liberal Studies, Political Science at or byousefi@sfu.ca or Ask a librarian

Handbooks

A handbook is a single-volume reference book that provides concise factual information on a specific subject and is organized systematically for quick and easy access. The Oxford Companion series has handbooks on many historical areas, and here are some other examples:

• The Routledge companion to European history since 1763

• The peoples of Canada: a pre-Confederation history (print only)

• Canada's first nations: a history of founding peoples from earliest times (print only)

• The Longman handbook of modern British history, 1714-2001 (print only)

• Chinese history: a manual (print only)

• The Palgrave handbook of African colonial and postcolonial history

• The Palgrave handbook of state-sponsored history after 1945

• Handbook of Latin American studies

To search for handbooks, try searching for your topic in the Library Catalogue together with words such as handbook, companion, or reference, and check the 'Books' box under the Resource Type filter to the left of your results.

Statistics

Historical

• Historical statistics of Canada

• Historical statistics of the United States

• International historical statistics

Current

• Statistics Canada

• British Columbia Statistics

• Canadian Census

• United States Census Bureau

For more statistical information, see the page for Data & statistics information resources.

Atlases and maps

A historical atlas is a book of maps showing the changes that have occurred over a given period of time in a geographic area or in the development of a spatial phenomenon or event. Historical atlases typically contain more text than a standard atlas and may also include timelines and biographical notes on people whose names appear in the text.

• Cities of the world: a history in maps (print only)

• Concise historical atlas of Canada

• Historical atlas of Canada: Canada's history illustrated with original maps (print only)

• Historical atlas of the United States: with original maps (print only)

• Historical atlas of Central America (print only)

• A historical atlas of Central Asia

• Historical atlas of Northeast Asia, 1590-2010: Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, Eastern Siberia

Images

• Oxford Art Online
  The most comprehensive online reference resource for all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day. Includes links to art images from galleries and museums around the world. Many images are held in private collections and are not readily available on public websites. 

• ArtSTOR
  This collection documents artistic traditions across many times and cultures. It embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, and many other forms of visual culture.

• Art Images
  SFU Library's Art Images is a growing collection of online images documenting a broad range of art in support of teaching, learning, and research at SFU. Currently, the collection is composed of over 6000 images with an emphasis on the history of Western Art.