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Background Information
| Reference | World Wide Web |
Reference
Unless you are an expert, you probably want to start out getting a little background information on your country. This includes a brief history, major events, major figures, some geography, a few critical statistics. The quickest way to get an authoritative background is to consult a reference book.
The best reference books to start with are listed below along with their
call numbers. Remember, these are all reference books, so they
will all be found in the Reference Room. An added advantage of
using these print resources is the presence of a Reference Librarian.
He or she will be able to provide invaluable assistance with your country
information search.
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World Wide Web
If, however, you are determined to use only computers, you can read about your country in one of the sources listed here. The information in each one varies somewhat for each country. Try them all! Be sure to look at the DATES for each discrete piece of information.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Tips:
Search under your country's name. Select LONG ARTICLE. Then Select CONTENTS.
You will then get an outline of the information on that country.
World Travel Tourism
Tips:
The Country Profiles section (which you will find listed pretty
far down under the Content Guide) has a wealth of information that goes
on for many "pages". Sadly, you cannot get it all in one long screen.
But, there is a LOT there. IMPORTANT NOTICE This page didn't work very
well at all with Netscape when I tried it. If you are having problems
selecting, for example, the Country Profiles section, try using a different
browser.
CountryWatch
Tips:
Commercial Data International's CountryWatch database contains current
lengthy historical, political, and economic profiles of 191 countries
in downloadable pdf files. The main audience for this database is
the corporate world, so there is an emphasis on information related to
investment climate, e.g. taxation, stock market, environmental controls.
Each profile includes a great number of detailed economic statistics.
Background Notes
Tips:
This site comes from the U.S. Department of State can give you a thumbnail
kind of sketch. Watch the dates on these, though! Some are quite old.
Portals to
the World
Tips:
This site is also from the Library of Congress. It is a selective set
of links "... providing authoritative, indepth information ..." (from
their homepage) about countries of the world on the WWW.
Country Commercial Guides
Tips:
The U.S. State Department publishes lengthy, substantial Country Commercial
Guides annually to assist companies trying to do business in foreign countries.
Although focused on business-related information, these are wealths of
the-most-currently-available economic statistics among other things! The
1997-2001 CCGs are easily accessed at: http://www.state.gov/www/about_state/business/com_guides/2001/index.html
However, to get the most recent CCG, though, you must REGISTER. Follow these instructions:
- Go to http://www.export.gov/
- Click on Market Research in the left gray panel.
- Then click on Country and Industry Market Reports
- You'll have to register (no cost), saying you are a student/researcher, fill out the form... it was fast!
Country
Information International Sites
Tips:
You may also want to look at our list of international/ world wide sites.
Country
Information Regional Pages
Tips:
You may also want to look at our list of links to pages that focus on
a particular region.