General information

• Research help
  • Consultations
    • Drop in during librarians' office hours (M 1-3, T 3-5, W 3-5, Th 1-3)
    • Make an appointment
  • Questions
    • Stop by the reference desk (a librarian is always on duty)
    • Text a Librarian
      Login with a davidson\username and password to view the instructions.
    • Email us (referencedesk@davidson.edu)
• Extended loans
  • Request at check out
  • Due date: Thursday, 10 December 2009 (Reading Day)
  • Subject to recall if others need them
  • Only for books needed for your thesis
  • Does not apply to books borrowed from other libraries

Handy Tools

• Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies. 5th ed. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 2008.
  Reference R 016.8 H289L5
• Modern Language Association (MLA) style
  • MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2009.
    Little Library Reference Desk: REF LB2369 .G53 2009
    Music Library Reference: LB2369 .G53 2009
  • MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 3rd ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2008.
    Reference Desk: REF PN147 .G444 2008
    A guide for scholars and professional writers.
• RefWorks
  Use to capture, retain, and organize citations, generate bibliographies, share references, and more. See also the library's guide to using RefWorks.

Background Information

• Biographical information
  • American National Biography.  Ed. John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes. 24 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999-2002.
    Reference R 920.073 A512
  • Biography Reference Bank. H.W. Wilson, 2003- .
  • The Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers, 1900-1945. Lorraine Elena Roses and Ruth Elizabeth Randolph. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1990.
    Reference R 928.1 R816h
  • Literature Resource Center
    Contains full-text biographies, critical essays, journal articles, and excerpts of criticism and reviews about over 130,000 literary authors and their works; covers dramatists, essayists, novelists, poets, and other writers from all time periods.
    Note: Includes
    • American Writers. Ed. Leonard Unger. New York: Scribner, 1974- .
      The library also has copies of the print volumes from 1974-2008; they are shelved in Reference at call number R 810.9 A512.
    • British Writers. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, 1979- .
      The library also has copies of the print volumes from 1979-2008; they are shelved in Reference at call number R 820.9 B8621.
    • Contemporary Authors. Detroit, MI: Gale: 1962- .
      The library also has copies of the print volumes from 1967-2003; they are shelved in Reference at call number R 928 C76.
    • Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1978- .
      The library also has copies of the print volumes from 1978-2007; they are shelved in Reference at call number R 928.1 D554
  • Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. 60 vols. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2004.
    Reference R 920 N2111
• Directories of Journals
  • MLA Directory of Periodicals
  • Ulrich's Periodical Directory
• Other Reference Works
  • Search the "reference resources" listed on the English indexes and databases page and other indexes and databases pages.
  • Do a keyword search in the Library Catalog and limit by material type "Reference Resources."
  • For a literary author, Do a subject keyword search for the author's name and limit by material type "Reference Resources."

Secondary Sources: Criticism, Analysis, Theory

• Catalogs
  • Library Catalog
    Includes information about books, government documents, and journals, magazines, and newspapers in the Library.
    
    • To locate appropriate Library of Congress Subject Headings, start with a keyword search and then browse records.
    • To locate works about a person, do a subject search for the person's name (last name first).
    • To locate bibliographies on a person or topic, do a keyword search and add the following: su bibliography.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a dollar sign $
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?.
  • WorldCat
    Indexes books, periodicals, and other materials held by libraries around the world. Search WorldCat to identify additional books on your topic and then order the books on interlibrary loan.
    Note: It can be helpful to identify relevant Library of Congress Subject Headings in the Library Catalogue first; you can then do a subject search in WorldCat to find additional items with these subject headings.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: insert a "w" between the words in a phrase (for example, "cold w war")
    • Wildcard: use a question mark ?

