Information Sources in AMERICAN LITERATURE
Use tomCat (the U of M Library catalog).
- For subject searches, use Library of Congress Subject Headings such as american literature
19th century or poets, american . (LC Subject Headings volumes are available in Reference.)
- For books about individual writers, use the writer's name as a subject; e.g., hawthorne nathaniel . (Last name first)
- To find a book-length bibliography, look for the word "bibliography" in the subject heading; e.g.morrison, toni -- bibliograpy or women in literature -- bibliography. Using the word "bibliography" in a keyword search will retrieve all books with bibliographies in them.
- To browse through time periods, type in american literature and click on subject. Then scroll through the list until you find the time period you want.
- For greater range in searching, try keywords such as hawthorne melville or hawthorne criticism . (Leave out words like in, of, on, and the; AND is assumed between words.)
- For audiovisuals, search by keywords; e.g., hawthorne videorecording .
- Copy the call number from the catalog record to find the book. (See How to Find Books.)
Use an electronic database.
These are recommended. Other periodical databases are listed on Periodical Index Databases by Academic Area. See also How to Find Periodical Articles
- Arts and Humanities Search (A&H Citation Index) (1980 -) [web access*]
- Book Review Digest (1983 - ) [web access*]
- Expanded Academic Index (magazines, journals, NYTimes/some full text, 1980-) [web access*]
- Humanities Abstracts (journals, 1984-).[web access*]
Indexes periodicals in archaeology, art, classics, film, folklore, journalism, linguistics, music, the performing arts, philosophy, religion, world history, and world literature. Includes abstracts since 1994.
- JSTOR (full text archive) [web access*]
Indexes and stores back issues of 47 critical literature journals, including American Literature.
- Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe [web access*]
Provides full text of many magazines and newspapers, including The Commercial Appeal since 1990. Good for book reviews and articles about authors.
- MLA International Bibliography (periodicals and books chapters, 1963 - ) [web access*]
Indexes 4,000 periodicals covering literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Now includes information from MLA Directory of Periodicals.
- UnCover [web access*]
Uncover is now part of Ingenta. When you get to Ingenta, click on Uncover Plus to browse the publication list or search tables of contents to over 17,000 periodicals; period of coverage varies. Provides document delivery service.
*WEB ACCESS: Restricted to faculty, staff and students at the University of Memphis. If you are off campus you will be asked to authenticate with your UUID and ph password.
Use a printed index, abstract or bibliography :
- Abstracts of English Studies (1958-91) [Reference Abstract Shelves]
- American and British Poetry: A Guide to the Criticism, 1925-78;1979-90 (2 volumes) [Reference Desk PS303.A52x]
- American Drama Criticism,1890-1977 and 4 supplements [Reference Desk Z1231.D7P3 & PS332.A53x]
- American Humanities Index (1968-97) [Reference Abstract Shelves]
- American Literary Scholarship [PS3.A47] Annual survey of research.
- The American Novel, 1789-1959: A Checklist of Twentieth-Century Criticism [Reference Desk Z1231.F4G4]
- The American Novel: A Checklist of Twentieth-Century Criticism on Novels Written since 1789:
Criticism Written 1960-68.
[Reference Desk Z1231.F4G4 v.2]
- American Short Fiction Criticism and Scholarship, 1959-77 [Ref Desk (PS374.S5W45x)]
- Articles on American Literature, 1900-1950;1950-1967;1968-75 [Reference Desk (Z1225)]
- Arts & Humanities Citation Index (1976-) [Reference Index Table 3]
- Biography Index (1946-) [Reference Index Table 8]
- Biography and Genealogy Master Index (3 sets of cumulative vols.) [Reference Index Table 8]
- A Criticial Bibliography of American Literature Studies (4 vols.) [Ref PS225.C74x 1998]
This new series drawn from The Year's Work in English Studies (PE58.E6) provides "comprehensive chronological coverage" by "individual fields of study." An index of authors and subjects treated is at the end of volume 4.
- Guide to American Poetry Explication, 2 vols. [Reference Desk (PS201)]
Indexes essays and chapters in books about authors and individual works.
