Atlapedia
www.atlapedia.com/online/country_index.htm
Brief information & facts about each country.

BBC News Country Profiles
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/country_profiles/default.stm
Very brief profiles of countries. Best parts: timeline of
important events, links to news about the county & some audio clips (news stories, listening to the national anthem, etc.).

CIA World Fact Book
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Includes facts and statistics about each country, including about transportation, economy, government, communications, etc.

Countries of the World
www.theodora.com/wfb/
Includes information about each country, organized by subject (leaders, population, religion, etc.), as well as different kinds of maps, a few photos & world rankings on a variety of topics (population, GDP, debt, imports, etc.).

Country Reports
www.countryreports.org
Lots of basic information about each country. Includes nice “extras,” such as recipes, outline maps, basic words in languages & more.

Executive Planet
www.executiveplanet.com/
Looking for that cool little factoid to make your country exploration (or your assignment) complete? Check here. Business etiquette & customs information is provided for about 45 countries.

Geographia
www.geographia.com/
If your country happens to be one of those included on this site, you’re in luck! Great photos & info on each featured country.

GeoHive
www.geohive.com
All kinds of interesting geopolitical data & statistics. Everything from biggest population to longest rivers, to richest corporations to highest mountains to exports & imports to energy & Internet use.

Infoplease: Countries of the World
www.infoplease.com/countries.html
Includes brief info on 175 countries.

Library of Congress Country Studies
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html
Includes thorough information about each country. Most is divided into sections & sub-sections, including history, society & government. Note: Some information is older. Also includes selected “portals” to other sites about the country.

Lonely Planet Guides
www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/
These come in print, too. Find out about the culture, environment, places to see, & other tasty tidbits of info.

NationMaster
www.nationmaster.com
Tons of country statistics, graphs & facts. Browse by country or by category (agriculture, environment, food, health, etc.).

Nations Online
www.nationsonline.org
A portal to the countries of the world. Click on the Earth photo to find links about education, government, travel, environment, maps & other tidbits for each country. Note: Occasional ads are mixed in with the links, so be careful.

U.S. Department of State: Countries/Regions
www.state.gov/countries/
Information from the U.S. government. Includes current overviews for each country.

Visual Geography series
www.vgsbooks.com
Offers a few photos, maps & several links for more than 30 different countries.

Back to Top

LIBRARIAN’S PICKS!
If you’re in a hurry, here are two excellent quick picks to give you the info you need:

CultureGrams: The Nations Around Us
REF 909 CUL (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Includes brief info (around 2-4 pages) about each country.
*We have an older set of this you can check out.*

Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations
REF 910.003 WOR 2004 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
A nice overview of each country, including history, culture, government, geography, etc.
*We have an older set of this you can check out.*

Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures & Daily Life
REF 305.8 WOR 1998 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Provides information about various cultures within countries, focusing on topics such as living conditions, folklore and rites of passage.

Greenwood Encyclopedia of Women’s Issues Worldwide
REF 305.42 GRE 2003 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Organized by country, this set discusses issues such as education, reproductive issues, working conditions, and women’s rights.

Amnesty International 2005: The State of the World’s Human Rights
REF 323.4 AMN 2005 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Organized alphabetically by country, this report documents "human rights issues of concern during 2004. It includes violations and trends.

Folk Costumes of the World
HC REF 391 HAR (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Illustrations and brief information about a variety of costumes & dress from selected countries.

Fashion, Costume & Culture
HC REF 391 PEN 2004 (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Organized by time period. Features selected cultures.

Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion
REF 391.003 ENCY 2005 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Alphabetical entries about clothing & fashion trends throughout history. Includes some coverage of world cultures.

Encyclopedia of Food & Culture
REF 394.1209 ENCY 2003 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Alphabetical entries about food & cultural trends throughout history. Includes some coverage of cultural foods.

Celebration of Customs & Rituals of the World
HC REF 394.2 ING (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Overview of major types of rituals, ceremonies & celebrations, from marriage to coming of age to death to socializing.

International Encyclopedia of Art
HC REF 700 INT (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Volumes focus on brief overviews of art for different regions of the world. Includes some illustrations.