• Indices, Databases, and Bibliographies
  Core Resources | Reviews of Scholarship | Author and Subject Bibliographies | Other Resources
  • Core Resources
    • Annual Bibliography of English Language & Literature (ABELL)
      Indexes journal articles and books published from 1920 to present; also includes citations to book reviews. Covers all literatures in English as well as the English language, bibliography, textual studies, and the history of publishing.
      ABELL is a particularly good source of information about books published in the U.K. Many of these works do not appear in the MLAIB.
    • MLA International Bibliography
      (1926 to present). Indexes journal articles, books, and doctoral dissertations in the fields of English, American, European, Asian, African, and Latin American linguistics, modern languages and literatures, film studies, and folklore.
      For more information, see the MLAIB Search Planner.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
      • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
  • Reviews of Scholarship
    • American Literary Scholarship
      Contains evaluative surveys of recent scholarship and critical editions.
      • Print: Library has 1963-1973, 1997
        Little Library Stacks 810.5 A51
      • Online: 1998 to present in Project Muse
    • Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory
      • Online: 1996 to present
      • Print: 1996-2004
        Little Library Stacks 820.4 E58c
      Contains review essays on critical theory, including theory related to literature, culture, and media.
      Note: prior to 1996, these essays were included in the Year's Work in English Studies (see below).
    • Year's Work in English Studies
      • Online: 1996 to present
      • Print: 1920-2004
        Little Library Stacks 820.4 E58y
      Contains review essays on major authors as well as genres and literary periods.

  • Author & Subject Bibliographies
    • For a literary author, do a subject keyword search for the author's name and add the word "bibliographies."
    • For other topics, do a keyword search and add the word "bibliographies."
  • Other Resources
    Be sure to consult the English indexes and databases page as well as other relevant indexes and databases pages too.
    • Academic Search Premier
      (1975 to present) Indexes popular and scholarly articles in a broad range of subject areas; also includes citations to book reviews and citations to articles in several national newspapers.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
      • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
    • America: History & Life and Historical Abstracts
      (Time period covered: 1450 to present [world history]; prehistory to present [U.S. and Canadian history]. Publication coverage: 1954 to present). Indexes journal articles, book chapters, doctoral dissertations, and book reviews. (Each database can also be searched separately.)
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "
      • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
    • Annual Bibliography of the History of the Printed Book and Libraries. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1970- .
      Reference R 016.65 I611a
      Covers all aspects of printing and publishing, including periodical publishing.
    • Contemporary Women's Issues
      (1992 to present) Indexes popular articles, scholarly articles, books, newsletters, and reports on all aspects of women's studies, including gender, sociology, education, political science, and health.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: automatic
      • Phrase searching: automatic.
    • Essay & General Literature Index
      (1900 to present) Indexes chapters and essays in edited collections.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
      • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
    • Humanities Abstracts
      (1907 to present). Indexes articles in over 500 English-language journals in the fields of archaeology, art, classics, communication, film, folklore, history, languages and literatures, music, philosophy, religion, and theatre. Also includes citations for book, theatre, and film reviews as well as interviews, obituaries, and some original creative works. Includes the full text of selected articles from 1995 to the present.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
      • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
    • OmniFile Full Text Mega
      (1982 to present) Indexes articles from over 3,000 scholarly and popular periodicals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences; also includes the full text of selected articles from over 1,650 of these periodicals.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: unnecessary when using "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks ""
      • Wildcard: do not use with "All - Smart Search"; otherwise, use a question mark ?
    • Periodicals Index Online
      (c. 1665-1995) Indexes journal and magazine articles as well as book reviews in a broad array of humanities, social sciences, and science subjects.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: automatic
    • Web of Knowledge
      (c. 1900 to present) A multidisciplinary resource that provides citations to articles in thousands of journals in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences.
      Search Syntax:
      • Truncation: use an asterisk *
      • Phrase searching: use double quotations marks " "
      • Wildcard: use a question mark ?
    • Women Studies Abstracts
      Reference Index Area R 050 W872
      (1972 to present) Indexes popular articles, scholarly articles, and books on all aspects of women's studies, including history, education, gender, literature, religion, and art.
• Notable e-Book and e-Journal Collections
  • Cambridge Companions Online
    Contains the fully-searchable text of over 220 titles in the Cambridge Companions Literature and Classics series and Philosophy, Religion, and Culture series.
  • ebrary
    A collection of over 38,000 e-books published by over 220 academic, trade, and professional publishers; covers all subject areas. Also includes tools that allow you to create your own virtual bookshelf, bookmark pages, and add and save notes and highlights.
    Note: for full functionality, you need the ebrary Reader. This plugin is on all library and ITS computers, but if you are using your own computer, you can download it from the ebrary home page.
  • JSTOR
    Includes pdf copies of scholarly articles from a core collection of journals; also includes book reviews. Note:JSTOR does not contain articles from the most recent 3-5 years.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use a plus sign +
    • Phrase searching: automatic
  • Project Muse
    Contains full-text articles from journals published by university and scholarly presses.
    Search Syntax:
    • Truncation: use an asterisk *
    • Phrase searching: use double quotation marks " "