Background information can be found in reference sources, online or in print, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and handbooks.
NOTE: below are examples of resources the Library offers. Use the catalog to conduct additional searches.
Max Weber dictionary : key words and central concepts by 
The Sage Glossary of the Social and Behavioral Sciences by For additional selections, choose a subject link to the right.
Measures for Clinical Practice and Research by 
The Family Communication Sourcebook by 
Encyclopedia of Social Problems by
Social problems affect everyone. Because so many actual and potential problems confront us, it is often difficult to decide which ones affect us most severely. The Encyclopedia of Social Problems offers an interdisciplinary perspective into many social issues that are a continuing concern in our lives, whether we confront them on a personal, local, regional, national, or global level. With more than 600 entries, these two volumes cover all of the major theories, approaches, and contemporary issues in social problems and also provide insight into how social conditions get defined as social problems, and the ways different people and organizations view and try to solve them.
Encyclopedia of Social Work (20 ed.) by
Co-published by the National Association of Social Workers and Oxford University Press, the 20th edition of the Encyclopedia of Social Work is widely considered the cornerstone of reference in its field. This new edition includes coverage of areas that have come to the fore since the 1995 publication of the 19th edition, including demographic changes from immigration, technology, the implications of managed care, faith-based assistance, evidence-based practice, gerontology, and trauma and disaster.
The Encyclopedia of Social Work by 
Comprehensive Handbook of Social Work and Social Welfare by 
Handbook for Public Health Social Work by 
Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations by 
