LITERARY CRITICISM
Finding Information About An Author's Life & Work


PRELIMINARY NOTES:

  • LAMP’s Electronic Resources noted below are accessible from off campus using “remote authentication protocol” – click on this link for instructions. Because this authentication is required when accessing LAMP's Electronic Resources from off the RCCD campuses, these various Electronic Resources (databases), when cited below, cannot by hyptertext links in this document. Rather the path to accessing them via LAMP is indicated.
  • Reference is made throughout this document to DLLRC. This is the Digital Library and Learning Resource Center - RCCD's City Campus (or Riverside City College) library and instructional media facility.
  • LAMP - or the RCCD Library website - has its own "homepage" - at http://library.rcc.edu. From this page, one can then click on one of the three RCCD campus/college library facilities: Riverside City College, Moreno Valley Campus, and Norco Campus. What results in each case is LAMP's homepage for each of those respective campuses - so for Riverside City College the LAMP home page is at http://library.rcc.edu/riverside, and similarly then for the other two RCCD campuses. Beyond that LAMP is virtually the same for each of these campuses, except for these two items:
    • When clicking on Library Catalog from a respective LAMP campus homepage - on the resulting basic seach screen, the IN textbox (or "collection to be searched" indicator box) displays the library collection of that respective campus; that is, from LAMP's Riverside City College homepage, when clicking on Library Catalog, what's displayed in the IN box is Riverside Collection. [NOTE: This IN box, or "collection indicator" box can be changed to another collection by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the IN box, then from the drop-down menu, clicking on the collection you wish to search, so that it's displayed in the IN box.
    • When clicking on the INFORMATION link, upper right corner of a respective LAMP campus homepage, some of this information (for example, HOURS and STAFF) is for that respective campus library.

 

1) AN AUTHOR'S LIFE

 

1-A) REFERENCE SOURCES – ONLINE

Dictionary of Literary Biography - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetcial list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on Dictionary of Literary Biography.

  • This essential reference resource is also available in many, many volumes, grand and glorious, in the Riverside City College Library [Digital Library & Learning Resource Cener, or DLLRC] Reference Collection - 2nd Floor, West Wing - call number: Reference PN771.D5.

MagillOnLiterature Plus - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on MagillOnLiterature Plus. Here's a quick way to start searching this helpful online resource:

  • From the BASIC or ADVANCED search page, in the FIND textbox at the top of the page, type your author's name, first name first then last name, then click on the SEARCH button to the right of this FIND box.
  • What results are titles of items in some way about your author. These are displayed in the REFINE SEARCH rectangle ( the main portion of the page).
  • In the upper left corner of this REFINE SEARCH rectangle, note that ALL RESULTS is in bold black - indicating that's what's displayed currently.
  • But next to this is the link BIOGRAPHIES - and by clicking on this, what results are only the mainly biographical articles about your author.

Literary Reference Center – From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on Literary Reference Center.

  • Here's yet another of LAMP's Electronic Resources that's invaluable, even essential for finding information about authors and their work.
  • It's included in the Periodical Indexes section of the Electronic Resources because it includes indexing to articles from literally hundreds of journals - but also indexing to articles, essays, etc. from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and other reference works, and unique sources not readily available online elsewhere.
  • From the initial page note on the left the link Browse Authors, for biographical information about them.

The Gale Virtual Reference Library - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on Gale Virtual Reference Library.

  • The extraordinary resource is like having a complete reference library available all full text online.
  • This includes - as you can see from the initial BASIC SEARCH page, lower half of the page, with subect categories listed - online reference sources about LITERATURE.
  • To the right of this category is the link: VIEW PUBLICATIONS. Click on this link and what appears is a long list of sixteen online "literature" reference sources.
  • When you click on these individual titles, several of which would include information about an author's life, what results is a search screen from which you can then search the specific resource you just clicked on.
  • Alternatively, by clicking on the ADVANCED SEARCH button (near the top of the page on the left), what results is a search screen from which, as you scroll down this page to the LIMIT THE RESULTS section, you can select the subject LITERATURE and so search across all sixteen online "literature" reference sources at one time.

Try these biographical online reference resource too - From LAMP’s Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on:

  • American National Biography
  • Biographies Plus Illustrated
  • Biography Resource Center


1-B) REFERENCE SOURCES – BOOKS

Located in the DLLRC Reference Collectioin - 2nd Floor, West Wing - in counter-height shelves near the Information (Reference) Desk. Here are two quick ways to find books in the reference collection:

Ask a Librarian! We’re here for you and your success - so ask us for help with your research.

Look in the Riveride City College Library (DLLRC) Reference Collection for books with call numbers starting with the PNs through the PSs.

