Finding Books | Using Reference Sources | Finding Journal Articles, Conference Papers, and Dissertations
Obtaining Information from Other Libraries | Other WWW Resources for American Literature Research | Citing Sources

The following page contains general information about resources and tools available at the University Library to assist researchers in the study of American literature. The research process for each researcher will be slightly different, so this guide cannot cover every possibility. Please feel free to contact the Reference staff at 862-1544 or at the Reference Desk on the main floor (Level 3) of the Dimond Library should you have any questions regarding your individual research project.

The library's holdings are best accessed through our online catalog, called Triple I (III). This system can be searched by author, title, subject, journal title, or key word. Help in using the online catalog is available onscreen and at the Reference Desk. The library catalog can be accessed from your home, dorm, or office.

You can use the list of Library of Congress subject headings to draw up a list of subject headings related to your topic. These are located in the Reference area on the main floor of Dimond Library. You can also use the "related subjects" entries, the "Show Similar Items" feature on the online catalog, or click on the subject links in the Web version of the catalog to extend your original subject search. Examples of possible subjects include:

• American Literature--19th Century--History and Criticism
• American Literature--Colonial Period Ca 1600-1775--Bibliography
• American Literature--New England
• American Literature--Periodicals
• Feminism And Literature--United States
• Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809-1849--Criticism and Interpretation

The University Library's books are arranged by the Library of Congress classification system. In the Dimond Library, the general collection is located on the 4th and 5th floors.

The reference collection not only has general encyclopedias and dictionaries such as the World Book Encyclopedia and Webster's Dictionary, but also has many specialized encyclopedias and dictionaries as well. Other reference works include directories, statistical sources, and bibliographies. Reference works you may find useful for researching American literature:

• Literary Research Guide (Harner) (REF PN 43 .Z728 2002)
• Glossary of Literary Terms (Abrams) (REF PN 44.5 .A2 1993)
• Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism (REF PN 81 .J54 1994)
• Reference Guide for English Studies (REF PR 56 .M37 1990)
• Reference Works in British and American Literature (REF PR 83 .Z272 1990 vols. 1 + 2)
• A Reference Guide to English Studies (Bond) (REF Z 1002 .B72 1971)

• Biography Resource Center
• American National Biography (REF CT 213 .A68 1999)
• Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) (REF PS 21 .D5185 1978)

• Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 (REF PN 86 .L53)
• Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (REF PN 94 .T83)
• Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism (REF PN 761 .N5)
• Contemporary Literary Criticism (REF PN 771 .C59)
• The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies (REF PN 1022 .H39 2002)
• International Dictionary of Theatre: Plays (REF PN 2035 .I49 1992 v.1)
• Cambridge Handbook of American Literature (REF PS 21 .C36 1980)
• Bibliography of American Literature (REF PS 88 .Z265 I955)
• Contemporary Authors (REF PS 129 .C6)
• American Women Writers (REF PS 147 .A4)
• American Nature Writers (REF PS 163 .A6 1996)
• American Literary Magazines: The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries and The Twentieth Century (two volumes) (REF PS 201 .Z253 1983)
• Dictionary of American Literary Characters (REF PS 374 .C43 D5 1990)

• American Poetry 1609-1870 (REF PS 306.5 .Z9 1982)
  Dimond Library owns the index only; it does not own the microfilm collection)
• American Periodical Series: 18th Century and American Periodical Series, 1800-1850
  Indexed in American Periodicals, 1741-1900 (REF Z 6951 .H65)
• American Women's Diaries
  Dimond Library has only segment 1, New England. Indexed in Guide and index to women's diaries. Segment 1. New England women : a Readex microfilm collection from the files of the American Antiquarian Society (REF HQ 1418 .A442 1984)
• Black Literature, 1827-1940
  Indexed in Black Literature, 1827-1940. Index to Units 1-15. (available on CD-ROM)
• Evans Digital Collection (1639-1800) based on the renowned American Bibliography by Charles Evans. The Library also has a microform collection for Early American Imprints 1801-1819, which is has a print index: American Bibliography, A Preliminary Checklist for 1801-1819, compiled by Ralph R. Shaw and Richard H. Shoemaker.
  FINDING JOURNAL AND NEWSPAPER ARTICLES, CONFERENCE PAPERS, AND DISSERTATIONS
  Electronic Sources
  

  Many of the Internet-accessible indexes the UNH Library subscribes to are limited to use by UNH faculty, students, and staff. Read these instructions for more information about accessing such restricted databases from outside the library.

  Many CD-ROMs can be accessed on the workstations in the Reference area. Others can be requested at the reference Desk. They are not accessible through the Internet or by modem.
  

  • MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures (1963+) (available through SilverPlatter)
  • LION - Literature Online A full-text resource for English and American literature. Provides access to primary sources (English and American poetry, fiction, and drama) and secondary sources (a literary journal index with full text, the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature, Internet resource links for literature, biographical information, and more).
  • JSTOR
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index 1977+
  • UnCover Plus (Ingenta) Fall 1988+ (no restrictions on access)
  • Dissertation Abstracts International 1864+
  
  Print Sources
  • MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures 1974-1995 (REF IND Z 7006 .M64)
  • Humanities Index 1974+ (REF IND A I3 .H8)
  • Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature 1920+ (Z 2011 .M69)
  • Year's Work in English Studies 1919-1992 (PE 58 .E6)
    
  
  Electronic Journals:
  • JSTOR is a digital library of scholarly journals, including many in American literature, history, and culture. Complete backfiles of many of these core journals are available, some dating back to the 1800's.
  • Stanford Humanities Electronic Review (ceased publication in 2000)
  • Connotations: A Journal for Critical Debate
  • Early Modern Literary Studies
  • LION - Literature Online A full-text resource for English and American literature. Includes a literary journal index with full text.

  While the above indexes are most often used in identifying research materials on American literature, additional online indexes as well as print indexes are available for other areas of interest such as theater performances and drama reviews, book reviews, and articles from newspapers and general interest magazines.

  
  
  OBTAINING INFORMATION FROM OTHER LIBRARIES
  

  Most college and university libraries and large public libraries will welcome you as a library user. A few libraries restrict access to their collection to their own registered users. Generally, they will allow you research access if you have a letter of introduction from a librarian from UNH, indicating what you need to use and that UNH does not own the resources you need. Some specialized libraries and atheneums will allow you to use their collections for a fee. A phone call to the library before your visit will allow you to learn the rules and guidelines for that library's use.

  Library catalogs for many local college and university libraries can be accessed on the UNH Library's online catalog. Among the libraries you can connect to are Dartmouth College, Harvard University, Keene and Plymouth State Colleges, and Boston University.

  Library catalogs for many other libraries can be accessed through the Internet on the World-Wide Web. LibWeb can provide you with links to academic libraries and their catalogs worldwide, or you can use a search tool like Yahoo to search for the address of the library whose catalog you wish to check. WorldCat will also allow you to search other libraries worldwide for books, manuscripts, videos, journals, and other materials.

  For locations of subject collections, manuscript collections, and specific authors and titles, you may also wish to consult:

  • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (REF Z 6620 .U5 N3)
  • Subject Collections (Ash and Miller, 7th ed.) (REF Z 731 .S8)
  If you allow enough time for your research (i.e. begin your research well in advance of the due date for your paper or presentation), you may be able to take advantage of the library's Interlibrary Loan service to obtain books, journal articles, and other materials not available at the University Library. Interlibrary Loan requests are submitted online through a system called ILLiad. The first time you use ILLiad, you must set up your individual account. After that you simply need to login to ILLiad and complete the form for the type of material you are requesting. Please include as much information as you can for each item you request. Interlibrary Loan materials are generally received within 10 days to 4 weeks; the average time is about 2.5 weeks (but can take longer). Undergraduates are limited to six requests (books and articles) per week. This service is available only to UNH students, faculty, and staff.

  You may request a book (not journal articles) that our library does not own by using the ILL (InterLibrary Loan) icon when searching WorldCat. Submit a search in WorldCat and if our library does not own the book, click the ILL icon on the screen and fill out the ILL request. For further help with this library service, ask a librarian at the Reference desk.

  
  
  OTHER WWW RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF AMERICAN LITERATURE
  

  There is a wealth of information (and sometimes misinformation) available on the WWW. Any researcher must use critical judgement to evaluate the quality of Web resources just they would any other source, regardless of medium. The following listings are a sampling of some sites on the WWW focusing on various aspects of English literature:

  • Department of English, University of New Hampshire
  • Voice of the Shuttle: American Literature
  • EServer (Iowa State University)
  • Electronic Archives for Teaching the American Literatures (Georgetown University)
  • Jack Lynch's Literary Resources on the Net--American
  • Literary Index
  • Internet Pulic Library: Literature: Criticism
  
  CITING SOURCES

  Appropriate citation of sources and references is an important part of the research process. The Reference Department website has a page of examples of footnotes, endnotes, and bibliography entries for books and periodicals following the style of Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. Other style manuals, such as the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, and The Chicago Manual of Styleare available at the Reference Desk. Citing electronic sources can be difficult and is a developing area at this time. There is some online guidance for citing electronic resources in MLA style and APA style. Also, Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information is located at the Reference Desk and provides many additional examples.

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  Please send questions or comments on this research guide to
  Louise Buckley, Reference Librarian, University Library lbuckley@cisunix.unh.edu
  Last updated 10 August 2005