In Print

Background Notes. United States, Department of State
U.S. Government Printing Office Fact sheets for countries of the world, published by the U.S. Dept. of State. The fact sheets, which range from a few months to five years old, emphasize each country's vital statistics, governmental structure, and relations with the United States. Background Notes are also available on the web.
Call Number: R 910.3 US
Locations: GD, ST, VA, VM

Clements' Encyclopedia of World Governments. John Clements
Political Research, Inc., 1997 Biannual hardback volume has an overview of countries of the world. Gives a brief description of the government, people, economy and foreign affairs. Includes major statistics and a map of each country's states or provinces. Loose-leaf binder has monthly issues with articles on nations in crisis and nations in transition.
Call Number: R 320.403 CLEMENT
Locations: VA

Columbia Gazetteer of the World. Saul B. Cohen, editor
Columbia University Press, 1998 A three volume encyclopedia of place names and geographic features from around the world. Listings include countries, cities, small towns, suburbs, neighborhoods, counties, provinces, states, regions, mountains, rivers, canals, lakes and more. Each listing gives the location, size, a pronunciation key, and significant geographic or economic features. Gives cross references from old names that are no longer in use to current names.
Call Number: R 910.3 COLUMBI
Locations: VA

CultureGrams. Millennial Star Network and Brigham Young University
CultureGrams, 2001 Four page articles describe the people, customs, attitudes and culture of different countries around the world. Emphasis is placed on practical information that would be useful for people who hope to travel to these countries, including typical diet, greetings and courtesies, visiting someone's home, and dating.
Call Number: R 909.828 CULTURG
Locations: BG, CP, GD, RI, TC, VA, VM, WA, WD, WS

Cultures of the World. Melvin Ember and Carol R Ember, editors
Macmillan Reference USA, 1999 Surveys the ways of life of over 200 culture groups (Ethnic groups) from around the world. Each survey describes the history, economy and social organization of a specific culture group. Culture groups listed may or may not conform to national boundaries.
Call Number: R 305.8003 ENCYCLO
Locations: TC, VM, VA

Current World Leaders.
International Academy at Santa Barbara Three issues a year, giving updated listings of officials and pertinent information such as population, literacy rate, ethnic groups, gross national product and membership in international organizations for more than 185 national governments and international organizations.
Call Number: R 909.8 CURRENT
Locations: VA

Encyclopedia of Conflicts Since World War II. James Ciment, editor
Sharpe Reference, 1999 This set focuses on major international and civil conflicts that have occurred since 1945. Introductory sections on the "roots of war" and "alliances and treaties" are followed by 151 articles about different armed conflicts from around the world, including cold war conflicts, independence conflicts, ethnic conflicts, civil wars and coups.
Call Number: R 909.82 ENCYCLO
Locations: VA

Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture. Barbara A. Tenenbaum, editor
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1996 A five volume encyclopedia of the countries and cultures in South America, Central America and the Caribbean Islands. This set includes articles on individual countries, ethnic groups, people, government agencies and historical events of Latin America. Sociological issues-such as human rights, literacy, immigration, judicial systems, and marriage and divorce-are also discussed.
Call Number: R 980.003 ENCYCLO
Locations: VA

Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations. James Minahan
Greenwood Press, 2002 This four volume set has articles on ethnic groups that have a strong national identity but do not have their own separate country. Each article describes the homeland, history, present conditions and status of a particular "stateless" ethnic group. Examples include the Kurds, Tibetans, Palestinians, Quebecois, Tamils, Welsh, Puerto Ricans and various Native American and indigenous populations.
Call Number: R 909.829 MINAHAN
Locations: TC, VA

Europa World Year Book.
Europa Publications Limited, Annual publication Contains surveys of countries, territories, and international organizations such as the United Nations, the OAS (Organization of American States) or the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization). Each survey covers recent history, government, economic affairs, defense and social welfare. Gives a detailed statistical survey. Includes constitutions of countries and charters of organizations.
Call Number: R 320.9405 EUROPA
Locations: VA, VM, WS