- Humanities Index (1974 - 96) [Reference Index Table 2]
- Modern Language Association Bibliography (MLA) (1921- 94) [Reference Index Table 2]
- Southern Literature [Reference Desk Z1225.S63 1978]
- Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication 3rd ed. and 5 supplements, 1900-1988 [Reference Desk]
- Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication, New Series, 1989-90; 91-92; 93-94 (3 vols.) [Reference Desk (PN3373)]
- The Year's Work in English Studies [PE58.E6]
Critical surveys of studies published in books and periodicals.
Bio-Critical Reference Works
- Gale Literary Publications
Gale Literary Index is a comprehensive web index to most of the bio-critical reference sources listed below. This web index points to the relevant print volumes and allows you to search by title of work, author's name, birth date, death date or nationality. This web index points you to the relevant print volumes and allows you to search by title of work, author's name, birth date, death date or nationality. You can also use the Literature Resource Center to search and obtain full text articles from these and other critical resources. Please note: The web versions of these sources do not cover all the material in the print volumes.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) [Ref PS21.D54x] multiple volumes.
A good place to begin for an overall perspective. Contains substantive articles about each author and his or her work, photographs, and a bibliography for further reading. Each volume specializes in a genre and time period. Use cumulative author index at end of the last volume.
- Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) [Ref PN771.C59] multiple volumes.
Use for authors who are living or who have died since 1959. Cumulative author, title, and topic index is at the end of the last volume in the set. A separate cumlative title index is on a shelf nearby. Contains excerpts from articles and books and full citations for further reading. Volumes 95+ also available on the web.
- Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) [Ref PN771.G27]
Authors who died between 1900 and 1959. Same format as CLC.
- Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) [Ref PN761.N5]
Authors who died between 1800 and 1899. Same format as CLC.
- Literature Criticism (LC) [Ref PN86.L56]
Authors who died between 1400 and 1800. Same format as CLC
- Poetry Criticism (PC) [Ref PN1010.P499] Poets. Same format as CLC.
- Short Story Criticism (SSC) [Ref PN3321.S5x] Same format as CLC.
- Salem Press Publications
- Magill Index to Literature: Cumulative Indexes, 1984-2001 [Ref Z6511.M2518 2001]
Combines and collates indexes from 32 multivolume reference sets, including the Masterplots and Critical Survey of Literature series.
- Critical Survey of Drama (6 vols.) [Ref PR623.75]
- Critical Survey of Poetry (9 vols.) [Ref PR502.C85]
- Critical Survey of Long Fiction (8 vols.) [Ref PR821.C7 1983]
- Critical Survey of Short Fiction (7 vols., 1 suppl.) [Ref 3321.C7]
- Greenwood Publications (GEMOnline)
The following databases are available through library subscriptions (Off-campus access requires a proxy):
Literature Reviews/Analyses
- Book Review Digest (1905-) [Reference Index Table 11]
Also available online (1983 - ) [You must use your UofM ID and ph password for off-campus access.]
- Book Review Index (1946-) [Reference Index Table 8]
- Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals 1886-1974 (15 vols.) [Reference Index Table 11]
- New York Times Book Reviews
- Magill Series
- Magill Index to Literature: Cumulative Indexes, 1984-2001 [Ref Z6511.M2518 2001]
Combines and collates indexes from 32 multivolume reference sets, including the Masterplots and Critical Survey of Literature series.
- Masterplots, Rev. 2nd ed. (12 vols.) [Ref PN44.M33 1996]
- Survey of Contemporary Literature. Rev. Ed. (12 vols.) [Ref PN44.M34]
Updated reprints of 2,300 essay-reviews from Masterplots annuals, 1954-76.
- Magill's Literary Annual (1977-2001) [Ref PN44.M35]
Essay reviews of books published during the year. Cumulative indexes at end of last volume.
