Encyclopedia and Literary Biography

Encyclopedia articles, written by subject authorities, provide information useful for gaining a basic understanding of a topic and getting started with a research project. Typically, a bibliography, or list, of "classic" books and articles for further research follows each article. Students will find also these encyclopedias useful for brushing up on topics related to their central area of investigation. [Note: See the Research Guides for sources that deal with narrower sub-fields within the discipline.]

American Writers. Editor-in-chief, Leonard Unger. New York: Scribner, c1974-.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PS 129 .A55

British Writers. Editor-in-chief, Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, c1979-1984.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PR 85 .B688

Cox, Michael, editor.
A Dictionary of Writers and Their Works. [ Online ] Oxford University Press, 2001. Available: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/BOOK_SEARCH.html?book=t59&subject=s13 (Accessed 2 April 2003)

Dictionary of Literary Biography. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978-.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PS 221 .D510

The Oxford encyclopedia of American literature. Jay Parini, Editor-in-chief. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PS21 .E537 2004 v.1-4

Subject Dictionaries

These specialized subject dictionaries define the terminology in the discipline. See the Research Guides for sources that deal with narrower sub-fields within the discipline.

Oxford Reference Online: English Language Reference. [ Online ] Oxford University Press, 1990, 2003. Available: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/SUBJECT_SEARCH.html?subject=s8 (Accessed 14 January 2004)

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology
The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar
Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
A New Dictionary of Eponyms
The Oxford Essential Dictionary of Foreign Terms in English
The Oxford Dictionary of Idioms
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs
The Oxford Dictionary of American Usage and Style
Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage

Basic, practical information for students and professionals operating within a discipline.

Oxford Reference Online: Literature. [ Online ] Oxford University Press, 2003. Available: http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/SUBJECT_SEARCH.html?subject=s13 (Accessed 14 January 2004)

A collection of specialized dictionaries and literary companions, including:

The Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Classical Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature
The Concise Oxford Companion to Irish Literature
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
A Dictionary of Shakespeare
The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry in English
A Dictionary of Writers and their Works

Critical Bibliographies

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, 1973-.

Contains lengthy excerpts from criticism published withing the past 25 years along with biographical information, principal works, and bibliographies for additional research for the authors covered.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PN 77 .C59

Twentieth Century Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, 1978-.

Excerpts from critical writing on twentieth century authors plus biographical information, a listing of principal works, and bibliographies for additional research.

CALL NUMBER: [Ref] PR 6045 .O72 Z729

Citation Guides and Style Manuals

Style manuals and citations guides illustrate how to cite book, journal, and other research sources, including materials found in online databases and on the Web according to the conventional format of a particular discipline. Subject specific citation guides are listed below, and a complete listing appears at Reference Sites: Citation Guides and Style Manuals.

Gibaldi, Joseph, 1942-
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New York : Modern Language Association of America, 1999.

CALL NUMBER: Reference Desk [Ref] LB2369 .G53 1999

Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources. Citation Styles. [ Online ] Andrew Harnack and Eugene Kleppinger. Available: http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html (Accessed 10 March 2003)

Includes a section entitled Using MLA Style to Cite and Document Sources which is based on MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (2003).

Books in Schaffer Library are arranged by Library of Congress Class number. Class numbers are searchable in the Web Catalog and browsable in the Stacks and Reference Collection.

P	Philology and linguistics (General)
PA	Classical languages and literature
PB	Modern European languages
PC	Romance languages
PD	Germanic languages
PE	English
PF	West Germanic
PG	Slavic. Baltic, Albanian languages and literature
PH	Finno-Ugrian, Basque languages and literatures
PJ	Oriental languages and literatures
PK	Indo-Iranian
PL	Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
PM	Hyperborean, Indian, and Artificial languages
PN	Literary history and collections (General)
PQ	Romance literatures
PR	English literature
PS	American literature
PT	Germanic literatures
PZ	Juvenile belles lettres