  • RCCD Library, like most academic libraries, uses the Library of Congress [LC] Subject Classification system for organizing (that is, categorizing or classifying) BY SUBJECT our books and other library materials.
  • Accordingly, we use the LC Subject Classification call number notation system - according to which all of human knowledge ("the entire universe of human life, interest, and endeavor") is divided into 21 broad subject categories, each denoted by a single letter of the alphabet (A, B, C, etc. - except for five letters not used) - EXAMPLE: P denotes "Language & Literature."
  • These 21 broad subjects are then subdivided into various subcategories, denoted by two-letter combinations - EXAMPLE: PN denotes "Literature (General)," PR = "English Literature," PS = "American Literature.
  • Then these subject subdivisions or subcategories are subdivided yet again, according to their various specific aspects, denoted by "two-letter plus numbers" (alpha-numeric) combinations - EXAMPLE: call numbers beginning PN80 through PN99 are for "Literature (in General) - Criticism"; PN441-1009.5 "Literature (in General) - Literary History; and of this, PN451-497 "Literature (in General) - Biography."
  • Library cataloging includes this "subject classifcation" process, whereby books and other items are analyzed for their major subject content, then assigned respective call numbers denoting this subject content.
  • These call numbers (or more accurately, the labels on which an item's call number is printed) are then affixed to the spine of the item (or if for some reason that's not possible, to the front cover of the book or item, usually in the upper left corner of the cover) - hence this synonym for a call number - "spine-label number."
  • Books and other items are then shelved according to these call numbers, so that items about the same subject are more or less at the same place on the shelves - hence, another synonymous term for a call number - "subject-area number."
  • This subject arrangement allows, conveniently enough, for "browsing" (looking along or among) the shelves for books with certain call numbers - therefore about certain subjects.
  • Accordingly, going to the DLLRC reference shelves or to the "Main Stack" shelves (DLLRC 3rd Floor) watching for books whose call numbers range from the PNs through the PSs is one way to look for books about literature in general, then specifically for English literarture (PRs) and American literature (PSs), etc.

For example, listed below in call number order are some of the many books in DLLRC reference collection that give biographical information about authors:

  • PM155 .D53 1994 – Dictionary of Native American Literature
  • PN56.S65 N48 1999 – Social Protest Literature: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and Themes
  • PN451.S35 1998 – Scribner Writers Series Master Index
  • PN452.M85 2002 – Multicultural Writers from Antiquity to 1945: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook
  • PN471.B57 1992 – The Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature
  • PN471.G74 1994 – Great Women Writers: The Lives and Works of 135 of the World's Most Important Women Writers, from Antiquity to the Present
  • PN771.D5 – Dictionary of Literary Biography - Also online, see (1-A) above.
  • PN3373.S398 1997 – Short Story Writers
  • PQ7081.3.A39 2002 – Diccionario de Escritores Hispanoamericanos: Del Siglo XVI al Siglo XX
  • PQ7420.2 K3 1989 – Biographical Dictionary of Hispanic Literature in the United States : the Literature of Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and Other Hispanic Writers
  • PR111.E54 1998 – An Encyclopedia of British Women Writers
  • PS21.W43 1996 – Webster's Dictionary of American Authors
  • PS147.A4 – American Women Writers
  • PS147.O94 1995 – The Oxford Companion to Women's Writing in the United States
  • PS151.C67 1998 – Contemporary Women Poets
  • PS151.M54 1991 – Modern American Women Writers
  • PS153.I52 W47 1999 – Native American Literatures: An Encyclopedia of Works, Characters, Authors, and Themes
  • PS153.M56 A414 2000 – American Ethnic Writers
  • PS153.M56 C66 2004 – Contemporary American Ethnic Poets: Lives, Works, Sources
  • PS153.N5 A344 2001 – African-American Writers
  • PS153.N5 O96 1997 – The Oxford Companion to African American Literature PS153.N5 R65 1990 – Harlem Renaissance and Beyond: Literary Biographies of 100 Black Women Writers, 1900-1945
  • PS261.S595 2006 – Southern Writers: A New Biographical Dictionary
  • PS338.N4 A69 2004 – African American Dramatists: An A to Z Guide
  • PS508.N3 A36 1988 – Afro-American Women Writers, 1746-1933: An Anthology and Critical Guide