Dictionary of Music & Musicians
REF 780.3 NEW (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Lots of information here, including entries for most countries.

Unique Games & Sports Around the World
HC REF 790.1 UNI (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
A brief exploration of sample games and sports from around the world.

International Encyclopedia of Dance
REF 792.62 INT (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Explores all forms of dance, represented in many countries.

Atlas of World History
HC REF 909 ATL 2002 (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Maps from major world events, from ancient times to the year 2000.

Lands and Peoples
J REF 909 LAN (1st floor, Children’s area)
A multi-volume set with lots of information about each country.

The World Today series
REF 909.82 2004 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
These are yearly reports covering world continents/regions, such as Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East & Southern Asia. Includes lots of info.
*We have an older set of this you can check out.*

The World Factbook 2004
REF 910 CEN 2004 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
2 pages of facts/statistics for each country, from the CIA.

The Europa World Year Book
REF 910 EUR 1999 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Information on political, economic & commercial institutions of the world, plus brief information & statistics on each country.

Worldmark Chronology of the Nations
REF 910 WOR 1999 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Timeline of major events in each country.

Encyclopedia of World Geography
REF 910.3 ENC 2002 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Alphabetical overview of each country. Includes lots of photos.

Concise Atlas of the World
REF 912 DOR 2003 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Includes physical, political & resource maps.

Maps on File I, Maps on File II and Outline Maps
HC REF 912 MAP (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Copy-able maps with just an outline of countries/regions or ones with basic statistics & data.

Flags of the World
REF 929.9 FLA (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Full page color flags for each country.

Back to Top

AFRICA:

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa
REF 956.003 ENC 2004 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
History, culture, people, geography & other important information about this region of the world.

Peoples of Africa
HC REF 960 PEO 2001 (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Includes basic information about the countries and cultures in Africa.

Encyclopedia of African Nations and Civilizations
REF 960.03 ENC 2002 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Covers the major historic civilizations & the development of Africa’s cultures into what they are today. Also explores each of Africa’s nations.

Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century African History
HC REF 960.31 ENC 2003 (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Explores the history of African peoples during the 20th century, including how their politics, economics, environments, cultures, arts, etc. were influenced during this time.

AMERICAS:

Peoples of the Americas
HC REF 970.004 PEO 1999 (2nd floor, Young Adult Room)
Includes basic information about the countries and cultures in the Americas.

ASIA:

Encyclopedia of Modern Asia
REF 950.03 ENC 2002 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
Covers many aspects of modern Asia, from economics, culture and environment to technology, politics, art & international relations.

AUSTRALIA:

Australia: The Complete Encyclopedia
REF 994 AUS (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
A comprehensive look at the economy, government, geography, culture, ecology, etc. of Australia.

MIDDLE EAST:

Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East & North Africa
REF 956.003 ENC 2004 (2nd floor, Main Ref. area)
History, culture, people, geography & other important information about this region of the world.

Back to Top

Countries & cultures are popular topics, so there are lots of different series that have been created. Some focus on a particular geographic or cultural region & some have a planet-wide scope. Series which might be useful include:

SAMPLE BOOK SERIES:

• Area Handbook series
• Cultures of the World
• Enchantment of the World
• Fodor’s Guides
• Greenwood Histories of the Modern Nation
• Lands, Peoples and Cultures series
• Lonely Planet Guides
• Modern Nations of the World
• Visual Geography series

SAMPLE VIDEO SERIES :

• Best Travels in Europe
• Lonely Planet
• Travel the World
• Video Travel Library

One of the easiest ways to search for these series is to use our online catalog (at the library or from home) and do a keyword series search on the series title.

• area handbook
• lonely planet

Back to Top

Academic Search Premier
Full text articles for more than 4,500 academic journals.

EBSCOHost — Magazines & Newspapers
Full text articles. Includes general interest, scientific & more.

Health Source: Consumer & Academic Editions
Search for pamphlets, articles & reference works on a variety of health topics related to your country/culture.

Religion & Philosophy Collection
Search for info on world religions.

Student Research Center
Specify what kind of media sources you’d like (Magazines,
Newspapers, Primary Sources, Photos, Maps & Flags, etc.) & search for your country/culture. An online dictionary and encyclopedia are also included.

Back to Top