English 345 : 20th Century American Narrative "California: a State of Social Change"
Ask us 
Tommy Nixon
Humanities Reference Librarian
Davis Library
tommy_nixon@unc.edu
Davis Reference Desk
(919)962-1151
AIM: DavisRefDesk
Davis Chat
IM us 
More help 
Introduction to Library Research
Citing 
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 in the PSs; and American ethnic groups will be classed in the range E184-185 within the broader E class for American history. Local & regional American history will be in the Fs, with California history being classed in the F700s-800s.
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.
How Do I?...
How Do I? Cite Sources? Conduct a Literature Review, etc.?
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.
Writing Center Help
Get Help Writing a Paper, etc.Finding Academic Journal Articles 
Example of an academic journal article (click on the Project Muse icon to view)
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.
MLA now links to full-text articles in JSTOR and Project Muse, two major full-text journal collections.
Ethnic NewsWatch
Ethnic NewsWatch is a full-text collection of newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. This collection of articles, editorials, columns, reviews, etc. provides a broad diversity of perspectives and viewpoints.
America, History and Life
The primary database for North American history. If you are needing historical background on topics like the Japanese internment or Angel Island, then AH&L is a good resource.
Film & Television Literature Index
Film and Television Literature Index covers over 300 journal and magazine titles for film and television reviews, scholarly and critical analysis of cinema and television, and articles of popular interest about film and television.
Academic Search Premier
Abstracts & references for articles from more than 8,200 scholarly, trade & general publications, & references for The NY Times. 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 
Example of an academic book (at least the catalog record for one)
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.
Useful Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):
Search by LC Subject Heading: California -- History -- 20th century.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Racism--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Riots--California--Los Angeles--History--20th century.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Chinese Americans--California--History.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Chinese Americans--Legal status, laws, etc.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Gays--California--San Francisco--History.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Counterculture--California.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Social change--California.
Search by LC Subject Heading: San Francisco (Calif.)--Intellectual life--20th century.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Feminism--United States--History.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Motion pictures--Social aspects--United States.
Search by LC Subject Heading: Yamashita, Karen Tei, 1951.
Search for books By a literary author as an Author search; search for books About a literary author as a Subject search.
Author: Austin, Mary Hunter, 1868-1934.
Subject: Austin, Mary Hunter, 1868-1934.
Author: Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968.
Subject: Steinbeck, John, 1902-1968.
Encyclopedias for American & Multi-Ethnic American Literature
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. 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.
The Oxford encyclopedia of American literature [electronic resource] . 4 vols. Jay Parini, editor in chief. Oxford ;New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.
Has essays on major figures and also thematic issues (e.g., Asian American Literature).
Davis Reference PS21 .E537 2004
The Greenwood encyclopedia of multiethnic American literature. 5 vols. Edited by Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 2005.
An important encyclopeda for ethnic writers that might not be included in more standard encyclopedias of America authors.
Davis Reference PS153.M56 G74 2005
Fifty Western writers : a bio-bibliographical sourcebook. Edited by Fred Erisman and Richard W. Etulain. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, c1982.
Has essays on Austin and Steinbeck.
Davis Reference PS271 .F5
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.
Google Scholar