KEYWORD Search LAMP’s Library Catalog. For other reference books like them, try these keyword searches:

authors and biograph*

  • Using the basic search screen, set to KEYWORD, in the FOR textbox type this keyword string: authors and biograph* — NOTE: The asterisk searches for words that being with biograph, like biography, biographies, biographical.
  • Then set the IN textbox to All Reference Collection.
  • On the resulting screen, click on MODIFY SEARCH link along the top of the screen and on the screen that results, in the LIMIT TO section, set LOCATION to Riverside.
  • Then scroll down the screen a bit and click on the SUBMIT button.
  • On the resulting screen, click on the EXTENDED DISPLAY link along the top of the screen to see that all of the titles listed are in Riverside (DLLRC) Reference, with their call numbers displayed as well.

authors and encycloped*

  • Using the basic search screen, set to KEYWORD, in the FOR textbox type this keyword string: authors and encycloped* — NOTE: the asterisk searches for words that begin with encycloped, like encyclopedia, encyclopedias, encyclopedic.
  • Then set the IN textbox to All Reference Collection.
  • On the resulting screen, click on MODIFY SEARCH link along the top of the screen and on the screen that results, in the LIMIT TO section, set LOCATION to Riverside.
  • Then scroll down the screen a bit and click on the SUBMIT button.
  • On the resulting screen, click on the EXTENDED DISPLAY link along the top of the screen to see that all of the titles listed are in Riverside (DLLRC) Reference, with their call numbers displayed as well.

author and dictionar*

  • Using the basic search screen, set to KEYWORD, in the FOR textbox type this keyword string: authors and dictionar* — NOTE: the asterisk searches for words that begin with dictionar, like dictionary and dictionaries.
  • Then set the IN textbox to All Reference Collection.
  • On the resulting screen, click on MODIFY SEARCH link along the top of the screen and on the screen that results, in the LIMIT TO section, set LOCATION to Riverside.
  • Then scroll down the screen a bit and click on the SUBMIT button.
  • On the resulting screen, click on the EXTENDED DISPLAY link along the top of the screen to see that all of the titles listed are in Riverside (DLLRC) Reference, with their call numbers displayed as well.

NOTE: There will be some duplication resulting from the above three searches, but in each case unique titles in the DLLRC reference collection will also result - so it’s helpful to try all three separate KEYWORD searches.


The Gale Literary Criticism Series Online Index - the Literary Index.

  • The Dictionary of Literary Biography - both online from LAMP’s Electronic Resources / Reference Resources and in hardcopy at PN771.D5 in the DLLRC reference collection - is only one of these important, even essential Gale literary criticism series.
  • There are many others – and for a complete online index to all of the Gale literary criticism series, see Gale’s web-based Literary Index.
    • NOTE: This is one of the Web sites recommended by the RCCD Librarians in our "Web subject directory" - see LAMP's Internet Resources / Subject Guides - and from the resulting "Internet By Subject" table of subject/interest categories, click on "Literature, Writers, and Books," then from the list that results, scroll down to the section: Literary Criticism and click on the Literary Index link.
  • This invaluable online aid points to specific volumes and pages of respective Gale literary criticism series where you can find information about an author and/or specific works by an author.
  • However, the Literary Index is only a "pointer" - it does not provide the full text online of articles from the respective Gale publications it points to.
  • But by using citations from the Literary Index, you would then check with a librarian to see where the Gale source cited, if not in the RCCD Library collection, can be found.


1-C) BOOKS TO TAKE HOME
You can have up to 20 books checked out at a time and for up to 21 days.

SUBJECT Search LAMP's Library Catalog on the Name of Your Author.

  • From LAMP, click on Riverside City College, and what results is LAMP’s Riverside City College homepage.
  • Click on Library Catalog and what results is the simple search screen, with the first textbox (in effect, "type of search" box) set to KEYWORD search.
  • Click on the down arrow to the right of this box, and from the drop down menu, click on SUBJECT, so that SUBJECT now shows in this "type of search" textbox.
  • In the second textbox, labeled FOR, type your author's last name, then first name. EXAMPLE: Cather, Willa.
  • In the third textbox, labeled IN, note that Riverside Collection is displayed. If you want to search another RCCD campus library for books assigned the same subject heading you typed in the FOR box, then click on the down arrow to the right of the IN textbox and click on a respective collection that's listed. Note too that you can click on View Entire Collection, to see the books in all three RCCD campus library facilities that have been assigned the subject heading for your author.
  • Once the FOR and IN textboxes are set the way you want - click on the SUBMIT button.
  • If the RCCD Library (and the particular collection you searched, for example, the Riverside Collection) has books ABOUT your author, what results is a list of subject headings.
  • The first of these is usually just your author's name: last name, then first name of your author, plus your author's birth and death dates (if your author is deceased).
    • NOTE: The RCCD Library does not necessarily have entire books or even major portions of books about every single author. So the above SUBJECT search, may result in no subject headings for your author.
    • If that's the case, try the other ways described in this guide for finding information in the RCCD Library about your author, including, for example, just doing a simple KEYWORD search on your author's name, which as KEYWORD search should be entered fist name first, then last name. Or when all else fails and really best of all anyway - JUST ASK A LIBRARIAN!
  • Let's assume, however, that you do get a list of subject headings - with the first one listed just your author's name: last name, then first name of your author, plus your author's birth and death dates (if your author is deceased).
  • Books assigned this simple subject heading for your author (just by itself, without any further qualifiers or subheadings) give general information about your author - including in most cases biographical information plus critical commentary about your author's work.
  • But be sure to look up and down the entire list of subject headings that begin with your authors name (again, in the format noted just above) - but then qualified or with subheadings in some way.
  • For example, in some cases you'll see the subheading - Biography following your author's name. If so, be sure to click on that for books or other items in the library that have been assigned that subject heading - that is, are specifically biographies of your author.

