The resources listed herein are merely starting points. The library can provide many more resources specific to a particular topic. Many of the sources below are databases accessible via the Internet.

Catalogs and Union Catalogs

Online Catalog LibCat includes the materials (books, journals, videos, documents and other materials) that the Libraries hold. Be aware that there are groups of materials not included in the catalog: many government documents and microform sets that we own may not appear in LibCat.

WorldCat Catalog of books and journals, the contents of over 14,000 research libraries, mainly in North America. Anything found on WorldCat that is not available in Evans Library can be ordered through Interlibrary Services or Get it for me.

CRLCATALOG (Center for Research Libraries). The Center for Research Libraries is a consortia headquartered at the University of Chicago. The consortia supports research and teaching in many fields including the liberal arts and humanities by acquiring and preserving newspapers, journals, and other types of documentary sources. Most materials can be requested through the TAMU Libraries' Get it for me service.

British Library Catalogue lists over twelve million items in the British Library's outstanding collections.

Copac is a union catalogue. It provides access to the merged online catalogues of 24 major university research libraries in the UK and Ireland, plus the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and the National Library of Wales/Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru.

Archival Materials

RLIN and Worldcat may provide access to some archival collections, and the Gale Dictionary of Literary Biography (see below) often lists the location of major collections of papers and manuscripts. In addition, these databases may also provide good sources of information.

ArchivesUSA is a current directory of 5,596 repositories and over 154,000 collections of primary source material housed across the United States.

UK Archives Hub. The Archives Hub provides a single point of access to descriptions of archival collections that are available for research in universities and colleges. Anyone may use the Hub. The Hub includes descriptions for the archives of a wide range of individuals, families, and organisations, from medieval times right up to the present day. The Hub does not include the text or images of the archival collections described here - only their descriptions.

UK Access to Archives The A2A database contains catalogues describing archives held throughout England and dating from the 900s to the present day. A2A does not yet offer a full description of all the archives in England, but it is regularly updated, so revisit often for newly-included catalogues. The A2A database is regularly updated, and catalogues over 8.5 million filed items from 390 record offices and other repositories.

Literature Criticism and Reviews

MLA International Bibliography This database indexes sources on literature, linguistics and drama from 1963 to present. Also available in print back to 1920. While it indexes secondary literature, it may lead to other pertinent information on the topic. PB1 .M46 from 1920 to 1962; from 1963 to present, on the web.

Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature An electronic index of critical articles and book reviews on language and literature in English back to 1892. The print index of article citations on English language and literature covers published articles from 1920 to present. PB1 .A55

Wilson Indexes A collection of databases of article citations, on a variety of subjects from science to business to the social sciences. The web versions of Humanities Index, Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature and Essay and General Literature Index will provide citations to literary criticism articles and book chapters. Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature, AI3 .R48, continues Poole’s Index, AI3 .P7, covering periodical literature from 1800 to present. Essay and General Literature Index includes citations to articles and book chapters from 1900 to present, AI3 .E752. Humanities Index will provide citations to criticism articles in literature, including poetry, short fiction, drama and novels. The print indexes back to 1972. AI3 .H84

EBSCOHost (Academic Search Complete) is a collection of selected full text periodicals and scholarly journals, U.S. and international newspapers, reference books and detailed pamphlets from a variety of disciplines.

PCI (Periodicals Contents Index) includes citations and selected full-text from critical articles as well as book and performance review in humanities and social sciences journals from 1770 to 1993. This is the only electronic resource available that indexes back to the 1770s.

Arts & Humanities Citation Index and Social Science Citation Index are part of the Web of Knowledge, an online database indexing resources in all areas. It includes citations of critical articles on popular culture, film and television. The online versions go back to 1982 while the paper version of Arts and Humanities Citation Index, Z5931 .A78 goes back to 1975, and Social Sciences Citation Index, Z7163 .S6 extends back to 1956.

Proquest Dissertations and Theses Full text access to all dissertations published by participating institutions from 1997 onward – over 450,000 in all. Citations and abstracts for dissertations and theses prior to 1997.

Book Review Digest provides citations and excerpts from reviews in approximately 90 popular journals from 1983 to present in the electronic version. The paper version has excerpts from complete reviews for fiction and nonfiction many disciplines starting from 1905. Z1219 .C95.

