Research Resources:
Subject Research Guides:
Literatures in English:
Full-text Reference Collections
Major reference works online.
The Rutgers University computer network allows access,
either in any of the libraries or by remote access from home or office,
to an increasing number of electronic sources--including periodical indexes,
catalogs, the full texts of literary works, discussion groups, electronic journals, etc.
The following is a list of some of the more interesting and immediately relevant sources
for students in literature. Connect through the
Libraries Home Page ),
and click on "Not logged in" to log in.
Contemporary Authors.
Brief biographical and bibliographical information on more than 130,000 authors from the United
States and the rest of the world. While coverage is international, emphasis is given to the English-speaking world, with
more than half the authors from the United States.
Literature Resource Center.
A full text electronic database that provides on line access to biographies, bibliographies,
and critical analysis of authors and their works from every age and literary discipline. Literature Resource Center covers
more than 124,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,000 of the most
studied authors. Searchable fields include: Author Name, Title, Genre, Literary Movement, and Literary Themes. In addition,
users can access current, full text critical essays on major authors via the Literature Resource Center's link to more than
260 prominent literary journals. Also includes links to nearly 5000 web sites focusing on major authors and their works.
Aimed more at undergraduates, but still a useful site.
Middle English Compendium
This invaluable resource for medievalists includes 3 parts: 1) the Middle
English Dictionary-an electronic version of the print MED; 2) a HyperBibliography of Middle English which
includes all the works which are cited in the Middle English Dictionary--probably the most comprehensive
single list of ME materials at present available in electronic form; 3) A Corpus of Middle English Prose
and Verse, a collection of about 60 texts.
Oxford English Dictionary
The great historical dictionary of the English is now available online. The
OED Online is based on the second edition of the printed work and its three-volume Additions series, and
also incorporates draft material and revisions for the third edition (projected to be completed in 2010).
The online version allows searching of the entire text of the dictionary--that is, one can search not
merely for "head words" (the words being defined), but also for words used in definitions, etymologies,
and illustrative quotations. One can also search by the author of quotations (more than 29,000
Shakespeare quotations!), and search for full phrases.
World Shakespeare Bibliography
Contains annotated entries for books, articles, reviews, dissertations,
theatrical productions of Shakespeare's works and their reviews, internet resources and electronic media
from a broad period starting in 1972.
Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory
An annual review of scholarship, in the form of substantial
bibliographic essays. Access through
IRIS.
Year's Work in English Language and Literature
An annual review of criticism and scholarship of English
and American Literature, in the form of substantial bibliographic essays. Access through
IRIS.