1-D) JOURNAL ARTICLES

Literary Reference Center – From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, scroll down thisalphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on Literary Reference Center.

  • Here's yet another of LAMP's Electronic Resources that's invaluable, even essential for finding information about authors and their work. It's included in the Periodical Indexes section of the Electronic Resources because it includes indexing to articles from literally hundreds of journals - but also indexing to articles, essays, etc. from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and other reference works, and unique sources not readily available online elsewhere.
  • From the initial page note on the left the link Browse Authors, for biographical information about them.

Other journal and magazine articles about specific authors can also be found using:

Academic Search Premier - RCCD Library’s major general-interest, "covering all subjects" database. From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on Academic Search Premier. Follow the directions on the resulting screens for finding magazine & journal article - including many scholarly, academic, professional, and technical journals. Of the literally tens of millions of articles indexed and abstracted by Academic Search Premier, more and more of these include their full text immediately online.

MasterFILE Premier - Another general-interest database. From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on MasterFILE Premier. Note that this index, like Literary Reference Center, includes full-text information from many different kinds of information sources.

Humanites Full Text - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on Humanities Full Text.

  • On the resulting WilsonWeb "Advanced Search" screen, in the top portion of the screen, click on the box to the left of Humanities Full Text.
  • In the main body of the screen, in the FIND search-statement box, do a simple KEYWORD search by typing your author's name (first name first, then last name) enclosed in quotation marks - then click the START box.
    • EXAMPLE: "maya angelou"
  • Before clicking on the START box, from this "Advanced Search" screen you could also LIMIT your search:
    • To articles with their FULL TEXT immediately online - and, if you wish, in PDF format, so that the full text looks like a photocopy of the article online;
    • To articles from PEER REVIEWED publications - that is, scholarly, academic, professional, technical journals; as well as LIMIT in other ways.
  • On the resulting screen is a list of the titles of articles that contain, someplace in the titles or full descriptions of these articles, your author's name. These citations are arranged the most recently published first.
  • In the top section of this results screen are icons to click for limiting your results:
    • To those citations with their articles FULL TEXT immediately online - and, if you wish, in PDF format; and To those citations from PEER REVIEWED publications – that is, scholarly, academic, technical, professional journals, etc.
  • Click on citations that look likely to give you information you need to see the full description of the citation, including an abstract of the article.
  • If the citation includes the full text of the article online or in PDF format, note that in the full description screen, in the upper right-hand corner are icons for clicking on which format is available respectively and depending on which format you want.

1-E) WEB SITES

See the Riverside City College Library [DLLRC] guide: Literary Research on the Internet. Ask for this at the Information (Reference) Desk—DLLRC, 2nd Floor, West Wing. Note the many reviewed and recommended Web sites listed and go to those you think are most likely to give you information you need.

Also use "Web Subject Directories." These list websites, usually arranged by broad subject or interest category, that have been reviewed and recommended by experts. Therefore, all sites listed in web subject directories give good, authoritative, authentic, reliable information.

  • For example, click on LAMP's Internet Resources, then on Subject Guides.
  • On the resulting page, click on the category Literature, Writers, and Books and from the list that results, scroll down to the section: Literary Criticism.
  • Also see immediately below this table of subject/interest categories – the two-line statement that begins: "For even more subject links click on ..." followed by links to more good web subject directories.
  • Use these to get to websites that have been reviewed and recommended as giving good, authoritative, reliable information.

2) AN AUTHOR'S WORK

2-A) REFERENCE SOURCES – ONLINE

Dictionary of Literary Biography - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on Dictionary of Literary Biography. This essential reference resource is also available as a multi-volume set of books in the DLLRC Reference Collection - 2nd Floor, West Wing - call number: Reference PN771.D5.

