Use subject encyclopedias to understand the background of your topic, or for context about unfamiliar names or events you encounter while using primary sources. Subject encyclopedias will often cite key scholarly works as well.
Print copies of subject encyclopedias are usually in the circulating collection (Location "Main"), not in Special Collections.
LGBT: Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. Marc Stein, ed. Thomson Gale, 2004. Also in print.
GLBTQ Encyclopedia [collaborative online project]. GLBTQ Project, 2003-2015.
Christopher Isherwood Encyclopedia. David Garrett Izzo. McFarland, 2005.
Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. George E. Haggerty, ed. Garland, 2000.
Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian and Gay Liberation Movements. JoAnne Myers. Scarecrow Press, 2013.
Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement: Still the Rage. JoAnne Myers. Scarecrow, 2003.
Internet Lesbian and Gay Television Series, 1996-2014. Vincent Terrace. McFarland, 2015.
Lesbian Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Bonnie Zimmerman, ed. Garland, 2000.
LGBT: Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America. Marc Stein, ed. Thomson Gale, 2004. Also online.
Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture. David A. Gerstner, ed. Routledge, 2006.