Encyclopedias
The Photography Encyclopedia. Ref. TR 9 .M39 1999
Short entries but a large collection of pictures of photographers.
Encyclopedia of Photography. Ref. TR 9 .F6 1993
This book is good for the technical aspects of photography.
Pictorial Cyclopedia of Photography. Ref. TR 9 .F62 1968
Ditto for this book.
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. Ref. TR 642 .E5 2006
This three-volume title is a great place to explore a research paper.
Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography Ref TR 9 H25 2008 This two volume set is another fine place to explore a topic.
Dictionaries
A Dictionary of the Photographic Art. Ref. TR 9 .S67 1979
Looking at Photographs: A Guide to Technical Terms. Ref.TR 9 .B35 1991
Guides to Collections
Guide to Photographic Collections at the Smithsonian Institution. Ref. TR 6 .U62 W37
International Photography: George Eastman House Index to Photographers, Collections, and Exhibitions. Ref. TR 12 .E85 1998
Bibliographies
Nineteenth Century Photography. Ref. TR 15 .J64 A1 1990
A Highly Important Library of the History of Photography. Ref. TR 145 .J33 1990
Nineteenth-century Photography: An Annotated Bibliography, 1839-1879. Ref. TR 15 .J64 A1 1990
History of Photography: A Bibliography of Books. Ref. TR 15 .A1 R66 1989 v.1-4.
International Photography: George Eastman House Index to Photographers, Collections and Exhibitions. Ref. TR 12 .E85 1998
Biography (not strictly biographical)
Photographers: A Sourcebook for Historical Research. Ref. TR 15 .P477 2000
International Guide to Nineteenth-Century Photographers and Their Works. Ref. TR 15 .E48 1988
An Illustrated Bio-Bibliography of Black Photographers, 1940-1988. Ref. TR 139 .W55 1988
Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Ref. TR 139 .P35 2000
Biographies of Western Photographers. Ref. TR 139 .M38 1997
Photographers Encyclopaedia International, 1839 to the Present. Ref. TR 139 .A94 1985
Contemporary Photographers. Ref. TR 139 .C663 1988
Macmillan Biographical Encyclopedia of Photographic Artists and Innovators. Ref. TR 139 .B767 1983
Resources for Collectors
The Photograph Collector's Guide. Ref. TR 6.5 .W57
History (N.B.: These are not Reference books)
Davis, Keith F. An American Century of Photography: From Dry-Plate to Digital. Kansas City: Hallmark Cards, in association with Harry N. Abrams, 1995. (TR 23 .H35 1999)
Frizot, Michel, ed. A New History of Photography. Cologne: Könemann, 1998. (TR 15 .N6813 1998)
Greenough, Sarah. On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography. Washington: National Gallery of Art; Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1989. (TR 15 .O5 1989)
Hambourg, Maria Morris, et al. The Waking Dream: Photography's First Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993. (TR 650 .W26 1993)
Hambourg, Maria Morris, and Christopher Phillips. The New Vision: Photography between the World Wars. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989. (TR 646 .U6 N4818 1989)
Lemagny, Jean-Claude, and André Rouillé, eds. A History of Photography: Social and Cultural Perspectives. Cambridge: Oxford University Press, 1986. (TR 15 .H5613 1987)
Newhall, Beaumont. The History of Photography from 1839 to the Present. 5th ed. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1982. (TR 15 .N47 1982)
Rosenblum, Naomi. A History of Women Photographers. Paris, London, New York: Abbeville Press, 1994. (TR 139 .R67 2000)
Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography. 3rd ed. New York: Abbeville Press, 1997. (TR 15 .R67 1997)
Szarkowski, John. Photography Until Now. New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1989. (TR 15 .S965 1989)