English 2200: Major American Authors

To find Books which Include Criticism on an Author or Topic:

• Search the library catalog a couple of ways:
  
• • Subject Keyword: “Author’s Last Name, First Name and Criticism”
  • • For example: “Frost, Robert and criticism”
  • General Keyword: criticism and other descriptor(s)
  • • For example "criticism and  realism and naturalism"
      
• Scan the hyperlinked subject headings appearing in the individual book records. You can use these to narrow more precisely on your topic.
• Some book records provide the names of essays within the book. For instance, The Roads Not Taken: Rereading Robert Frost begins with an essay on “Swinging Birches” and includes an essay discussing Frost’s sonnets.

You may have to narrow these searches! A search for “Dickinson, Emily and criticism” returns 79 results. Shakespeare would return even more!

To find Anthologies in the library's catalog:

• Try title keyword Anthology and other search terms, like "American literature"
• Try an Advanced search with title keyword Anthology and subject keyword "American literature." You can narrow further by adding a general keyword to this advanced search. 

Using the Online Research Guide:

• From the library homepage, click on the link Pirate Source Subject Guides which is our subject guide database.
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• Select Literature—Novels as your subject, and then select the types of information you need.
• Pirate Source will lead you to selected starting points for research!

Primary Indexes for Articles--Literary Criticism:

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• Modern Language Association International Bibliography (MLAIB): http://media.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/erdbs_description.cfm?id=303 Online access covers 1963-current. For 1921-1962, use the print indexes in the Reference Department.
• Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literatures (ABELL): http://media.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/erdbs_description.cfm?id=175 Online access covers 1892-current. Print indexes begin 1920.
• Literature Online: Combines MLAIB and ABELL, along with other online reference resources (including books of criticism):  http://media.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/erdbs_description.cfm?id=66
  

Secondary Indexes:

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• Humanities International Index: http://media.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/erdbs_description.cfm?id=249
• Arts and Humanities Citation Index: http://media.lib.ecu.edu/erdbs/erdbs_description.cfm?id=184 

If It's Not Full Text: Find It!

This new software will help you find out whether the library has a print or electronic copy of an article from some databases. When you choose a citation from among your results, click on the button  to generate a menu of options. Listed at the top are any databases which will lead you to an electronic copy. Further down the list is a link leading to the Joyner catalog, for you to search for print copies.

Citation Linker: If you already have a citation from someone else’s bibliography and want to find out if we have that article, key it into the Citation Linker:  When you click the Find IT! Button at the bottom of the page, you will generate an menu of options that works like the one described above.

To Find Electronic Copies of Journals:

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• From the library homepage, click on E-Journal Portal
• Search by title or keyword.
• If the library subscribes to electronic access, the database offering access will be named near the bottom of the page.
• If the library does not subscribe to electronic access, the message will read: “Nothing found? Try these tips.”
• If the library does not have access to the years you need, click the “Search the Joyner Library Catalog” button near the top right of the screen to see if we have print copies.

To Get Help:

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• Come to the Reference Desk or call us at (252) 328-6677
• Find chat or Instant Messaging options at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/reference/ask_a_librarian.cfm.
• Email the Reference Desk: http://www.ecu.edu/cs-lib/reference/email.cfm
• Set up a Research Consultation (fill out the form in person, by phone, or online)

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