Finding Books | Using Reference Sources | Finding Journal Articles, Conference Papers, and Dissertations
Obtaining Information from Other Libraries | Other WWW Resources for English 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 English 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 own research.

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 or office via the Internet.

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:

• English Literature--19th Century--History and Criticism
• English Literature--Middle English--1100-1500--Bibliography
• English Literature--Early Modern--1500-1700
• Feminism And Literature--England--History--16th Century
• Austen Jane, 1775 1817--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. Most of the materials pertaining to English literature will be found in the "PR" section on the 5th floor.

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 English literature:

• Literary Research Guide (Harner) (REF PN 43 .Z728 1998)
• Glossary of Literary Terms (Abrams) (REF PN 41 .A184 1999)
• Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism (REF PN 81 .J54 1994)
• A 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)
• Cambridge Guide to English Literature (REF PR 85 .C28 1983)
• The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature (REF PR 19 .D73 2003) Ê

• Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) (REF DA 28 .D45)
• Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) (REF PS 21 .D5185 1978)

Items in the following three microform collections can be identified by searching The English Short Title Catalogue online, which covers letterpress materials printed in Great Britain or any of its dependencies in any languageÑas well as for materials printed in English anywhere else in the world from 1433 to 1800 including all recorded English monographs printed between 1475 and 1700.

• Early English Books, 1475-1640
  Also indexed in Early English Books: 1475-1640 (REF Z 2002. P77 E5)
• Early English Books, 1641-1700
  Also indexed in Early English Books, 1641-1700 (REF PR 431 .Z327 1990)
• Eighteenth Century
  Also indexed in The Eighteenth Century: Guide to the Microfilm Collection (REF Z 699.4 .E17 E35 1984)

Another useful collection, although in print and not in microform, is

• Tudor Facsimile Texts (folio series - call numbers vary with title)

• Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 (REF PN 86 .L53)
• Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC) (REF PN 94 .T83)
• Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism (NCLC) (REF PN 761 .N5)
• Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) (REF PN 771 .C59)
• Poetry Criticism (REF PN 1010 .P6)
• Granger's Index to Poetry in Anthologies (REF PN 1022 .H39 1997)
• International Dictionary of Theatre: Plays (REF PN 2035 .I49 1992 v.1)
• Oxford Companion to English Literature (REF PR 19 .D73 1995)
• Cambridge History of English Literature (REF PR 83 .C22 1907)
• British Women Writers : A Critical Reference Guide (REF PR 111 .B75 1989)
• Concordance to Shakespeare (REF PR 2892 .B34 1953)
• Shakespearean Criticism (REF PR 2965 .S43 1984)
• Contemporary Authors (CA) (REF PS 129 .C6)

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.

• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures (1963+)
• Web of Science 1975+
• Ingenta Fall 1988+
• Dissertation Abstracts International 1864+
• JSTOR Digitized Journals (full text articles from a number of literature and humanities journals)
• 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).
• Oxford English Dictionary - 2nd ed. (1989)

• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures 1921-1962 (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)
• Book Review Digest 1906+ (REF IND Z1219 .C95)
• Book Review Index 1965+ (REF IND Z 1219 .B6)
  

While the above indexes are most often used in identifying research materials on English 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.

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.

WorldCat allows searching of authors, titles, and subjects across multiple library catalogs. Remote access to this database is limited to UNH students, faculty, or staff. Read these instructions for more information about accessing WorldCat from off campus. Interlibrary loan requests for books not owned by the UNH Library may also be placed through WorldCat.

Library catalogs for many other libraries can be also accessed through the World-Wide Web. LibWeb and LibDex can provide you with links to academic libraries and their catalogs worldwide.

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)
• Index of English Literary Manuscripts (REF PR 83 .I5)
• Subject Collections (Ash and Miller, 7th ed.) (REF Z 731 .S8)

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. See the research guide on Evaluating Web Sites for Quality for some guidelines. The following list is a sample of some sites on the WWW focusing on various aspects of English literature:

• Department of English, University of New Hampshire
• Jack Lynch's Literary Resources on the Net
• Luminarium: English Literature
• Voice of the Shuttle: English Literature
• British Poetry 1780-1910: a Hypertext Archive of Scholarly Editions
• Complete Works of Shakepeare
• Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet
• A Literary Index
• Chaucer: An Annotated Guide to Online Resources
• Subject Collection: Literature(Internet Public Library)
• Sonnet Central

In addition, there are several journals published electronically on the Internet that can be accessed freely:

• Romanticism on the Net
• Keats-Shelley Journal
• Connotations: A Journal for Critical Debate
• Early Modern Literary Studies

Appropriate citation of sources and references is an important part of the research process. Citation standards for print resources can be found in the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, held at the reference Desk. Citing electronic sources in the humanities is a developing area at this time. There is some online guidance for citing electronic resources in the MLA format. Also, Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information is located at the Reference Desk and provides many additional examples.

Please send questions or comments on this research guide to