Located on the Madison campus, the office reaches out to all UW campuses through its many regular and special publications, reference assistance, and professional presentations and consultation. The Research Libraries of The New York Public Library are one of the most important resource centers for Women's Studies in the United States. In addition to vast retrospective holdings relating to women, including manuscript and archival material, NYPL has a strong collection of current Women's Studies materials. The Women's Studies Database, created in September 1992, serves those people interested in the women's studies profession and in general women's issues. The database contains collections of conference announcements, calls for papers, and employment opportunities, as well as a picture gallery, and a significant number of government documents, and much more.
Most disciplines have subject-specific reference works.
These works provide an overview or introduction to an issue, event, a person, or a phenomenon. This is often a good place to start to narrow or broaden a topic. Most often general information is an introductory article or chapter in an encyclopedia or dictionary or handbook.