LibGuides: Literatures in English: Home

General Library Info

Library Hours
Course Reserves
InterLibrary Loan
Resource Locator
Navigate and understand the various services, spaces, and resources available at the Library and on campus.

Comprehensive Guide to Research Resources

The most comprehensive, rigorously evaluative guide to research resources in English language literatures is the following:

Literary Research Guide
Call Number: Geisel Reference PR 83 .H34 2008
Harner, James L. Literary Research Guide: An Annotated Listing of Reference Sources in English Literary Sources. 5th edition. New York: MLA, 2008.

How to Use This Guide

Welcome!

This guide is designed to highlight some of the major resources for researching literatures in the English language. Please use the tabs above to navigate.

Most Useful Databases

MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
The primary database of citations to journal articles, monographs, book chapters, and dissertations in the fields of non-Classical
literatures and folklore. Important source for linguistics and non-technical aspects of theater & film. Ca. 1890 - present.
Literature Online (LiON) This link opens in a new window
A fully searchable library of more than 350,000 works of English and American poetry, drama, and prose; 180 full-text literature journals; and other key critical and biographical sources.
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature (ABELL) This link opens in a new window
Indexes books, articles, literary works, book reviews and essays, 1920+
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Search by subject or browse 2,600+ full-text titles, predominantly scholarly journals and books in social sciences, history, humanities, and science and mathematics, to their earliest issues. Many titles extend as far back as late 19th or early 20th centuries; most recent 3-5 years often not included. JSTOR provides access to more than 12 million academic journal articles, books, and primary sources in 75 disciplines.
ProQuest - All Databases This link opens in a new window
Select and search across multiple databases we license from ProQuest. Most of these databases index--and in some cases provide full text access--of journals in all subject areas, along with indexing books, book chapters, dissertations and other sources. You can also add some non-journal databases to your search, like Dissertations & Theses and several major newspapers (New York Times, Wall Street Journal, etc). However, a few ProQuest products, such as Congressional, Statistical Abstracts of the World, and Statistical Insight, are not included here and must be searched separately.
EBSCO - All Databases This link opens in a new window
Select and search across multiple databases we license from EBSCO, including Academic Search Complete. These databases index journals and magazines--and in many cases provide full text access--in all subject areas in the social sciences, arts and humanities, and science and engineering. Additional sources like newspapers, books and book chapters are also indexed in some of these databases.
Project Muse: Scholarly Journals and Books Online This link opens in a new window
Search by subject or browse full text scholarly journals in the arts and humanities, social sciences and mathematics. More than 700 journals from over 250 university presses and scholarly publishers are available. Coverage begins 1906 or later, depending on the publication. UCSD also has access to over 30,000 book titles.