Book Review Index provides citations to book reviews published in English-language periodicals. Entries are arranged alphabetically by name of author of book reviewed, with a separate Title Index at the end of each annual volume includes citations of book reviews in all subjects from scholarly and popular periodicals, back to 1965. It indexes more periodicals than Book Review Digest but does not include excerpts. Z1035 .A1 B59

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Humanities Journals, 1802-1974 indexes reviews in all subjects in the humanities, by title and author, from 1802 to 1974. Cites 500,000+ book reviews gathered from more than 150 humanities journals. "Most of these reviews have never been included in any retrospective multi-title book review index." Includes book reviews, "book notes," and "book briefs." Excludes "review articles" in which a number of subject-related books are reviewed simultaneously (unless the book titles are listed in the article). Z6265 .C65 1982

Combined Retrospective Index to Book Reviews in Scholarly Journals lists reviews found in 459 scholarly journals in the fields of history, political science, and sociology, citing more than a million book reviews gathered from scholarly journals published between 1886 and 1974. "Most of these reviews have never been included in any retrospective multi-title book review index." Includes book reviews, "book notes," and "book briefs." Z1035 .A1 C64

Gale Criticism Guides: Shakespeare, Twentieth Century, Nineteenth Century, Classic and Medieval, etc (also located in the Evans Reference Section) are excerpts from literary criticism appearing in monographs and periodicals from a given era. Many instructors prefer that the students don't cite from these sources: if so, the student may take the citation in the reference work and look up the original article.

Author Bio-bibliographical Resources

Dictionary of Literary Biography is a valuable place to start when doing research on an author. It provides personal background, a bibliography, brief critique of the body of their work and contributions to the fields, as well as locations of major collections. PN451 .D53.

Contemporary Authors also provides an overview of an author, as well as additional biographical and critical resources to consult. PN451 .C6.

Biography and Genealogy Master Index is an index of indices, providing coverage of Biography Index, Who’s Who, Contemporary Authors and other biographical sources. CT120 .B56.

There are a number of other author-specific resources, most of which are accessible via the Library Catalog. For example, Hispanic Literature Criticism, Black Literature Criticism, Twentieth Century British Literature: A Reference Guide and Bibliography, and Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series.

Resources on Poetry

Granger's Index to Poetry is a fairly complete index to poetry, by title, subject and first line. Each edition covers a select span of years, so be certain to check all editions. PN1022 .C63. Soon to be available electronically.

PoemFinder is another primary index to English and American poetry. It is available on the Literature Stand-alone in Evans Reference and may searched by keyword as well as by author and title.

Poetry Criticism: excerpts from criticism of the works of the most significant and widely studied poets of world literature. A good resource for bio-bibliographical information and criticism on a poet and his work. PN1010 .P499

Magill Critical Survey of Poetry includes critical essays on poets and their works, including themes, plots and other critical discussion. PR502 .C85

Masterplots II. Poetry Series organized by author, this series offers brief critical information of the works of major poets and their works, including major themes and constructions and pertinent biographical information. PN1110.5 .M37

Resources on Short Fiction

Short Story Index indexes short fiction in English from the 19^th century to the present. One may search by author, title, subject or theme and there is an additional volume for works appearing in collections. Z5917 .S5 C62

Short Story Criticism includes excerpted article criticism and reviews in scholarly and more mainstream periodicals. PN3373 .S36

Critical Survey of Short Fiction includes volumes on works as well as authors with brief criticism of the plot, theses and characters as well as biographical criticism of the author. PN3321 .C7

Masterplots II. Short Story Series Series includes brief synopses of short fictions, including the plot, major themes and principal characters. PN3326 .M27

Electronic Journals and Full-text Databases

Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe is a full-text resource including newspapers as well as popular, trade and scholarly publications in all areas from about 20 years to the present. It will have the full-text of critical articles and reviews from current sources.

Project Muse and JStor are packages of electronic journals in the Humanities. They are among the more than 1500 online titles to which the Library has access. Project Muse is a full-text collection of humanities journals from 1995 to present; JStor is a full-text collection of history, philosophy, economics, and political science journals from their conception (at times, from the 1700s) to present. These are also accessible as individual journal titles via LibCat or the library’s web page at http://library.tamu.edu.

Library Assistance

Don’t forget, Harner’s Literary Research Guide is a monumental help in finding resources. Also, Bracken’s Reference Works in British and American Literature is available electronically in full-text via the Library Catalog.

If you need additional assistance, please don’t hesitate to go the Evans Reference Desk for Help. They are located on the 1^st floor of the Main Library building. You may also contact them via phone at 845-5741 or via email at lib-help@tamu.edu.

If you want specialized help, you may schedule an appointment with me, as liaison librarian to the Department of English, and I will be happy to help you with your research topic, recommend sources and introduce you to searching some of the electronic materials.