Study Abroad - Costa Rica

Costa Rica. Flickr image by Arturo Sotillo. Available at https://flic.kr/p/22tsd2This 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.

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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.

  1. Books and Videos
  2. Databases
  3. Websites

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

  • Costa Rica
    General QL228.C8 B449 2005

  • Costa Rica: An Ecotraveller's Guide
    General G155.C67 R63 2006

  • Costa Rica: Mapa-Guía de la Naturaleza
    General QH108.C6 H47 1992

  • Frommer's Costa Rica 2009 - eBook

  • Rum & Reggae's Costa Rica
    General F1543.5 .R86 2006


    Culture & Politics

  • Banana Fallout: Class, Color, and Culture Among West Indians in Costa Rica
    General F1549.L55 P87 1993

  • Costa Rica
    General F1543.2 .F65 2008

  • Costa Rica: A Global Studies Handbook - eBook

  • Costa Rica: A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture
    General F1543.5 .D3 2002

  • Costa Rica: Politics, Economics, and Democracy
    General F1546 .W55 1998

  • Costa Rica: Quest for Democracy
    General JL1450 .B66 1998

  • The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics
    General F1546 .C765 2004

  • Culture and Customs of Costa Rica - eBook

  • Culture Shock! Costa Rica
    General F1548.2 .W35 2003

  • Farmers of the Golden Bean: Costa Rican Households and the Global Coffee Economy
    General HD8039.C6382 C87 1999

  • Horizons of Peace: The Costa Rican Contribution to the Peace Process in Central America
    General F1548.2 A784 1994

  • Hostile Act : U.S. Policy in Costa Rica in the 1980s
    General E183.8.C8 H66 1994

  • Los Caminos de la Libertad
    General F1546 .A75 1986

  • Peasants Against Globalization: Rural Social Movements in Costa Rica
    General HD1339.C8 E33 1999

  • The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica
    General F1543 .B563 1999


    Geography & Nature

  • The Battle for Paradise: Surfing, Tuna, and One Town's Quest to Save a Wave
    General GE199.C8 E83 2015

  • The Birds of Costa Rica: A Field Guide
    General QL687.C8 G37 2007

  • Costa Rica: A Journey Through Nature
    General F1544 .H47 2008

  • Costa Rican Natural History
    General QH108.C6 C67 1983

  • The Earth Dwellers: Adventures in the Land of Ants
    General QL568.F7 H66 1996

  • Field Guide to the Orchids of Costa Rica and Panama
    General QK495.O64 D68 1993

  • Flora Costaricensis
    General QK495.E9 F5 1995

  • The Green Republic: A Conservation History of Costa Rica
    General QH77.C8 E935 1999

  • A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica
    General QL687.C8 S75 1989

  • La Selva: Ecology and Natural History of a Neotropical Rain Forest
    General QH108.C6 S44 1994

  • The Mammals of Costa Rica: a Natural History and Field Guide
    General QL723.C8 W34 2007

  • A Naturalist in Costa Rica
    General QH31.S59 A3 1992

  • Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond
    General QH108.C6 F67 2008

  • Sarapiquí Chronicle: A Naturalist in Costa Rica
    General QH108.C6 Y68 1991

  • Tropical Plants of Costa Rica: A Guide to Native and Exotic Flora
    General QK217 .Z82 2007

  • The Wildlife of Costa Rica: A Field Guide
    General QL228.C8 W55 2010


    History

  • Costa Rica
    General F1543.2 .F65 2008

  • Costa Rica: A Global Studies Handbook - eBook

  • Costa Rica: A Study in Economic Development
    General HC 147 .C8 T9

  • Costa Rica Before Coffee: Society and Economy on the Eve of the Export Boom
    General HC 143 .G83 1986

  • The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics
    General F1546 .C765 2004

  • The History of Costa Rica
    General F1546 .R36 2012

  • Historical dictionary of Costa Rica - eBook
  • National Museum of Costa Rica: Over One Hundred Years of History, May 4th 1887-May 4th 1987
    General AM101.S2 M813 1987

  • The Ticos: Culture and Social Change in Costa Rica
    General F1543 .B563 1999

  • "What Happen": A Folk-History of Costa Rica's Talamanca Coast
    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.
      alexstreetcostarica.PNG

    • Ethnographic Video Online
    • Find hundreds of newsreel footage and documentaries on Costa Rica. Subjects include culture, politics, history and current events.

    • Films on Demand
      Many films on Costa Rica, primarily from the perspective of business, current and historical footage.


    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
    • 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.

    • EBSCO e-book collection
    • 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.

    • Humanities (ACLS) E-book Collection
    • 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 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
    • 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.

    • Art and Architecture Complete
    • Excellent source for information on French artists, famous works of art by French artists and French art traditions.

    • Credo Reference
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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
    • 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.

    • Oxford Art Online
    • 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
    • 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

  • Condé Nast Traveller – Costa Rica
    Feature articles on nature travel in Costa Rica. Also includes information on hotels, restaurants, and travel tips.

  • ecoDestinations – Costa Rica
    From the International Ecotourism Society, find information on climate, geography, biodiversity, people, and sustainable travel experiences.

  • Fodor’s Travel – Costa Rica Travel Guide
    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 – Costa Rica
    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.

  • Lonely Planet – Costa Rica
    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.

  • Michelin – Costa Rica Travel Guide
    General information on traveling in Costa Rica - note the section labeled "Useful Information" in center of page.

  • National Geographic – Costa Rica
    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.

  • NY Times – Costa Rica Travel Coverage
    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.

  • Rough Guides – Costa Rica
    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.

  • Yahoo Travel – Costa Rica
    Directory arranged by "best for" categories and by activity. Includes useful sections on restaurants and animal and nature related activities. Provides user-written reviews.