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 A UTHORS


 
General Biographical Sources

Biography and Genealogy Master Index -- online via the Library Home Page and at Reference Z 5305 .U5 B56 -- Check this multi-volume, regularly supplemented set first, especially if you don't know anything more about the person than their name; consists of citations to more than 11 million biographical sketches appearing in more than 3,000 current and retrospective biographical dictionaries.

Biography Index -- online and at Reference Z 5301 .B5 (1946- present) -- An index to biographies appearing in books and magazines; includes references to obituaries, collections of letters, diaries, memoirs and bibliographies; probably the second best place to begin your research, after the title above.

Notable American Women, 1607-1950 -- Reference CT 3260 .N573 [2 volumes; supplement covers those deceased 1951-1975] -- Scholarly signed articles with good bibliographies.

Great Lives from History -- several series, e.g.:

American -- Reference CT 214 .G74 1987

American Women -- Reference HQ 1412 .G74 1995

Encyclopedia Britannica -- full text articles plus links to Internet sites (print copy available in Library's Reference alcove)
 
Literary Biographical Sources

Humanities Abstracts Full Text online, 1984 to present; some full-text); 1983 back to 1920 available in Reference Alcove -- includes citations to literary journal articles.

MLA Bibliography online 1963 to present; 1956 to 1989 at Reference Z7006 .M64 -- provides citations to journal articles, books, parts of books and dissertations.

Contemporary Authors --  online  and at Reference Z 1224 .C6 -- A bio-bibliographical guide to more than 90,000 current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television and other fields; a cumulative index provides access to the complete set (more than 160 print volumes), with cross references to entries in companion series.

Dictionary of Literary Biography -- more than 160 volumes, each volume a different group/topic; cumulative -- Reference PS 21 .D5

American Women Writers : a critical reference guide from colonial times to the present -- Reference PS 147 .A4

Modern Black Writers (1978) -- Reference PN 841 .M58

World Authors, 1950-1990 in several volumes -- Reference PN451 .W3 etc.


 
 
Selected Resources in Literature

LUIS searches: try keyword searches such as

 
author AND criticism
plath AND criticism
author AND bibliography
shakespeare AND hamlet AND (criticism OR bibliography)

Contemporary Literary Criticism -- Reference PN 771 .C59 (more than 100 volumes) -- excerpts from criticism of modern writers (still living); use cumulative indexes to locate your entries.

Twentieth-century Literary Criticism -- Reference PN 771 .G27 (more than 70 volumes) -- provides access to excerpts to criticism of authors, playwrights, etc. who died between 1900 and 1960; cumulative indexes.

Nineteenth-century Literature Criticism -- Reference PN 761 .N5 (currently 4 volumes) -- excerpts from criticism of writers who lived between 1800 and 1900, from contemporary to current evaluations of their work.

Essay and General Literature --  online, 1985 to present; also at Reference AI 3 .E752 (1900-present) index to chapters of books; determine local holding by searching LUIS.

Black Literature Criticism (3 volumes) -- Reference PS153.N5 B556 1992

Magill Critical Survey of Poetry (8 volumes) -- Reference PR502 .C85 1992

Magill Critical Survey of Drama (7 volumes) -- Reference PR623 .C75 1994

Magill Critical Survey of Long Fiction (8 volumes) -- Reference PR821 .C7 1991

Articles on American Literature (3 volumes) – Information Desk Z1225 .L4923

Magill Critical Survey of Short Fiction (7 volumes) -- Reference PN3321 .C7 1993

Latin American Writers (3 volumes) -- Reference PQ7081.A1 L37 1989


 
 
 

Library Home Page’s Subject Browser for English Literature-related Internet sites:
 
 
 
BOOK REVIEWS

The two main sources for book reviews are 

  • Book Review Digest, online, (1983 to present); and 1905 to the present at Reference Z 1219 .C96 
  • Book Review Index, 1965 to the present at Reference Z 1035 .A1 B6
  • ProQuest [online; full text articles], dates vary but usually mid- 1980s to present 
  • Readers Guide to Periodical Literature (Reference Index Alcove), especially 1900-1990 [then ProQuest should suffice] 
  • New York Times Index (Reference Index Alcove), annual volumes; also search http://www.nytimes.com/books/home for 50,000 reviews published since 1980 (you have to register but it's free to use afterwards); also available via ProQuest (1988 - present, citations only); available full-text via Academic Universe 
  • Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reivews in Scholarly Journals 1886-1974 (Reference) Z1035 .A1 C64

 

For assistance in locating and using these and other library resources, ask at the Reference Desk (1st floor), or contact us.


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  Updated March 10th, 2003     Maintained by: Library Instruction
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