Literature   Tags: authors, english, literary criticism, literature  

Reference books are on the 1st floor of the library. They are a good starting point for research.

You'll find books on literature in the 800s.  

Here are some examples:

Gale Literary Criticism series:

Excerpts of literary criticism spanning from the time a work was written until present time:

• Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC)
• Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism (TCLC)
• Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism (NCLC)

Biographies of contemporary authors:

• Contemporary Authors (CA)
• Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (CANR)

[Use the index in the back of any recent volume, or the paperback TITLE index to search for a work, or use the online index at: www.galenet.com/servlet/LitIndex]

Also, browse the reference shelves to find books on specific literary topics:

Encyclopedia of American Poetry

R 811.509 ENCYCLO 2001)

Encyclopedia of American Indian Literature

 (R 810.9897 ENCYCLO)

Magill's Survey of American Literature

(R 810.9 MAGILLS)

Masterplots 

 (R 809 MASTERP)

Summaries of a work written by scholars

Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare

(R 822.33 SHAKESPzq)

Literature and Its Times

(R 809.93358 LITERAT)

American History through Literature

(R 810.9358 QUIRK)

Literature Research Guide

Use this guide to find information in 

books, videos, articles, and websites

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)

Source: New York Public Library Digital Collection

The Library subscribes to a variety of databases that contain quality information for student research.  The following databases will be especially useful for researching literature topics:

Literature Resource Center   

                 start your research here

Biographical information, work overviews, literary criticism, and book reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods, and from around the world

Gale Virtual Reference Library

Several encyclopedias of Literature like: Twayne's Authors Online, and Greenwood Encyclopedias of Asian American and Laino Literature. Includes World Literature and Its Times which discusses the historical and social context in which literary works were created

ProQuest Learning: Literature

Information on famous people, including writers, poets and playwrights. Inlcudes reference works, study aids, biographical information, literary criticism, reviews, multimedia, and the full text of more than 180,000 literary works

Biography in Context

Information on famous people, including writers, poets and playwrights

Credo Reference

Collection of online reference books, including over thirty in the area of literature

U.S. History in Context

Includes information on literature as a component of American history 

World History in Context

Includes information on literature as a component of world history

ProQuest

Index to periodical articles, including biographical information, author interviews, book reviews, and literary criticism

Oxford English Dictionary

The definitive guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of English words, past and present; use this resource to explore how words change over time or how the English language varies around the world

Books that check out are on the 2nd floor of the library. 

Use the Library Catalog to look for books (and videos) on specific subjects or by specific authors. You'll find materials located in the SCC Library and in our partner libraries. (Search for books from other libraries by using the WIN Borrow link in the catalog. They can be sent to SCC for pickup by using the "request this item" link.)

Doing a SUBJECT search can be a useful way to find books about a particular author or on a particular topic.  Ask a librarian if you need help identifying subject words.  Here are some subject examples:

• American Literature
• American Literature - African American authors
• American Literature - Hispanic authors
• American Literature - Indian authors
• Angelou, Maya
• Transcendentalism
• War in Literature