Encyclopedias and and other reference works provide background information and can be used to identify key people, events and dates which can then be used as search terms for finding additional information. In addition most encyclopedia articles include short bibliographies that will lead you to the major works on the topic. Below are just a few examples. You can find these in Search It by typing in keywords or subject headings and selecting those that indicate "Encyclopedia" or have a REF call number.

You can find some encyclopedia articles in the below databases. These databases contain full encyclopedias but allow you to search across works for specific articles. (These are like Wikipedia, but created and selected by scholars and librarians.)

The following links also contain reference material that will provide you basic background information on a variety of topics.