  • Although this extraordinary resource, one of the Gale Literary Criticism series, is primarily for biographical information about authors, included as well is information about specific works by authors.
  • Indeed in general, information about an author's life inevitably includes at least some commentary, and by degrees critical commentary, on the work of that author - that is, on the author's novels, poems, plays, etc., especially in the context of or against the backdrop of the author's life.
  • Therefore, it can be helpful to check biographical sources of information about an author for the critical comment about the author's work that may be included.

MagillOnLiterature Plus - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on MagillOnLiterature Plus. Here's a quick way to start searching this helpful online resource:

  • From the BASIC or ADVANCED search page, in the FIND textbox at the top of the page, type the title of the work of your author - the work for which you want critical commentary.
  • What results are titles of items in some way about your the literary work. These are displayed in the REFINE SEARCH rectangle ( the main portion of the page).
  • Note that entries labeled WORK ANALYSIS (in parentheses to the far right of an entry) are more or less critical commentary about that work.

Literary Reference Center – From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes, then click on Literary Reference Center.

  • Here's yet another of LAMP's Electronic Resources that's invaluable, even essential for information about authors and their work.
  • It's included in the Periodical Indexes section of the Electronic Resources because it includes indexing to articles from literally hundreds of journals - but also indexing to articles, essays, etc. from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and other reference works, and unique sources not readily available online elsewhere.
  • From the initial page note on the right the link Browse Works, for critical commentary about them.

The Gale Virtual Reference Library - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources, scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Reference Resources, then click on Gale Virtual Reference Library.

  • The extraordinary resource is like having a complete reference library available all full text online.
  • This includes - as you can see from the initial BASIC SEARCH page, lower half of the page, with subect categories listed - online reference sources about LITERATURE.
  • To the right of this category is the link: VIEW PUBLICATIONS. Click on this link and what appears is a long list of sixteen online "literature" reference sources.
  • When you click on these individual titles, several of which could include critical commentary about an author's work, what results is a search screen from which you can then search the specific resource you just clicked on.
  • Alternatively, by clicking on the ADVANCED SEARCH button (near the top of the page on the left), what results is a search screen from which, as you scroll down this page to the LIMIT THE RESULTS section, you can select the subject LITERATURE and so search across all sixteen online "literature" reference sources at one time.

2-B) REFERENCE SOURCES – BOOKS

Located in the DLLRC Reference Collectioin - 2nd Floor, West Wing - in counter-height shelves near the Information (Reference) Desk. Here are two quick ways to find books in the reference collection:

Ask a Librarian! We’re here for you and your success - so let us help you with your research.

Look in the Riveride City College Library (DLLRC) Reference Collection for books with call numbers starting with the PNs through the PSs.

  • RCCD Library, like most academic libraries, uses the Library of Congress [LC] Subject Classification system for organizing (that is, categorizing or classifying) BY SUBJECT our books and other library materials.
  • Accordingly, we use the LC Subject Classification call number notation system - according to which all of human knowledge ("the entire universe of human life, interest, and endeavor") is divided into 21 broad subject categories, each denoted by a single letter of the alphabet (A, B, C, etc. - except for five letters not used) - EXAMPLE: P denotes "Language & Literature."
  • These 21 broad subjects are then subdivided into various subcategories, denoted by two-letter combinations - EXAMPLE: PN denotes "Literature (General)," PR = "English Literature," PS = "American Literature.
  • Then these subject subdivisions or subcategories are subdivided yet again, according to their various specific aspects, denoted by "two-letter plus numbers" (alpha-numeric) combinations - EXAMPLE: call numbers beginning PN80 through PN99 are for "Literature (in General) - Criticism"; PN441-1009.5 "Literature (in General) - Literary History; and of this, PN451-497 "Literature (in General) - Biography."
  • Library cataloging includes this "subject classifcation" process, whereby books and other items are analyzed for their major subject content, then assigned respective call numbers denoting this subject content.
  • These call numbers (or more accurately, the labels on which an item's call number is printed) are then affixed to the spine of the item (or if for some reason that's not possible, to the front cover of the book or item, usually in the upper left corner of the cover) - hence this synonym for a call number - "spine-label number."
  • Books and other items are then shelved according to these call numbers, so that items about the same subject are more or less at the same place on the shelves - hence, another synonymous term for a call number - "subject-area number."
  • This subject arrangement allows, conveniently enough, for "browsing" (looking along or among) the shelves for books with certain call numbers - therefore about certain subjects.
  • Accordingly, going to the DLLRC reference shelves or to the "Main Stack" shelves (DLLRC 3rd Floor) watching for books whose call numbers range from the PNs through the PSs is one way to look for books about literature in general, then specifically for English literarture (PRs) and American literature (PSs), etc.

