Reference materials are great places to start your research, find quick facts or get statistics, maps and brief biographical information. Reference collections generally consist of things like dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, directories, almanacs and bibliographies. Some examples of the types of reference materials for the Adirondacks are provided below. This, however, is not an exhaustive list.
For almost any topic there will be resources that may be of use to you. For example if you are interested in the geology of the Adirondack region you may find a North American or New York Geology Encyclopedia useful even if it doesn’t specifically mention the Adirondacks in the title.
Almanacs
Kirschenbaum, Howard, Susan Schafstall and Janine Stuchin. The Adirondack Guide: An Almanac of essential information and assorted trivia. Raquette Lake, NY: Sagamore Institute, 1983.
Atlases
Beach, Richard J. and Malcolm Fairweather. Agricultural Atlas of New York State. Plattsburgh, NY: Dept. of Geography, State University of New York at Plattsburgh, 1979.
New York State Atlas. Albany, NY: New York State, Dept. of Transportation, 1983.
New York State Atlas and Gazetteer. Freeport, ME: DeLorme Mapping Co., 1993.
Bibliographies
Adirondack Mountain Club. Bibliography Committee. Adirondack bibliography supplement, 1956-1965; a list of books, pamphlets and periodical articles. Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y., The Adirondack Museum, 1973.
Cole, G. Glyndon and Dorothy Alice Plum. Historical Materials Relating to Northern New York; A Union Catalog. [Plattsburgh? N.Y.] North Country Reference and Research Resources Council, 1968.
Lopez. New York: a Guide to Information and Reference Resources. 1980.
Welch, Douglas B. Adirondack books, 1966-1992 : an annotated bibliography with a partial listing of book-length materials for the year 1993. Utica, NY: North Country Books, 1994.
Biographical Sources
Garraty, John Arthur, Mark C. Carnes and American Council of Learned Societies. American National Biography. New York, Oxford University Press, 1999.
Biography.com http://www.biography.com/search
"Search the Biography.com database for over 25,000 of the greatest lives, past and present."
Directories
The New York State Directory. San Mateo, CA: Walker’s Research LLC, 2001.
The New York Red Book: An illustrated yearbook of authentic information concerning New York State, its departments and political subdivisions and the officials who administer its affairs. 96th Edition. Albany, NY: New York Legal Publishing Corp., 2001.
Encyclopedias
Hamlin-Wilson, Gail, Donald B. Ricky and Nancy K. Capace. Encyclopedia of New York Indians: tribes, nations and people of the woodlands areas. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, 1998.
The Encyclopedia of New York. New York, Somerset Publishers, 2000.
Guides
Amsel, Sheri. The Adirondack Nature Guide. Mt. Kisco, NY: Pinto Press, 1997.
Folwell, Elizabeth. The Adirondack Book: a complete guide. Stockbridge, MA: Berkshire House, 1992.
Statistics and Facts
Cross, David and Joan Potter. The Book of Adirondack Firsts. Elizabethtown, NY: Pinto Press, 1992.