LibGuides: E 314: E 314L: Banned Books (Calo)

Library Resources for E 314L: Banned Books

Below are a selection of recommended library research tools for E 314L: Banned Book, taught by Michal Calo. Librarians Gina Bastone & Ana Rico will cover some of these tools during your class visit to the PCL on Monday, March 31. Remember – you can contact Gina or Ana any time for assistance using these tools!

Background Information

Think of these resources as "scholarly Wikipedia" to use in place of Wikipedia or in tandem with it.

Gale Literature Resource Center
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Full-text database that provides biographies, bibliographies, and critical analysis of authors and their works from every age and literary discipline. The database offers a variety of search options, including searches by person or work. Content comes from a variety of sources, including the following major reference sources: Contemporary Authors Online, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, and Dictionary of Literary Biography Online.
Gale eBooks
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. A database of encyclopedias, almanacs, and specialized reference sources. Fully searchable across all files.

For more information on ebooks see the Ebook Guide

Scholarly Journals & Books

Library databases offer curated sets of journals and scholarly books by subject area and academic discipline. The databases below provide vetted journals from the field of literary studies, and we recommend starting your research with these!

MLA International Bibliography
Find literary criticism, scholarly journal articles, book chapters, essays on major works of literature and authors. Tutorial on how to use MLA.
Updated ten times per year. Indexes critical materials on literature, criticism, drama, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Provides access to citations from over 4,400 journals, series, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Produced by the Modern Language Association.

The Cambridge Companions to Literature Series
Search the library's full holdings of the Cambridge Companions to Literature Series. Most major authors (Nabakov, Morrison) have a dedicated Cambridge Companion anthology where you will find top scholarship.
Note: Most of these are ebooks, but some we only have in print at the PCL.

Gale Literature Resource Center
Dates of coverage vary. Unlimited users.
Updated regularly. Full-text database that provides biographies, bibliographies, and critical analysis of authors and their works from every age and literary discipline. The database offers a variety of search options, including searches by person or work. Content comes from a variety of sources, including the following major reference sources: Contemporary Authors Online, Contemporary Literary Criticism Select, and Dictionary of Literary Biography Online.

Book Reviews

Search these non-scholarly publications (newspapers, literary magazines, etc.) for contemporary reviews of the novels you are studying.

Tip: Use Advanced Search settings to limit your search around the immediate years of publication for each novel. For example, for reviews of Lolita, limit from 1954-1956 for reviews around the time of its publication.

Times Literary Supplement Historical Archive
The literary review publication of the British daily newspaper The Times. Find book and stage reviews, as well cultural commentary from 1902-2014.
Note: This database runs through 2014, which should cover the publication dates of the novels you are studying. If you more recent access, contact Gina.
The complete online fully-searchable edition of the Times Literary Supplement from the first edition in 1902 to 2014. This is the essential companion for studying and researching literary activity and critical opinion makers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Since 1902, the TLS has scrutinized, applauded and dissected the work of leading writers and thinkers, offering comprehensive coverage of the most important publications, in every subject, in several languages, as well as reviewing current theatre, cinema, music, and exhibitions.
New York Times (Historical)
The historical backfile of the New York Times. Use the Advanced Search settings to limit to just reviews, along with the publication date limiter.
Note: Runs through 2018, which should cover the dates of publication for the novels you are studying. If you need more recent access to the NYT, contact Gina.
Updated annually. Includes all the articles published since the first issue of the paper in 1851. Provides full text and full image articles with digital reproductions of every page, every article and every issue in PDF format. In addition to news stories, includes editorials, letters to the editor, obituaries, birth and marriage announcements, photos, and advertisements.
More recent years are also available in other full text resources.
Book Review Digest Plus
Find book reviews from a mix of popular magazines and scholarly sources.
Note: Only goes back to 1983, so use it for newer publications.
Brings together book reviews on subjects such as art, biography, business, education, general interest, history, humanities, literature, music science & technology and more with coverage back to 1983. Many of the reviews are serious, academic works.

Vetting Journals

Some tips and recommendations for vetting the scholarly journals before you get too much into your writing and analysis:

Start your searches in the recommended library databases above. These databases provide curated sets of journals, scholarly books, and other scholarly publications in specific academic fields/disciplines. They are already vetted for you!
Once you identify a useful article, google the journal title and look for the journal's official webpage (usually hosted by the publisher).
- Read the general description, review the editorial board (including their titles and university affiliations), and browse recent issues to assure the subject matter aligns with the field of literary studies and drama.
Pay attention to the journal title and the field it represents. Does it fit with the content of this course?
- For example: The article "How Unreliable Is Humbert in Lolita?" in the Journal of Modern Literature fits with the course.
- The article "Executing Sentences in Lolita and the Law" in Punishment, Politics, and Culture does not fit.
Review journals listed in the MLA Directory of Periodicals (linked below). Consulting journal directories is an advanced research technique, but most academic disciplines have similar tools that list top journals in the field.

MLA Directory of Periodicals
Most current edition. Unlimited users.
Updated twice annually. Lists over 3,700 periodicals in the areas of literature, language, linguistics, and folklore that are covered regularly in the MLA International Bibliography. Provides addresses, advertising rates, and information about submissions for publication. Produced by the Modern Language Association.