For example, listed below in call number order are some of the many books literary criticism in the DLLRC reference collection:

First, here are the Gale Literary Criticism series titles, in call number order, that are in the DLLRC Reference Collection:

  • PN86.L56 - Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800: Excerpts from Criticism of the Corks of Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, and Eighteenth-century Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Pphilosophers, and Other Creative Writers, from the First Ppublished Critical Appraisals to Current Evaluations
  • PN681.5.C57 - Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
  • PN761 .N5 - Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism
  • PN771.C59 - Contemporary Literary Criticism
  • PN771.D5 - The Dictionary of Literary Biography (also available online from LAMP's Electronic Resources / Reference Resources
  • PN771.T9 - Twentieth Century Literary Criticism
  • PN3373.S386 - Short Story Criticism
  • PQ6039.H5 1994 - Hispanic Literature Criticism
  • PS153.N5B556 - Black Literature Criticism

The Gale Literary Criticism Series Online Index - the Literary Index.

  • This is a complete online index to all of the Gale literary criticism series - not only those listed above in the DLLRC Reference Collection, but also others for which we do not have subscriptions but that would be at other libraries in the area and to which we could refer you.
  • This invaluable online aid points to specific volumes and pages of respective Gale literary criticism series where you can find information about an author and/or specific works by an author.
  • However, the Literary Index is only a "pointer" - it does not provide the full text online of articles from the respective Gale publications it points to.
  • But by using citations from the Literary Index, you would then check with a librarian to see where the Gale source cited, if not in the RCCD Library collection, can be found.
  • NOTE: This is one of the Web sites recommended by the RCCD Librarians in our "Web subject directory" - see LAMP's Internet Resources / Subject Guides - and from the resulting "Internet By Subject" table of subject/interest categories, click on "Literature, Writers, and Books," then from the list that results, scroll down to the section: Literary Criticism and click on the Literary Index link.

Other examples of the kind of literary criticism books available in the DLLRC Reference Collection include, again in call number order:

  • PN41.C67 1990 - The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
  • PN41.H36 1992 - Dictionary of Concepts in Literary Criticism and Theory
  • PN81.E43 1993 - Encyclopedia of Contemporary Literary Theory
  • PN3321.C7 2001 - Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  • PN3451.C75 2000 - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  • PR83.M73 1959 - The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors
  • PR106.S7 1985 - St. James Reference Guide to English Literature
  • PS129 R44 1987 - Reference Guide to American Literature
  • PS221.C8 1969 - Modern American Literature (Currently in 6 volumes; Vols.1-3 were published in 1969 as the 4th enlarged edition to this basic reference source in American literature; Vols. 4-6, were issues as supplements to this 4th edition, with Vol.6 the latest supplement, published in 1997).

And for more about short story criticsm - the famous Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication series. These only cite sources of criticism for respective short stories - ask the librarians to help you find the sources cited. Here's what's available of this series in the Riverside City College Library [DLLRC] has:

  • Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication (3rd edition, 1977). Shelved in the "Main Stacks" (DLLRC, 3rd Floor, East Wing) @ Z5917.S5 W33 1977. Cites interpretations (criticism) written between 1900 and 1975 for selected short stories written from 1800 to 1975.
  • Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: Supplement to the Third Edition. Shelved in the "Main Stacks" @ Z5917.S5 W33 1977 Suppl. [1-5]. In five supplemental volumes issued between 1980 and 1991, with checklists of books and journals used.
  • Twentieth-Century Short Story Explication: New Series. Shelved in the "Main Stacks" @ Z5917.S5 W35 1993. The RCCD Library collection has only Vol. 1 of this New Series, with approximately 6000 citations to interpretations (criticisms) written during 1989 and 1990 for selected short stories published from 1800 through 1990.

Use LAMP's Library Catalog to search for other books like these - both in the Reference and the Main Stacks (where books that can be checked out are shelved in any of the RCCD campus libraries).

For example, to search for any of the above examples, since the titles are listed, in LAMP's Library Catalog - from the basic search screen, set to KEYWORD search - change this by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the first textbox (with KEYWORD displayed) and from the drop-down menu, click on TITLE. Then in the second textbox, the FOR box, type the exact title of the item you want. And if you want to see if this is here, as all of the above examples are of course ... in DLLRC (Riverside City College Library REFERENCE, then just leave the third textbox, the IN box, as it is, with RIVERSIDE displayed - but to search other RCCD Library collectios, click on the down arrow to the right of this IN box and from the drop-down menu, click on the collection you want to search.

