This guide will help you find books, videos, articles and websites for use in your travels to Costa Rica. Use the tabs below to start searching for different types of materials.
If you need additional help, please feel free to contact me or a reference librarian: Ask A Librarian.
Parents - do you have a child interested in studying abroad?
Parents can play a significant role in enabling their children to have a valuable and affordable international experience. See A Parent's Guide to Study Abroad English.
Many of the following books are available electronically. You will need a current library card to access books online. Please note that some books are available for one simultaneous user only. Titles of books available in print will include the call number.
Travel Guides
General QL228.C8 B449 2005
General G155.C67 R63 2006
General QH108.C6 H47 1992
General F1543.5 .R86 2006
Culture & Politics
General F1549.L55 P87 1993
General F1543.2 .F65 2008
General F1543.5 .D3 2002
General F1546 .W55 1998
General JL1450 .B66 1998
General F1546 .C765 2004
General F1548.2 .W35 2003
General HD8039.C6382 C87 1999
General F1548.2 A784 1994
General E183.8.C8 H66 1994
General F1546 .A75 1986
General HD1339.C8 E33 1999
General F1543 .B563 1999
Geography & Nature
General GE199.C8 E83 2015
General QL687.C8 G37 2007
General F1544 .H47 2008
General QH108.C6 C67 1983
General QL568.F7 H66 1996
General QK495.O64 D68 1993
General QK495.E9 F5 1995
General QH77.C8 E935 1999
General QL687.C8 S75 1989
General QH108.C6 S44 1994
General QL723.C8 W34 2007
General QH31.S59 A3 1992
General QH108.C6 F67 2008
General QH108.C6 Y68 1991
General QK217 .Z82 2007
General QL228.C8 W55 2010
History
General F1543.2 .F65 2008
General HC 147 .C8 T9
General HC 143 .G83 1986
General F1546 .C765 2004
General F1546 .R36 2012
General AM101.S2 M813 1987
General F1543 .B563 1999
General F1557.B55 P34 1977x
Videos
- Academic Video Online
Find hundreds of newsreel footage and documentaries on Costa Rica. Subjects include culture, politics, history and current events. Refine your search results by limiting your results to, for example, discipline, subject and historical era. These limiters are located on the left side of page.
- Ethnographic Video Online
- Films on Demand
Many films on Costa Rica, primarily from the perspective of business, current and historical footage.
Find hundreds of newsreel footage and documentaries on Costa Rica. Subjects include culture, politics, history and current events.
E-book Collections
E-books are published using a variety of platforms - some can be accessed using tablet readers.
Searching Collections:
These collections can be searched by using the keyword "Italy" for broad search results. Adding keywords such as, for example, "History" or "Culture" to your search will produce fewer results but these results will be more precise.
Many, but not all, books in these collections can also be located and accessed by searching in the Library's book catalog.
- ebrary
- EBSCO e-book collection
- Humanities (ACLS) E-book Collection
Many e-books can be viewed from your computer or downloaded to your e-book reader. You need to create an account to download -books to your device.
Find several e-books on Italy covering various subjects such as Culture and Society, History, Politics and Literature. NOTE: Books can be viewed by single page on a computer, or, can be downloaded to an -book reader. You'll be prompted to create an EBSCO account. The loan period for e-books is four hours. Books can be renewed after the initial loan period expires.
This resource includes over 1500 full-text, cross-searchable books in the humanities selected by scholars for their continuing importance for research and teaching. Pages from this collection can be printed and emailed.
Databases - Best Bets
Below are databases covering Art, History and general topics. You can access these databases from the alphabetical listing of databases
- Academic OneFile
- Academic Search Complete
- Art and Architecture Complete
- Credo Reference
- CultureGrams
- JSTOR
- Literature Resource Center
- Oxford Art Online
- Project Muse
Academic OneFile is great for both popular and peer-reviewed full-text articles from the world's leading journals and reference sources, and is an excellent resource for general research.
Academic Search Complete provides both scholarly and popular journal coverage for nearly all academic areas of study and is a great resource for general research.
Excellent source for information on French artists, famous works of art by French artists and French art traditions.
Credo Reference is a full-text online reference service. The collection includes over three million entries from hundreds of well-regarded titles from some of world's the best reference publishers.
Culturegrams is a core reference resource on understanding the world's peoples through the documentation of the unique details of their customs, traditions, and daily life.
JSTOR is an archive of digitized journal articles ranging in date from the 1700's to the early 2000's. These collections span a variety of subjects in the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences.
Literature Resource Center provides access to biographies and criticism of authors from every age and literary discipline. The Literature Resource Center covers more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.
This resource includes the full-text of:
Grove Art Online
Oxford Companion to Western Art
Encyclopedia of Aesthetics
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms
Project MUSE offers full-text current and archival articles from 500+ scholarly journals from major university presses covering literature and criticism, history, performing arts, cultural studies, education, philosophy, political science, gender studies, and more. Updated continually.
Websites - Guidebooks and Area Studies
Feature articles on nature travel in Costa Rica. Also includes information on hotels, restaurants, and travel tips.
From the International Ecotourism Society, find information on climate, geography, biodiversity, people, and sustainable travel experiences.
Organized by region and city, Fodor's Costa Rica provides many useful tips for travelers in Costa Rica. Essential Costa Rican phrases for travelers, tips for eating and staying in Costa Rica, and links to ecotourism and itineraries are of note.
Frommer's offers several notable sections on its website, including a broad overview of Costa Rica in the Introduction section, guides covering nature and active pursuits, as well as overviews of art and architecture, food, history, and cultural activities found in the In Depth section.
Exceptionally useful website, check out the Things To Do section in particular. Many of the attractions are reviewed by the Lonely Planet staff in their irreverent but always good natured and engaging style.
General information on traveling in Costa Rica - note the section labeled "Useful Information" in center of page.
Find facts, maps, photos and videos on Costa Rica. NOTE - You will need to create an account to access all free content on this site.
Articles, photos and video about Costa Rica from The New York Times, including hotel, restaurant and attraction information with reader reviews and advice on where to stay, where to eat and what to do.
Includes feature articles and sections on Where To Go and When To Go as well a section called Essentials that includes information on food, accommodations, holidays, parks and more.
Directory arranged by "best for" categories and by activity. Includes useful sections on restaurants and animal and nature related activities. Provides user-written reviews.