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Tommy Nixon
Humanities Reference Librarian
Davis Library
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Introduction to Library Research
Citing 
How Do I?...
How Do I? Cite Sources? Conduct a Literature Review, etc.?
Writing Center Help
Carolina BLU Campus Delivery Service 
Through the Carolina BLU Delivery Service, you can request to have books and articles available at any of the UNC-CH campus libraries, as well as books and articles requested through interlibrary loan, delivered to the campus library most convenient to you.
L.C. Call Nos.
This Library of Congress classification system holds true for any library in the world using the LC system. For example, English language dictionaries will be classed in the PEs; American literature will be classed in the PSs; and American history will be classed in the Es & Fs.
Map of Davis Reference
Use this Map to find books in Davis Reference.
Call No. Locations in Davis
Use this Location Guide to find books in Davis.
Google Scholar
Useful Websites
Literary Resources on the Net (Jack Lynch, Rutgers)
Voice of the Shuttle (Alan Liu, UCSB)
Academic Databases 
Example of an academic journal article (click on the Camera icon to view)
As with encyclopedic resources, there are indexes for almost any topic that might be supplemental to literary research, and these may be arranged by subject discipline(history, philosophy, religion, art, etc), by period, by region, by gender or ethnicity. If you are unsure of an appropriate index to use, try searching E-Research Tools By Subject and first try the "Recommended Databases."
Also, there are a number of Subject Guides for Literature that may prove useful for finding book reviews, play production reveiws, etc.
MLA International Bibliography
A major index of literary criticism, linguistics, folklore & cultural studies. In addition to indexing several thousand journals, MLA also covers relevant books, book chapters, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. MLA is a very ambitious index, providing indexing of criticism for all literatures worldwide, except for classical Greek and Latin literature.
MLA now links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse, two major full-text journal collections.
America: History and Life
A:H&L is the principal index for American history, indexing books, book chapters, journal articles & dissertations for subjects in American history.
Literature Resource Center
LRC contains the text of the Dictionary of Literary Biography, as well as selected critical excerpts or full text articles from various Gale criticism sets. It is possbile in LRC to search for authors individually or to perform a "Person Search," limiting by period, movement, nationality, etc. The Dictionary of Literary Biography provides bio-critical articles on literary authors, as well as some thematic essays. The ongoing print version of the DLB (Davis Reference Row 3 PS21 .D5185 1978 - To Date) provides much excellent illustrative material not available in the electronic version.
Literary Reference Center
Literary Reference Center includes plot summaries, author biographies & some literary criticism.
Academic Search Premier
Abstracts & references for articles from more than 8,200 scholarly, trade & general publications. A very broad, interdisciplinary index linking to much full text, Academic Search Premier is less specialized for literary criticism than MLA but good for book reviews, play & film reviews, etc. since about 1980.
Dissertations & Theses
Indexes US dissertations from 1861 to as recent as last semester with full text available from 1997 on. Masters' theses are covered more selectively and some full text is available.
Citations for dissertations from 1980 on include 350-word abstracts, while masters' theses from 1988 forward have 150 word abstracts.
The database covers work done at more than a thousand institutions, primarily in the United States but also in Canada and Great Britain, and at other European universities for recent years.
More Article Databases | How Do I Find Articles? | How Do I Find an Article if it is not Full-Text? | How Do I Distinguish Different Types of Journals?
Finding Books 
Catalog Search Tips
Subject searching for books in the Library's catalog is often best done by beginning with a Keyword Search . Start with a Keyword Search and identify one or more relevant books. Then look at the Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) given in the Full Records of those titles. You can follow the subject heading links in the catalog to find similar books, or you can use the terms in the subject headings to revise your search strategies.
Keyword Search: American miscegenation
Search by LC Subject Heading: Miscegenation in literature.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Race relations in literature.
POTENTIALLY USEFUL LIBRARY OF CONGRESS SUBJECT HEADINGS
African American women in literature.
American literature--Indian authors--History and criticism.
American wit and humor--History and criticism.
Cities and towns in literature.
Gothic revival (Literature)--United States.
Horror tales, American--History and criticism.
Political fiction, American--History and criticism.
Politics and literature--United States--History--19th century.
Transcendentalism (New England).
Women--United States--Social conditions.
Search for books By a literary author as an Author search; search for books About a literary author as a Subject search.
Author: O'Connor, Flannery.
Subject: O'Connor, Flannery..
Encyclopedic Resources for American Literature
Subject encyclopedias can be very useful for providing an overview and context for a variety of specialized topics. Most essays will also include a bibliography. A number of reference books from Oxford U. Press are now available electronically via Oxford Reference Online Premium.
There are many more specialized encyclopedias for American literature (e.g., Transcendentalism, Harlem Renaissance), so browse the PSs in Davis Reference (Row 29).
The Oxford encyclopedia of American literature [electronic resource] . 4 vols. Jay Parini, editor in chief. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.
This provides essays on individual authors as well as thematic essays (e.g., Colonial writing in America).
Davis Reference PS21 .E537 2004
The Cambridge history of American literature . 8 vols. General editor, Sacvan Bercovitch ; associated editor, Cyrus R.K. Patell. Cambridge [England] ;New York : Cambridge University Press, 1994-
Davis Reference PS92 .C34 1994
The chronology of American literature : America's literary achievements from the colonial era to modern times . Edited by Daniel S. Burt. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
A useful chronology with thematic essays.
Davis Reference PS94 .C48 2004
American history through literature, 1820-1870 . 3vols. Janet Gabler-Hover & Robert Sattelmeyer, editors-in-chief. Detroit : Charles Scribner's Sons/Thomsom Gale, c2006.
This presents lengthy essays on works and themes in literature that contextualize them within their historical milieu.
Davis Reference PS217.H57 A84 2006
American history through literature, 1870-1920 . 3 vols. Tom Quirk and Gary Scharnhorst, editors-in-chief. Detroit : Charles Scribner's Sons/Thomson Gale, c2006.
Davis Reference PS217.H57 A843 2006
American women writers : a critical reference guide : from colonial times to the present . 4 vols. Editor: Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf. Detroit : St. James Press, c2000.
Davis Reference PS147 .A42 2000
The Oxford companion to African American literature [electronic resource] . Editors, William L. Andrews, Frances Smith Foster, Trudier Harris ; foreword by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.
Davis Reference PS153.N5 O96 1997
American national biography [electronic resource]. . 24 vols. General editors, John A. Garraty, Mark C. Carnes. New York : Oxford University Press, 1999.
A major biographical encyclopedia.
Davis Reference CT213 .A68 1999
Electronic Literary Texts
The availability of primary literary texts electronically is especially useful when trying to locate specific words or phrases within a long poem, play, or novel.
Literature Online (LION)
A searchable database of several hundred thousand English language poems, plays, & novels. Within LION, search "Authors" or "Texts" for the literary texts.
Literary Terminology, the OED, & MLA Style
The Oxford dictionary of literary terms [electronic resource]Chris Baldick. 3rd ed. Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2008.
A handbook to literature. William Harmon. 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson Prentice Hall, c2009.
A very clearly written handbook.
Davis Reference Desk PN41 .H355 2009
MLA handbook for writers of research papers. Joseph Gibaldi. 7th ed. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 2009.
Davis Reference Desk LB2369 .G53 2009
Oxford English Dictionary
A comprehensive dictionary of the English Language that stresses the historical origins of words. The Oxford English Dictionary is the world's leading authority on the history and development of the English language since 1150.