- Cyclopedia of Literary Characters (5 vols.) [Ref PN44.M3 1998]
- Masterplots II: African American Literature Series (3 vols) [Ref PS153.N5M2645 1994]
- Masterplots II: Poetry Series (6 vols, 3 suppl) [Ref PN1110.5.M37]
- Masterplots II: Short Story Series (6 vols., 4 suppl.) [Ref PN3326.M27]
- Masterplots II: Women's Literature Series. (6 vols.) [Ref PN471.M3 1995]
Other Reference Works
- African-American Writers [Ref PS153.N5 1990]. Complements American Writers.
- American Folklore: An Encyclopedia [Ref GR101.A54 1996]
- American Writers [Ref PS129.A55] 4 volumes, 3 supplements. Bio-critical essays.
- Annals of American Literature, 1602-1983 [PS94.L83 1986]
- Characters in 20th-Century Literature (2 vols) [Ref PN56.4.H7]
- The Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story [Ref PS374.S5C57 2000]
- Columbia Literary History of the United States [Ref PS92.C64 1988]
- Contemporary Authors [Ref Z1224.C6] Separate author index on shelf nearby.
- Dictionary of Literary Symbols [Ref PN56.S9F47 1999]
- Essay and General Literature Index (1900 - ) [Reference Index Table 3]
Indexes articles and essays contained in books. Search and make ILL requests from the online version (1985 - )
[Web database: access restricted]
- Fifty Southern Writers Before 1900: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook [Ref PS261.F543]
- Fifty Southern Writers After 1900: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook [Ref PS261.F54]
- A Glossary of Contemporary Literary Theory. 4th ed. [Ref PN44.5.H37 2000]
- Guide to American Literature and Its Backgrunds [Ref Z1225.J65]
- A Handbook to Literature, 7th ed. [Reference Desk: PN41.H355 1996]
- The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism [Ref PN81.J54x 1994]
- A Langston Hughes Encyclopedia [Ref PS3515.U274Z459 2002]
- Literary Research Guide: A Guide to Reference Sources for the Study of Literatures in English and Related Topics,
2nd ed. [Ref Z2011.H34 1993]
- Literature and the Internet: A Guide for Students, Teachers and Scholars [Ref PN73.B76 2000]
- Modern American Literature (3 vols.) [Ref PS221.M53 1999] <
Provides excerpts from critical articles in books and periodicals on works by 489 authors.
- Oxford Companion to American Literature, 6th ed. [Ref PS21.H3 1995]
- Oxford Companion to American Theatre [PN2220.B6 1984]
- The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States [Ref PS147.O94 1995]
- Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature [Ref PS21.R4]
- A Research Guide for Undergraduate Students [Ref PR56.B34 2000]
The Periodical/Microforms Department on the second floor of McWherter Library houses several collections of materials useful for study and research in early American Literature. A card catalog in the department and staff can help you locate requested items. The following collections have separate indexes/guides to help you locate specific items. If you need assistance in finding or using microform materials, please ask staff at the Periodicals Desk.
- American Bibliography (Evans, Shaw-Shoemaker) [Micro Z1215.E923]
Practically everything printed in America from 1639 to 1820.
- American Culture Series [Micro E169.1.A47 1975]
Early American books and pamphlets from 1493 to 1875.
- American Fiction (Wright) [Micro PZ1.A4x]
Fiction written by Americans and printed in the U.S. between the years 1774 and 1900.
- American Periodical Series [Micro Unclassified]
More than 1100 periodicals published in America from 1741 to 1900.
- Early American Newspapers [Micro Unclassified]
An on-going collection of newspapers from America's beginning, 1704-1820.
- Ingram's Poe Collection [Micro PS2629.I54x]
Manuscripts, printed matter, source materials assembled by John H. Ingram. Essential Poe.
- Library of American Civilization [Micro Unclassified]
Collection covering all aspects of America from the beginning to WWI. Indexed by author, title, subject and general topic. [Micro Z1236.L5 1971]
Most public terminals in McWherter Library provide access to Netscape. You may want to explore web sites using various search engines or, if you have them, specific URLs. [See Robert Harris's Internet Search Tips and Strategies ] The web sites listed below show the kinds of information related to the study of American authors and their works that is available via Internet.
Related Research Guides
English Literature | African American Literature | Hispanic Literature and Culture | Language and Linguistics
