Introduction | Reference Sources | Indexes & Databases | Internet Resources | Citation Styles

This guide lists some of the literature reference sources of the USM Libraries. It is selective, rather than comprehensive. If you have questions about library research, please go to one of the reference desks; call Gorham (780-5344); Portland (780-4272); or use the Ask-A-Librarian service.

To locate books, journal titles, videos, government documents and other materials held in the University of Maine System, consult URSUS, the online catalog. Because journal article citations are not individually included in URSUS, you will need to use a discipline-specific index to find this information (see Resources by Subject).

If you do not know the exact subject heading of your topic, try doing a keyword search using other word/s related to that topic, and then click on the subject heading links found at the bottom of any relevant records to find additional, useful resources.

To obtain materials not located at your USM library, but within URSUS, click on the “request” button on the URSUS screen and enter your name and barcode number, which is on your USM ID card, and begins with 25022. (Using “request” requires a validated library card. You can do that at any circulation desk.)

Reference sources are useful tools to obtain background information, and to develop a vocabulary of possible search terms. The following items are resources available within the University of Southern Maine system.

ENCYLOPEDIAS AND DIRECTORIES

The following provide overviews of entire literatures or genres

Book Review Digest) (POR Ref Z1216)
Ninety-nine volumes of reviews of books published between 1905 and 2004.

Contemporary Authors (POR Ref Z1224 C6 and Contemporary Authors Revision Series
(Por Ref Z 1224 C615) Three-hundred thirty volumes of biographical information and criticism.

Contemporary Literary Criticism. (POR Ref PN 94 C6)
180 volumes, indexed by author and title

 Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (POR Ref PN 771 G27)
142 volumes, indexed by author and title

 Dictionary of Literary Biography (POR Ref PN 451 D5)
286 volumes; international in scope

 Classical and Medieval Literary Criticism (POR Ref PN 610)
63 volumes, indexed by title and author

 Short Story Criticism (POR Ref PN 3373 S386)

 Critical Bibliography of French Literature (POR Ref Z2171 C3)
Six volumes that cover medieval times through the 20th Century.

 Latin American Literature and its Times
(POR Ref PQ 7081 M625)

 Dictionary of Oriental Literatures (POR Ref PJ31 D55)
Three volumes cover East, South, West, and Southeast Asia, along with North Africa.

Cultural Atlas of Islam (POR Ref DS36 A39)

The Companion to African Literatures (POR 9340 C65)

Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Studies (LEW Ref PR83 H34)

The USM libraries also contain numerous highly specialized literature sources. For example:

Caribbean Women Novelists : An Annotated Critical Bibliography (POR Ref Z1595.C364)

Women Authors of Modern Hispanic South America: A Bibliography of Literary Criticism and Interpretation
(POR Ref PQ7081.A1.C9)

New Immigrant Literatures in the United States: a Sourcebook (POR Ref PS 153 M56 N475)

The Undergraduate’s Companion to Women Poets of the World and their Websites (POR Ref Z7155.D43)

 Columbia Guide to the Literatures of Eastern Europe since 1945: Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Macedonia (POR Ref Z 2483 S444)

Depending on your topic, you can use many of USM’s databases to find relevant material. Below are just a few that should be useful. For help finding research articles, see the Finding Articles Tutorial.

LION (Literature OnLine)
Indexes 123 full-text literature journals, and other key criticism and reference resources. Searchable by author or specific literary work. Covers more than 300,000 works of English and American literature.

Literature Resource Center
Offers full-text from Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, and Contemporary Literary Criticism. Search by author, title, or country

MLA International Bibliography
Index to scholarly research in literature, language, linguistics, and folklore. Indexes articles from more than 3,500 journals and series. Also includes monographs, working papers, proceedings, and bibliographies. Coverage begins with 1963.

The following are some good websites for specialized information. There are many more, of course; just be sure they are those of reputable institutions or organizations. For help in making that determination, use the Mariner tutorial

Guide to Literature
This is one of the best on the web. Links to numerous bibliographies and critical information. Divided by literary period and genre.

Women Writers
Excellent resource for information on women writers. Indexed by name, period, country, ethnicity

Literature of Indigenous Peoples
International in scope.

African Literature
Articles, reviews, criticism, history, and links to many sites about African literature.

Latin American Literature
Indexed by country and author. Some sites in Spanish.

English and American Literature
Comprehensive; indexed by period and genre.

For assistance in citing your sources, see the Mariner tutorial. The libraries also have a variety of style manuals that will guide you through the citation process for each of your classes. Among those available on tables near the reference desks are The Chicago Manual of Style; APA Style Guide; and Terabian’s Guide for Writers of Term Papers.

For a tutorial on “Endnote,” a program that will put your database search results into the correct bibliographic format, click here EndNote Tutorial.

Created by: Anne Ruffner Edwards
Created on: 10.14.2005
Last Updated: 10.14.2005