Online Literary Research
Albert S. Cook Library
Towson University
Cook Library Web Page
http://cooklibrary.towson.edu
MLA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
MLA BIBLIOGRAPHY (EBSCO) is the primary research tool for literature,
covering literature, folklore, modern languages and linguistics from 1963 to the
present.
[Earlier years of the MLA Bibliography (1921-1995) are in print in the Reference
area. REF PB43.A1M6]
 Provides over 1,500,000 million citations from 6,500+ journals, books,
dissertations, proceedings, papers, and bibliographies published
worldwide
o It indexes scholarly journal articles, essay collections, books &
dissertations published worldwide in English, Spanish, Italian, and
French.
o Now includes the MLA Directory of Periodicals, which provides full
information on journals and series.
JSTOR is a unique database containing full text backfiles of core scholarly
journals, which have been digitized, starting with the very first issues, many of
which date from the 1800's. Search across disciplines to access valuable
research sources. [Does not include current--5 years--issues]
JSTOR
American Literature, 1929-1999 [plus links to current content]
MLN, 1962-1994 [plus links to current content]
Nineteenth-Century Literature, 1986-1998
Shakespeare Quarterly, 1950-2000 [plus links to current content]
Studies in the Renaissance, 1954-1974
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LITERATURE
RESOURCE CENTER
LITERATURE RESOURCE CENTER is a complete literature database designed
for undergraduates. Its content is built on material from major Gale publications:
The Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and Contemporary
Literary Criticism Select.
o Search by author, title, genre, literary theme, ethnicity, literary
movement or time period, and nationality.
o Contains in- depth biographical and bibliographical coverage for
2,500 major authors out of the 120,000 authors available in the
database
o Access the entire Dictionary of Literary Biography online
 DLB in print ends with vol. 208 (1999) REF PN451 .D5
o Features a Literary-Historical Timeline with major events
o A full-text database
News! JSTOR now offers its “links to recent content” feature; it links to journals
(common to JSTOR & Project Muse) such as American Literature & 24 other
titles in literature & history.
PROJECT MUSE offers a collection of multidisciplinary scholarly journals
published and distributed by Johns Hopkins University Press.
Some literature and folklore titles in Project Muse:
Chaucer Review
Early American Literature
ELH
Emily Dickinson Journal
Literature and Medicine
Victorian Studies
Shakespeare Quarterly
Marvels & Tales
PROJECT MUSE
o Contains nearly 220 titles in literature, cultural studies, politics,
history, visual and performing arts, philosophy and religion, etc.
o Full-text, full-image journals
o Basic and advanced searching using keywords and Boolean
operators
o Scholarly full- text articles
o Search by subject or browse through entire issues
o Limited to current issues, generally 5 years or less
o New feature! Links to JSTOR for earlier issues; 14 titles
Children’s Literature,
Fourth Genre, and
Prairie Schooner just
added in 2003!
EGLI
ESSAY AND GENERAL LITERATURE INDEX [print and online access]
REF AI3.E7 (vol. 1, 1900 to present); located on Table 2 in the REF area
o Indexes thousands of essays compiled in anthologies and collections
o Focuses on the humanities and social sciences.
o Online access in available only on the 4 computers in Cook 318.
HUMANITIES
ABSTRACTS
HUMANITIES ABSTRACTS (EBSCO) contains abstracts for more than 500
periodicals from 1994 to the present; citations only from 1984 to present.
o Subject coverage includes archaeology, world literature, religion,
philosophy, art, folklore, classics, dance, and more.
o Contains book reviews, feature articles, bibliographies, film,
original fiction, reviews of plays and television programs.
o Contains over 450,000 records.
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OED
OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY [print and online access]
REF PE1617.O94B47
o Accepted authority on the evolution of the English language.
o Unsurpassed guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of over
half a million words, both present and past.
o Traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide
range of international English language sources, from classic literature
and specialist periodicals to film scripts and cookery books.
o Etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and pronunciation.
o Check out their “word of the day” feature: melodious (8/29/03)
Take the OED Dictionary Tour (online) to learn how to use this valuable resource most effectively!
WORLDCAT (FirstSearch) contains all the records cataloged by OCLC member
libraries, offering over 49,000,000 bibliographic records.
o It is updated daily, and contains books, manuscripts, maps, musical
scores, films, journal and newspaper titles, and videotapes.
o It does not include book chapters or individual articles in journals,
magazines, and newspapers.
o Includes format-specific icons in search and results screens.
Examples: Books
Internet resources
Musical scores
WORLDCAT
Books,
media,
internet
sites,
and
more!
MIDDLE
ENGLISH
COMPENDIUM
MIDDLE ENGLISH COMPENDIUM is based on three major Middle English
electronic resources:
o An electronic version of the Middle English Dictionary
o A HyperBibliography of Middle English prose and verse
o An associated network of electronic resources.
WORLD
SHAKESPEARE
WORLD SHAKESPEARE BIBLIOGRAPHY provides annotated entries for all
important books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions,
reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other
scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare and published or
produced between 1971 and 2003. Coverage continues to grow retrospectively
and forward at the same time.
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AND DON”T FORGET TO TRY……….
ACADEMIC SEARCH PREMIER, a general database covering many different
subject areas, now contains 450+ literary journals. Many of these are full text.
JOURNAL
American Literature
COVERAGE
1929 to present
Comparative Literature
Eighteenth-Century Life
1975 to present
1997 to present
Journal of British Studies
Kenyon Review
Seventeenth Century
Studies in English
Literature (Rice)
Studies in the Novel
Victorian Studies
War, Literature & the Arts
1993 to present
1979 to present
1999 to present
1975 to 1998
FULL TEXT
1929 to 2003
(12 month embargo)
1975 to present
1997 to present
12 month embargo
1993 to present
1979 to present
1999 to present
1975 to 1998
1975 to present
1974 to present
1998 to present
1975 to present
1974 to present
1998 to present
HINTS:
1. Begin with MLA for fullest coverage.
2. Think about Project Muse and JSTOR as warehouses; they contain limited
years of some titles. Muse may contain only 1 issue of a new journal!
3. ALWAYS go to Research Tools on Cook Library’s web page and check the
Journals List (current journals); this list will direct you to the location of the
journals. (online or print)
4. Academic Search offers much more full text literary coverage than before.
5. Print journals are on the 2nd floor of the library.
Research Hint: For research help on this or any other research project, contact a librarian in person at
the Cook Library Reference Desk, by phone at (410) 704-2462, or on the Web at
http://cooklibrary.towson.edu using Go Directly To "email a reference librarian."
The library liaison to the English Department is Mary Volland (410) 704-2618.
(410) 704-2618
OR
for an appointment (mvolland@towson.edu)
mbv
lit_databases_fall2003.doc
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