When you do an exact TITLE search for a book in the RCCD Library, what results is the full description (bibliographic record) for that item. The different parts of this record - important information about the book - are labeled along the left side of the screen: Author, Title, Imprint [publisher information, including date of publication], Subject - and then importantly farther down the screen a bit: Location, Call Number, and Status (for REFERENCE items, this always reads: LIB USE ONLY, since reference books cannot be checked out of the library).

SUBJECT is an important part of an items bibliographic record because when we find a book that gives us information we want, then when looking at this book's bibliographic record in the Library Catalog and especially looking at the SUBJECT (headings) assigned to it, by clicking on these (since they're hypertext links), what results is a list of subject headings, in which we see listed the subject heading we just clicked on. By looking to the far right of this heading, in the column headed: ENTRIES, we can see if there are other items in the RCCD Librar that have been assigned this same subject heading. If so, when we click on this subject heading list, what results is a list of titles of items in the library that have been assigned that subject heading, and so about that subject.

Accordingly, if a book from the above list of selected reference sources gives you information you want, by doing a title search on it, then noting the subject headings assigned to it and clicking on these, you can immediately see if the library has other books assigned this same subject heading, and if so, by checking those books, you may find yet more information of use to you about that same subject.

The above is a bit technical - so be sure to check with a librarian about how best to use LAMP's Library Catalog to find any and all information, including that about an author's life and an author's work.

2-C) BOOKS TO TAKE HOME
You can have up to 20 books checked out at a time and for up to 21 days.

SUBJECT search in LAMP's Library Catalog for an author - because you want books ABOUT the author, not BY the author (for books by the author, you would do an author search in the library catalog).

SUBJECT Search LAMP's Library Catalog on the Name of Your Author.

  • From LAMP, click on Riverside City College, and what results is LAMP’s Riverside City College homepage.
  • Click on Library Catalog and what results is the simple search screen, with the first textbox (in effect, "type of search" box) set to KEYWORD search.
  • Click on the down arrow to the right of this box, and from the drop down menu, click on SUBJECT, so that SUBJECT now shows in this "type of search" textbox.
  • In the second textbox, labeled FOR, type your author's last name, then first name. EXAMPLE: Cather, Willa.
  • In the third textbox, labeled IN, note that Riverside Collection is displayed. If you want to search another RCCD campus library for books assigned the same subject heading you typed in the FOR box, then click on the down arrow to the right of the IN textbox and click on a respective collection that's listed. Note too that you can click on View Entire Collection, to see the books in all three RCCD campus library facilities that have been assigned the subject heading for your author.
  • Once the FOR and IN textboxes are set the way you want - click on the SUBMIT button.
  • If the RCCD Library (and the particular collection you searched, for example, the Riverside Collection) has books ABOUT your author, what results is a list of subject headings.
  • The first of these is usually just your author's name: last name, then first name of your author, plus your author's birth and death dates (if your author is deceased).
    • NOTE: The RCCD Library does not necessarily have entire books or even major portions of books about every single author. So the above SUBJECT search, may result in no subject headings for your author.
    • If that's the case, try the other ways described in this guide for finding information in the RCCD Library about your author, including, for example, just doing a simple KEYWORD search on your author's name, which as KEYWORD search should be entered fist name first, then last name. Or when all else fails and really best of all anyway - JUST ASK A LIBRARIAN!
  • Let's assume, however, that you do get a list of subject headings - with the first one listed just your author's name: last name, then first name of your author, plus your author's birth and death dates (if your author is deceased).
  • Books assigned this simple subject heading for your author give general information about your author - including in most cases biographical information plus critical commentary about your author's work.
  • But be sure to look at any of the other subject headings that begin with your authors name (again, in the format noted just above) - but then qualified or with subheadings in some way.
  • For literary criticism about your author, you'll want to look especially for the subheading - Criticism and Interpreation. EXAMPLE: Cather, Willa, 1873-1947 - Criticism and Intepretation.
  • If you do see such a heading for your author, be sure to click on this for the books and other items in the RCCD Library assigned this subject heading and so specifically about critcism and interpretation of your author's work.
  • Watch for other subject headings that begin with your author's name (again, in the format note above) but that are qualified or have subheadings that look likely to give you critical commentary about your author's work in genearl or about a specific work in particular. Then be sure to click on these for the books and other items that have been assigned those exact, precise subject headings and so are about those specific aspects of your author and/or your author's work.

2-D) JOURNAL ARTICLES

Literary Reference Center – From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, then scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes and click on Literary Reference Center.

