10 Curious and Unusual Reference eBooks You Can Add to Credo

10 Curious and Unusual Reference eBooks You Can Add to Credo

March 14, 2024
Happy student reading an unusual reference book on her tablet

Let’s face it—few people think of encyclopedias as “light reading.” And, yet, some of the most fascinating book titles you can find come in the form of reference books. Subscribers to Credo Reference for higher education institutions and public libraries already know that Credo has hundreds of searchable, full-text titles from the world’s foremost reference publishers, with even more available for perpetual purchase. Here, we’re highlighting 10 reference eBooks that students and researchers at your institution might not only read for research but for fun as well—all of which you can add to your Credo platform.

Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceEncyclopedia of Vampire Mythology 

McFarland, 2010

From the earliest days of oral history to the present, the vampire myth persists among mankind’s deeply rooted fears. This encyclopedia, with entries ranging from “Abchanchu” to “Zmeus,” includes nearly 600 different species of historical and mythological vampires, fully described and detailed.

 

Advanced Crime Scene Photography, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceAdvanced Crime Scene Photography

CRC Press, 2015

Advanced Crime Scene Photography explains how to identify crime scene challenges, design plans to capture images correctly, and execute those plans successfully. Seamlessly integrating photography principles with corresponding applications in crime scene photography—moving progressively from basic to more advanced concepts—this book demonstrates how to record photographs in low-light conditions, including the use of flash and painting with light techniques.

 

Ancient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceAncient Ink: The Archaeology of Tattooing

University of Washington Press, 2017

Ancient Ink, the first book dedicated to the archaeological study of tattooing, presents new, globe-spanning research examining tattooed human remains, tattoo tools, and ancient art. Connecting ancient body art traditions to modern culture through Indigenous communities and the work of contemporary tattoo artists, the volume’s contributors reveal the antiquity, durability, and significance of body decoration, illuminating how different societies have used their skin to construct their identities.

 

Atlas of Clinically Important Fungi, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceAtlas of Clinically Important Fungi

Wiley, 2017

The Atlas of Clinically Important Fungi provides readers with an alphabetical list of fungi as well as listing the division of fungi by both sporulation and morphology.

 

 

Blackwell Literature Handbooks: The Crime Fiction Handbook, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceBlackwell Literature Handbooks: The Crime Fiction Handbook

Wiley, 2012

The Crime Fiction Handbook presents a comprehensive introduction to the origins, development, and cultural significance of the crime fiction genre, focusing mainly on American, British, and Scandinavian texts. This resource provides an accessible and well-written introduction to the genre of crime fiction and moves with ease between a general overview of the genre and useful theoretical approaches. It includes a close analysis of the key texts in the crime fiction tradition and identifies what makes crime fiction of such cultural importance and illuminates the social and political anxieties at its heart. This resource also shows the similarities and differences between British, American, and Scandinavian crime fiction traditions.

Encyclopedia of Weird Detectives, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceEncyclopedia of Weird Detectives

McFarland, 2019

The detective genre has explored supernatural and paranormal themes throughout its colorful history. Stories of detectives investigating spiritualists, ghostly apparitions, the occult and psychics have spanned pulp fiction magazines, comic books, novels, film, television, animation, and video games. This encyclopedia covers the history of the genre in its multiple forms and informs and adds to the knowledge of either the new or informed reader.

 

Encyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceEncyclopedia of Imaginary and Mythical Places

McFarland, 2014

This encyclopedia catalogs more than 800 imaginary and mythological lands from all over the world, including fairy realms, settings from Arthurian lore, and kingdoms found in fairy tales and political and philosophical works, including Sir Thomas More’s Utopia and Plato’s Atlantis.

 

The Encyclopaedia of Liars and Deceivers, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceThe Encyclopaedia of Liars and Deceivers

Reaktion Books, 2014

From counterfeit medicines and banknotes to bogus perpetual wonder-working machines and sports memorabilia, author Roelf Bolt reveals that almost everything has been forged or faked by someone at some point in history. He offers biographies and general observations on specific categories of deceit, and the book includes a number of well-known figures—Einstein, Ernest Hemingway, and President Francois Mitterand among them—as well as the many individuals who would have remained anonymous had their duplicity not come to light.

The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceThe Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies

Macmillan Publisher Int’l Ltd., 2018

The first holistic academic study of dark tourism combines empirical case studies with “real-world” viewpoints from the tourism industry and the media.

 

 

Witchcraft: The Basics, available for perpetual purchase to add to Credo ReferenceWitchcraft: The Basics

Routledge, 2017

Witchcraft: The Basics is an accessible and engaging introduction to the scholarly study of witchcraft, exploring the phenomenon of witchcraft from its earliest definitions in the Middle Ages through to its resonances in the modern world.

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Want More Out-of-the-Ordinary Titles?

Infobase also publishes some reference titles on fascinating topics. Our eBook collections, including our Public Library eBook Collection, offers convenient access to thousands of acclaimed eBooks from the award-winning Facts On File, Chelsea House, Ferguson’s, and Bloom’s imprints, including intriguing titles such as:

  • Mysteries, Legends, and Unexplained Phenomena series (15 titles)
  • The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology 
  • The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy 
  • And many more!

In addition, in our award-winning Bloom’s Literature database, you can find content from: 

  • The Facts On File Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend 
  • The Facts On File Companion to Classical Drama, which features many entries on the countless ancient works that are lost to us and only exist in briefly quoted fragments
  • Encyclopedias exploring different types of fiction, including Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Encyclopedia of American Popular Fiction, and Encyclopedia of Fantasy and Horror Fiction

Subscribers: Log in today to check out the fascinating reference content in Infobase’s Public Library eBook Collection and Bloom’s Literature.

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About The Author

Patrice Keville (she/her) has been Proofreader/Coordinator at Infobase for nearly a decade and has worked in marketing and editorial capacities at library and education-focused companies for well over 15 years. Prior to working at Infobase, she was an Assistant Editor at the H.W. Wilson Company, where she worked on H.W. Wilson’s Core Collections (formerly Standard Catalogs); she was also Online Editor at Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Matthew.