Waidner--Spahr Library
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English Pathfinder: Contemporary Literature
The following lists are not comprehensive. The items
listed on this page are representative of some of the most frequently
used research materials on this topic. To find more material, consult
the library catalog or contact your librarian for assistance.
Indexes
An index is a specialized database that organizes
information about the locations of articles in journals/magazines,
reports and newspapers; and book chapters, papers in conference
proceedings, and book reviews. Indexes provide the complete
bibliographic citation of an article, including the title
of the article, author, name of the journal, volume number,
the pages of the journal in which the article can be found,
and a short summary, or abstract, of the article. Some indexes
are in book form, and some are electronic databases. Some
electronic databases, including MLA, do NOT provide the complete
text of articles. For tips on how to effectively
search databases, and how to find journals that are not available
on-line, contact your librarian, or consult How
to Find Materials on English in the Waidner-Spahr Library.
MLA
International Bibliography (Modern Language Association)
The premier scholarly index for literature, language,
linguistics, and folklore.
Essay
and General Literature Index
Indexes chapters and essays contained in books of collected works.
Historical
Abstracts
Historical Abstracts covers materials treating all aspects of world
history, except the United States and Canada, from 1450 to the present.
Humanities
Full Text
Covers journal articles in the humanities, archaeology, art, classics, film,
folklore, history, journalism and communications, linguistics, literature, music,
performing arts, and religion
Humanities
and Social Sciences Retrospective
A bibliographic database that cites articles from English-language
periodicals. Coverage includes a wide range of interdisciplinary
fields covered in a broad array of humanities and social sciences
journals.
JSTOR
An interdisciplinary archive of over 600 journals in the arts, humanities,
and social sciences.
Literary
Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature
products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors, Contemporary
Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.
Literature Criticism Online
This index includes several literary criticism series including Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) and Twentieth Century Literature Criticism (TCLC).
Project Muse
Search journals published by university presses.
Encyclopedias
& Dictionaries
Dictionaries and encyclopedias are helpful in finding
basic information about your topic area. They may also serve as
sources of inspiration to you as you search for new topics to research.
The following list is not comprehensive. Search the library catalog for
more encyclopedias and dictionaries. Refer to How
to Find Materials on English in the Waidner-Spahr Library for
tips on how to best perform a search, or contact your librarian
for assistance.
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
REF PR19. O95 2006
Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature
REF PR19. C66 2002
Oxford Companion to English Literature
REF PR19. D73 1985
Larousse Dictionary of Literary Characters
REF PR19. L37 1994
St. James Reference Guide to English Literature
REF PR106. S7 1985
Reference Guide to English Literature
REF PR106. S7 1991
Guide to British Poetry Explication (Medieval through
Contemporary)
REF PR 311. M34 1991
The Columbia History of the British Novel
REF PR821. C65 1994
Contemporary Authors
REF PN453 .C63
Electronic:
Dictionary
of National Biography
Biographies of people who shaped the British Isles.
Biography
and Genealogy Master Index
Biography and Genealogy Master Index is the first place you should
look when seeking biographical information on any living or deceased
person worldwide. It is an electronic index to over 13 million biographical
entries in 3,400+ biographical reference works.
A database that includes biographic details on approximately 100,000 modern novelists, poets, playwrights, nonfiction writers, journalists and scriptwriters. Featured are current writers, the most-studied literary figures of the early 20th Century and authors from around the world whose works have been translated into English or published in the United States. Included are the author's writings, media adaptations, works in progress sidelights and interviews.
Dictionary
of Literary Biography
The Dictionary of Literary Biography presents career biographies and criticism
of writers from all eras and all genres through volumes dedicated to specific
types of literature and time periods.
Bibliographies
Modern British Literature
REF PR473 .T4 1966
Print:
The Contemporary Novel: A Checklist of Critical
Literature on the English Language Novel Since 1945
REF PS379 .A34 1996 1996
Electronic:
Literary
Index
Gale's Literary Index is a master index to the major literature
products published by Gale, including Contemporary Authors,
Contemporary Literary Critisicm, and Poetry Criticism.
Literature Criticism Online
This index includes several literary criticism series including Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) and Twentieth Century Literature Criticism (TCLC).
Literary
Resources on the Net
A "meta" site maintained by Rutgers University — Newark.