  • Here's yet another of LAMP's Electronic Resources that's invaluable, even essential for finding information about authors and their work. It's included in the Periodical Indexes section of the Electronic Resources because it includes indexing to articles from literally hundreds of journals - but also indexing to articles, essays, etc. from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and other reference works, and unique sources not readily available online elsewhere.
  • From the initial page note on the left the link Browse Works, for critical commentary about them.

Other journal and magazine articles about specific authors can also be found using:

Academic Search Premier - RCCD Library’s major general-interest, "covering all subjects" database. From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, then scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes and click on Academic Search Premier.

  • Follow the directions on the resulting screens for finding magazine & journal article - including many scholarly, academic, professional, and technical journals.
  • Of the literally tens of millions of articles indexed and abstracted by Academic Search Premier, more and more of these include their full text immediately online.
  • KEYWORD search for articles about specific works by your author by typing your author's name (first name first then last name, but enclosed in quotation marks, so that this exact name is searched), then the logical or Boolean operator AND, then the exact title of the specific work by your author for which you want critical commentary (Note: if you type the exact title, enclose it in quotation marks too, so this exact title is searched just that way) or least a major keyword or two from that title.
  • EXAMPLE: "willa cather" and antonia - to search for articles about Willa Cather's My Antonia OR "willa cather" and pioneers - to search for articles about Willa Cather's O! Pioneers.

MasterFILE Premier - Another general-interest database. From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, then scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes and click on MasterFILE Premier. Note that this index, like Literary Reference Center, includes full-text information from many different kinds of information sources. Again, in searching this index, do as directed just above when searching Academic Search Premier.

Humanites Full Text - From LAMP's Electronic Resources / Periodical Indexes, then scroll down this alphabetical list of RCCD Library's Periodical Indexes and click on Humanities Full Text.

  • On the resulting WilsonWeb "Advanced Search" screen, in the top portion of the screen, click on the box to the left of Humanities Full Text.
  • In the main body of the screen, in the first FIND search-statement box, do a simple KEYWORD search by typing your author's name (first name first, then last name) enclosed in quotation marks, the logical or Boolean operator AND, then the exact title enclosed in quotation marks or just a significant keyword or keyword phrase from the title (if a keyword phrase, enclose it in quotation marks, so that phrase is searched as a phrase) — then click the START box. NOTE: You could also use the multiple FIND search-statement boxes - that is, type "maya angelo" (in quotation marks) in the first one; then in the second FIND search-statment box the exact title of one of her specific works or a keyword or keyword phrase from the title (and if a phrase, enclose it also in quotation marks so that this phrase is searched); be sure to keep the "and" showing to the left of the second search-statement box.
  • EXAMPLE: "maya angelou" and "i know why the caged bird sings" OR just "maya angelou and "caged bird"
  • Before clicking on the START box, from this "Advanced Search" screen you could also LIMIT your search:
  • To articles with their FULL TEXT immediately online - and, if you wish, in PDF format, so that the full text looks like a photocopy of the article online;
  • To articles from PEER REVIEWED publications - that is, scholarly, academic, professional, technical journals; as well as LIMIT in other ways.
  • On the resulting screen is a list of the titles of articles that contain, someplace in the titles or full descriptions of these articles, your author's name. These citations are arranged the most recently published first.
  • In the top section of this results screen are icons to click for limiting your results:
  • To those citations with their articles FULL TEXT immediately online - and, if you wish, in PDF format; and To those citations from PEER REVIEWED publications – that is, scholarly, academic, technical, professional journals, etc.
  • Click on citations that look likely to give you information you need to see the full description of the citation, including an abstract of the article.
  • If the citation includes the full text of the article online or in PDF format, note that in the full description screen, in the upper right-hand corner are icons for clicking on which format is available respectively and depending on which format you want.

2-E) WEB SITES

See the Riverside City College Library [DLLRC] guide: Literary Research on the Internet. Ask for this at the Information (Reference) Desk - DLLRC, 2nd Floor, West Wing. Note the many reviewed and recommended Web sites listed and go to those you think are most likely to give you information you need.

Also use "Web Subject Directories." These list websites, usually arranged by broad subject or interest category, that have been reviewed and recommended by experts. Therefore, all sites listed in web subject directories give good, authoritative, authentic, reliable information.

  • For example, click on LAMP's Internet Resources, then on Subject Guides.
  • On the resulting page, click on the category Literature, Writers, and Books and from the list that results, scroll down to the section: Literary Criticism.
  • Also see immediately below this table of subject/interest categories – the two-line statement that begins: "For even more subject links click on ..." followed by links to more good web subject directories.
  • Use these to get to websites that have been reviewed and recommended as giving good, authoritative, reliable information.