This brings us to libraries. Most of the stamp books in most public libraries have been stolen over the years. Now that I think about it, most hobby books in most public libraries seem to get stolen over the years. In any event, your local library should have a set of Scott catalogs in their reference section. They could even have a current set.
Many libraries allow the next to current set to be checked out.
A lot of libraries sell off their old books. Now we will go back to the Scott catalogs. After you have read the background info you are ready to tackle the rest of it. Scott now has a stamp identifier in the back that will be of help to the beginning foreign collector. Other than telling you to struggle through Scott until you know how it works, I would suggest you always read the little notes under the stamps that you are looking up.