Facts on File.
Facts on File, Weekly publication A digest of news items. For the current year, issues with five to seven days worth of news are filed in a loose-leaf binder. Previous years' news digests are bound into annual volumes.
Call Number: R 909.8 FACTS
Locations: VA

Goode's World Atlas. John C. Hudson, editor
20th edition. Rand McNally, 2000 Maps of countries of the world. Contains many world thematic maps including birth rate, urbanization, gross domestic product, health, nutrition, refugees and major conflicts.
Call Number: R 912 GOODE 2000
Locations: All branches

Human Rights Encyclopedia. James R. Lewis and Carl Skutsch, editors
Sharpe Reference, 2001 The first half of this three volume set is a review of each of the countries of the world and their current track record on human rights. The second half of the set has articles about different themes and issues concerning human rights, such as political prisoners, refugees, freedom of expression, disabled persons' rights, domestic violence, or terrorism.
Call Number: R 323.03 LEWIS
Locations: VA

Illustrated Book of World Rankings. George Thomas Kurian
Sharpe Reference, 2001 Uses statistics to compare nations in a wide range of subjects, ranging from geography to military power, from population breakdowns to economic indicators.
Call Number: R 310 KURIAN
Locations: VA

Islamic Desk Reference. E. Van Donzel, Compiler
E.J. Brill, 1994 Consists of short entries describing places, events, people, history, tribes and concepts connected with Islam.
Call Number: R 909.0976 ISLAMIC
Locations: VA

Macmillan Encyclopedia of the Environment. Stephen R. Kellert, editor
Simon and Shuster and Prentice Hall International, 1997 Entries describe the working of the natural world and how people relate to the natural world. Economic, ethical, and legal issues are also covered.
Call Number: R 333.7 MACMILL
Locations: CP, VA, VM, WA

Miniature Empires: A Historical Dictionary of the Newly Independent States. James Minahan
Greenwood Press, 1998 Surveys twenty-five countries formed or re-formed since the end of the cold war in 1989. History, statistics and a detailed ethnic breakdown are given for each country.
Call Number: R 940.559 MINAHAN
Locations: VA

National Geographic Desk Reference.
National Geographic, 1999 Includes chapters on physical and human geography — landforms, weather, soils, population change, human migration, cultural identity economic geography, urbanization, and the political organization of territory. Also includes short descriptions of the countries of the world.
Call Number: R 910 NATIONA
Locations: BG, CP, GD, RI, ST, VA, VM, WA, WD, WS

Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World. John L. Esposito, editor in chief
Oxford University Press, 1995 A reference guide to various aspects of Islamic history, culture and contemporary life. It includes articles on countries with Muslim populations.
Call Number: R 909.0976 OXFORD
Locations: VA

Peoples of the World. Joyce Moss
Gale Research Africans South of the Sahara. Latin Americans. Middle East and North Africa. North Americans. Identifies and describes ethnic groups found in different regions of the world. The first half of each book covers the culture and geography of different groups in each region. The second half looks at the ethnic breakdowns within each country.
Call Number: R 305.8 MOSS
Locations: VA

State of the World: A Worldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society.
Worldwatch Institute, 1999 The annual publication of the Worldwatch Institute analyzing the current status of human impact on global ecology. Each chapter presents arguments for ways of changing the global economy to protect the environment, and includes useful statistics. Chapters cover food resources, environmental health risks and the Earth's carrying capacity.
Call Number: R 338.9 STATE O
Locations: GD, TC, VA

Statesman's Year-Book. Barry Turner, editor
St. Martin's Press An annual statistical and historical guide to the countries of the world. Gives a chronology of major political events of the previous year. This is a British publication similar to the U.S. Government's Background Notes.
Call Number: R 305 St29
Locations: BG, CP, GD, RI, ST, TC, VA, VM, WA, WD, WS

