Sources of Basic EU Information
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Memorial Library Reference Department

Dictionaries, Encyclopedias & Handbooks

Blair, Alasdair. The Longman Companion to the European Union Since 1954. London: Longman, 1999. (Longman Companions to History)
Ref JN15 B59 1999
Covers all aspects of the EU in chronologies, articles on EU institutions, biographies, a glossary and more.

Encyclopedia of the European Union. Ed. By Desmond Dinan. Updated ed. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
Ref JN30 E52 2000
Articles of a paragraph to several columns on EU-related topics and people.

The European Union. Ed. by Norris Smith. Bronx, NY: H.W. Wilson, 2005. (The Reference Shelf; v. 77, no. 1)
Ref AC1 R4 V. 77 no. 1
A collection of brief articles on the history and policies of the EU with a bibliography for further reading.

The European Union Handbook. Ed. by Jackie Gower; adviser, Ian Thomson. 2nd ed. London; Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2002. (Regional Handbooks of Economic Development)
Ref D1060 E97 2002
Brief signed articles on essential EU-related topics, including section on “History and Context”.

How the European Works: A Citizen's Guide to the EU Institutions. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003.
Ref JC30 H69 2003
Short and clear chapters on treaties, decision-making procedures, and EU institutions.

Information Handbook of the Council of the European Union. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities [latest ed. 2002].
Ref HC241.2 C737
Basic information on the activities and publications of the Council.

Johnston, Mary Troy. “European Union.” In: Europe Since 1945: An Encyclopedia. Ed. By Bernard A. Cook. New York: Garland, 2002. Vol. 1, p. 351-356.
Ref D1058 E8954 2001

Leach, Rodney. Europe: A Concise Encyclopedia of the European Union from Aachen to Zollverein. 3rd ed. London: Profile, 2000.
Ref JN30 L43 2000
Short articles on European institutions, topics, and people.

Phinnemore, David, and Lee McGowan. A Dictionary of the European Union. London: Europa, 2004.
Ref KJE926.5 P55 2004
Short definitions of names, topics, and institutions.

Ramsay, Anne. Eurojargon: A Dictionary of European Union Acronyms, Abbreviations and Terminology. 7th ed. Comp. and ed. by Eric Davies. Manchester: EIA, 2004.
Ref HC240 E748 2004

Directories

Day, Alan J. Directory of European Union Political Parties. London: John Harper, 2000
Ref JN50 D39 2000
Information on national political parties by country, with an appendix covering European Parliament Party Groups.

Euro Guide: Yearbook of the Institutions of the European Union and of the other European Organizations. Bruxelles: Editions Delta, 2002.
Ref JN15 A651
Primarily a directory of agencies and people, it also includes brief descriptions of EU institutions as well as of other European IGOs such as the Council of Europe, EFTA, etc.

Who’s Who in the European Union?: Interinstitutional Directory. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 1997- [latest ed. 2003/2004] etc.
Ref HC241.2 I5974
Also on the web. Url: http://europa.eu.int/idea/en/index.htm
Primarily a directory of EU personnel; includes a useful brief introduction to the institutions of the EU.