LibGuides: E 379 R: Producing American Literature: Reference Sources

Print Reference Sources at the PCL

Use the call numbers to find these reference series on the 6th floor of the PCL. Once you find these series, you'll likely find other reference works on the shelves nearby that might also be useful.

If you have trouble finding books in print at the PCL, you can always ask the staff at the desk for help, or contact Gina to set-up a research appointment. She can help you navigate the stacks around your particular topic!

Dictionary of Literary Biography
Call Number: PS 126 D437
We have more than 100 volumes in this series. They cover a wide variety of literary movements, authors, geographies, and other groupings - an excellent place to start your research.
First Printings of American Authors
Call Number: Z 1231 F5 F57
ISBN: 0810309335
Comprehensive bibliographies of first printings of major American authors. Goes up through the 1970s.

Online Reference Databases

Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window
A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources and includes the Dictionary of Literary Biography, as well as other important reference series.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files. A list of sources included in our subscription is available.
For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide
Literary Reference Center This link opens in a new window
Provides users with a broad spectrum of information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes. Includes plot summaries, literary criticism, author biographies, book reviews, poems, short stories, classic texts, author interviews, and more.
Provides users with a broad spectrum of information on thousands of authors and their works across literary disciplines and timeframes. Includes plot summaries, literary criticism, author biographies, book reviews, poems, short stories, classic texts, author interviews, and more.
Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism This link opens in a new window
entries on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. Each entry includes a selective primary and secondary bibliography, and there are extensive cross references both within and at the conclusion of each entry.
Updated irregularly. Includes 241 alphabetically arranged entries on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. It also treats figures who did not explicitly deal with, but who still deeply affected, literature, literary theory, or literary criticism, as well as figures and kinds of inquiry from other fields that have been shaped by or have themselves shaped literary theory and criticism. Each entry includes a selective primary and secondary bibliography, and there are extensive cross references both within and at the conclusion of each entry. Chronological range extends from Plato and Aristotle to the present, with wide geographical and cultural coverage.
African American Studies Center This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's authoritative reference works.

As the American canon has evolved, African American Studies scholars have noted that many key literary reference sources have overlooked African American authors. If you choose a work by a Black writer, this database will be a good resource.
Updated regularly. A comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with sophisticated technology permitting precise search and browse capabilities. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's authoritative reference works, approximately 100 primary sources with specially written commentaries, over 1,000 images, over 100 maps, over 200 charts and tables, timelines to guide researchers through the history of African Americans and over 6,000 biographies.
Some of the titles included in this access are:
- African American Artists before the Twentieth Century
- African American National Biography
- Africana
- Black Women in America, Second Edition
- Concise Oxford Companion to African American Literature
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895
- Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present

Why use reference sources?

I love Wikipedia and I use it all the time, but the research for this assignment will require you to look further than what you'll find on the average Wikipedia page. We have a wealth of reference sources in print at the PCL and online through the library website. It will be worth your time to take a deep dive into these resources.

And just what is a reference source?

(It's okay if you don't know this library jargon...)

Reference refers to encyclopedias, dictionaries, biographies, bibliographies*, and other comprehensive texts that give you background information and overviews on a given topic. Many of the ones highlighted here focus on American literature.

*Bibliographies are especially important for this class, as these tools will help you determine the exact editions and printings of a given work.

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