Country Studies

 Currency  |  Maps/Flags  |  Recipes/Food
Reference Books in WHSL  |  Tourism
 Topography  |  Transportation |  Weather/Time Zones

General Sources

Library of Congress Country Studies - This site is highly recommended!!!  Most sites in the series deal with a particular foreign country, describing and analyzing its political, economic, social, and national security systems and institutions, and examining the interrelationships of those systems and the ways they are shaped by cultural factors. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/cshome.html

National Geographic Index - Over 100 years of the National Geographic, indexed on the web!  Check the WHSL periodical collection for full-text of NG articles from 1910 to the present.   Add AND NG to designate searching the National Geographic articles only, otherwise, all NG publications will be searched (e.g., <bermuda AND NG> will find articles on Bermuda only in National Geographic).
or
WHSL also has the hardcopy of the National Geographic Index, 1888-1988 - Ref 910.5 NAT
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/publications/explore.html

U.S. State Department Background Notes - Background Notes provide information on geographic entities and international organizations and are updated periodically. Background Notes for some countries are currently unavailable. http://www.state.gov/www/background_notes/index.html

Encyclopedia Britannica - The entire 32 volume set of the Britannica available online.  The site also offers searching of periodicals, a web subject site directory, and current events.  Updated daily.  WHS Users only.

Lonely Planet Destinations -  Use the pull down menus at the top of this site to obtain excellent culture, environment, history, and travel information. This is a super site (nm)!!! http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/

WHSL Online Catalog - Search by subject or keyword for your country.  WHSL has many books on individual countries that can be helpful for your research.
 

Example:  (subject)   Spain/description and travel
                                Spain/social life and customs

Reference Books in the Library


Quick Facts

Geo-Data - Ref 910.3 GEO
World Fact Book - 1999-  Ref 910 WOR
World Facts and Maps, 1997 - Ref 910.3 WOR
Geographical Dictionary - Ref 910 MER
Do's and Taboos Around the World - Ref 910.2 DOS
Information Please Almanac - Ref 317.3 INF (1996)
Time Almanac - Ref 317.3 TIM (1999)
Peoples and Cultures - Ref 940.2 PEO

Atlases

Hammond Atlas of the World - Ref 912 HAM
National Geographic Atlas of the World - Ref 912 NAT
Atlas of Central America and the Caribbean - Ref 912 DIA
Atlas of the Middle East - Ref 912.56 ATL
Nature's Wonderlands:  National Parks of the World - Ref 917 NAT

Encyclopedias

Lands and Peoples - Ref 910.22 LAN
People and Places - Ref 910.22 PEO
Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mankind - Ref 910 ILL
World and Its People - Ref 910 WOR
Encyclopedia of World Geography - REF 910 ENC
World Book Encyclopedia - Ref 031 WOR
Encyclopedia Americana - Ref 031 ENC
 

Currency

Universal Currency Converter
http://www.xe.net/ucc/

Maps/Flags

Atlapedia - http://www.atlapedia.com

World Fact Book
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
or
WHSL - Ref 910 WOR (1999)

World Almanac
or
WHSL - Ref 317.3 WOR (2000)

World Book Encyclopedia - Ref 031 WOR

FlagNet.com - http://flagnet.com

Encyberpedia - Self-proclaimed as the "Living Encyclopedia from Cyberspace."  Includes categories on broad topics of interest.  http://www.encyberpedia.com/ency.htm

Information Please Almanac -Packs a whollop!  Infoplease Web sites offer an encyclopedia, a dictionary, and several continuously updated almanacs in an organized interface.  Use this tool to settle a sports argument, collect data sets for analysis, get a quick biography or timeline, or find out what happened today in history.  Contains extensive material on people, current events, entertainment, sports, business, science, or society. http://www.infoplease.com
or
WHSL - Ref 317.3 INF (1996)
 

Recipes/Food

WHSL has many cook books and recipe books.  Search the WHSL online catalog using subject headings such as:

Types of foods - i.e.,

Cake
Fish as food
Vegetarian cooking
Foods by country - i.e.,
French cooking
Mexican cooking
American cooking
The cooking of specific foods - i.e.,
Cooking - Vegetables
Cooking - Natural foods


The Edible Journey Through China - http://library.thinkquest.org/C004204/
Three students from Hong Kong, ages 13 to 14, created the Edible Journey through China website to educate visitors about Chinese history and culture through the country's cuisine. It's designed as an online tour; the first stop is the "History Museum," where the food timeline begins in 500,000 BC with Peking man. Each subsequent section teaches visitors about Chinese customs through various historical facts and lessons: techniques for table settings, the discovery of tea, the tradition of rice dumplings during the festival of Tuen Ng. Visitors can also explore the particulars of regional cuisine, such as why noodles are staples in northern China, whereas rice is more common in the southern region. Audio clips of Mandarin and Cantonese translations accompany the Chinese characters in the glossary of the "Information Center." An archive of  recipes in the "Interactive Spot" and a search engine are further finishing touches.

Global Gastronomer:  Cuisines of the World -  This site is devoted to links to recipes, food history, and food lore of all regions of the globe, with the goal of discovering, sharing, and appreciating the diverse tastes of all the world's people.  http://www.cs.yale.edu/~hupfer/global/gastronomer.html
Check  http://www.cs.yale.edu/~hupfer/global/regions/ for a menu of regional links to recipes (her map site is currently non-functional, so she suggested this!).

Recipe Sites - http://EmporiaChurchofChrist.i8.com/recipes.html
 

Tourism

Britannia  - Over 8000 pages of  information to explore. This site covers the British Isles like no one else. Research, plan and book your travel. Take a virtual tour. Experience Britain's history and British life today. http://britannia.com/

TripSpot - TripSpot is your virtual travel agent. "TripSpot was designed to ... bring the best travel sites together with insightful editorial in one convenient, user-friendly spot."  http://www.tripspot.com/

Excite Travel - Scroll down the main page a little to see the Trevel Guides section.  Choose an area of the world, then a specific country.  Other options show up in the left-hand bar that can provide you with further information on the specific country or just travel tips in general. http://www.excite.com/travel

Lonely Planet Destinations -  Use the pull down menus at the top of this site to obtain excellent culture, environment, history, and travel information. This is a super site (nm)!!! http://www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/
 

Topography

World Fact Book
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
WHSL - Ref 910 WOR
 

Transportation

World Fact Book
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
or
WHSL - Ref 910 WOR (1999)
 

Weather/Time Zones

World Time Zones
http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/tzones.html

World Weather Almanac (USA Today) - http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/worldcli.htm
 

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