Time Almanac.
Information Please LLC This annual publication contains statistical, tabular and general information on topics of general interest. Contains brief information on countries. Ask for this publication at the Information Desk.
Call Number: JR 310 TIME AL
Locations: BG, CP, GD, NB, RI, ST, TC, VA, VM, WA, WS

World Almanac and Book of Facts.
World Almanac Books This annual publication contains statistical, tabular and general information on topics of general interest. Contains brief information on countries. Ask for this publication at the Information Desk.
Call Number: R 310 W89
Locations: All branches

World Guide 2001/02.
New Internationalist Publications, 2001 A country-by-country guide of all the countries in the world, giving statistics, a brief history and a summary of recent developments. Introductory chapters cover issues that cross international borders such as: population, globalization, food and taxes. Originally published in Uruguay, it emphasizes issues and events of particular significance to third world countries.
Call Number: R 910.3 GUIA DE
Locations: VA

World Today Series.
Stryker-Post Publications Annual volumes: Africa. Canada. East, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Latin America. The Middle East and South Asia. Russia, Eurasian States and Eastern Europe. Western Europe. This series has different volumes for major geo-political regions of the world. Each volume gives an overview of the region's common cultural and historical background, followed by profiles of individual countries in that region.
Call Number: R 910.3 WORLD T
Locations: BG, CP, GD, RI, ST, VA, VM, WA, WD, WS

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Timothy L. Gall, editor
Gale Research, 1998 Surveys the ways of life of over 500 culture groups (ethnic groups) from around the world. Each survey describes living conditions, interpersonal relations, family life, arts, folklore and current social problems. Culture groups listed may not conform to national boundaries.
Call Number: R 305.8003 WORLDMA
Locations: TC, VA

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations.
Tenth edition. Worldmark Press, 2001 A country-by-country overview including sections on environment, transportation, migration, economic development, trade and housing. Also includes a significant section on the United Nations.
Call Number: R 910.3 WORLDMA
Locations: BG, CP, GD, RI, ST, TC, VA, VM, WA, WD, WS

Web Sites

Africa South of the Sahara - Search A huge site produced by Stanford University's African Studies Association focusing on the African continent, south of the Sahara Desert. This site has links on a wide range of topics, including international relations, history, health, religion, travel and natural history, among many others.

Background Notes Fact sheets for countries of the world from the US Department of State. Each fact sheet emphasizes a country's vital statistics, governmental structure, and relations with the United States.

Economist Features new articles, country briefings, a dictionary of economic terms, and economic statistics and indexes from the British magazine The Economist. Some articles require a subscription number for access, but much of the site is free.

FVRL News Search A collection of web sites and search tools for finding news items and current events on the Internet.

International Water Law Project Information and resources on water policies and laws from around the world. Includes the full text of treaties, links to useful sites, and "World Water News" — news articles concerning water use, water quality and water problems back to 2000.

Library of Congress Country Studies Online reprints of books published by the US Department of the Army's Country Studies Series. Each book offers analysis and description of the history of the country or region, the social, economic and political background, as well as the national security system used by the country. Also examines the interrelationships of these systems and how they are shaped by cultural factors. These books were published between 1988 and 1998, so this site will have no information newer than 1998.

Middle East Network Information Center Contains extensive information and links on the countries, current news, history, religion and culture of the Middle East. This site is maintained by the University of Texas at Austin.

United Nations Children Fund This is the official web page for UNICEF. The "Information by Country" section gives information and statistics on issues concerning the health, education and welfare of children in that country.

United States Department of State Web page for the government agency responsible for carrying out U.S. foreign policy. Includes news, press releases, policy statements, speeches and travel warnings for Americans.

World Bank This site has articles and information on World Bank activities and issues of interest to the developing world. The site includes an extensive statistical database.

World Factbook This is an online atlas with basic information on the countries of the world. Covers geography, people, government, economy, communication, transportation, military and transnational issues. Includes maps and flags for each country.

WWW Virtual Library: Internal Affairs Resources Has links to many authoritative sites concerning international issues. Includes links for many governmental sites and international agencies.