To the Handbook base of approximately 16,000 articles the editors have added another 7,500 entries that dramatically expand both the scope of topical coverage and the level of detail. All in all, the New Handbook includes an almost fourfold increase in material. Its articles represent the efforts of more than 3,000 authors from many walks of life. They include professional scholars, amateur historians and genealogists, college and university students, and numerous other individuals with special knowledge and a willingness to write about it. Given the diverse nature of our authorship and the special enthusiasm they have brought to the New Handbook , the editors have made special efforts to give credit where credit is due.
Most entries carry a byline designating their author or authors.
The primary exceptions are unsigned entries from the original Handbook for which authorship could not be determined and the large number of staff-written entries on minor geographic features, where bylines were omitted in order to conserve space.