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Bibliographies

Bibliographies list books, articles, and other publications that have been judged relevant to a topic. Some bibliographies provide only citations, while others include abstracts — brief descriptions — of listed sources. Complete bibliographies attempt to list all the sources published about a topic, while selective bibliographies attempt to list only the best sources on a topic. Some bibliographies limit their inclusion of sources by time period, often focusing on sources published during a given year.

You’re likely to find several types of bibliographies in your library’s reference room or stacks.

Trade bibliographies allow you to locate books published about a particular topic. Leading trade bibliographies include The Subject Guide to Books in Print, Books in Print, and Cumulative Book Index.
General bibliographies cover a wide range of topics, usually in selective lists. For sources on humanities topics, consult The Humanities: A Selective Guide to Information Sources. For sources on social science topics, see Social Science Reference Sources: A Practical Guide. For sources on science topics, go to bibliographies such as Information Sources in Science and Technology, Guide to Information Sources in the Botanical Sciences, and Guide to Information Sources in the Physical Sciences.
Specialized bibliographies typically provide lists of sources — often annotated — about a specific topic. For example, Bibliography of Modern American Philosophers focuses on sources about important American philosophers.

Although most general and trade bibliographies can be found in the library reference room, specialized bibliographies are usually shelved in the library’s stacks. To locate them, start by consulting a cumulative bibliography, such as The Bibliographic Index: A Cumulative Bibliography of Bibliographies, which identifies bibliographies on a wide range of topics and is updated annually. You might also search your library’s catalog using keywords related to your subject plus the keyword bibliography. If you need help finding bibliographies that are relevant to your subject, ask a reference librarian.