Background information can be found in encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks. These sources may also point out other books or articles relevant to your topic and can be helpful to find keywords, important terms, concepts and author names to use when searching databases.
UBC Library provides access to many excellent resources in both print and online versions; a select number are listed below.
When searching in Summon, use the filter book/ebook or start your search here (already limited to books and ebooks):
Keywords are natural language terms that you think describe your topic and typically words used to search in Summon or Google. Results may include some irrelevant content.
Subject terms are selected words pre-defined by a database and are used to describe the content of each item within that database. Results are typically very relevant to your topic.
Here are some useful subject terms in the catalogue that can be built on to locate resources: