Reference Sources
Finding Specific Short Fiction
Books + Media
Journal Articles
The Internet
Documenting Sources
REFERENCE MATERIALS give you definitions, critical terms, overviews and further references. Examples include:
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. REF PN 41 .C83 1998
Literature Resource Center LMU only
Literature Online LMU only
Encyclopedia of the Novel. (2 vols.) REF PN 41 .E487 1998
Postmodern Fiction: A Bio-Bibliographical Guide. REF PN 3503 .P594 1985
Columbia Companion to the Twentieth-Century American Short Story. REF PS 374.S5 C57 2000
Critical Survey of Short Fiction. (7 vols.) REF PN 3321 .C7 2001
Contemporary Literary Criticism. (anthology of articles/excerpts) ATLAS COUNTER PN 771 .C59
Short Story Criticism. (anthology of articles/excerpts) REF PN 3373 .S386
| Finding Specific Short Fiction |
Looking for the text of a story? Say you remember a short story you'd like to find again, or you run across a reference to a novella or story you'd like to read. Here are some strategies to try:
- ( a ) Search in LINUS for collections by this author as an Author search, and check the contents
- ( b ) Search author name and words from story title together as a Word search in LINUS
- ( c ) Repeat (a) in LINK+
- ( d ) Repeat (b) in LINK+
- ( e ) Check Short Story Index in Reference to see what anthologies contain the story (INDEX PN 3373 .S56). Then check LINUS and LINK+ for the anthology
- ( f ) Check local public libraries, full-text online repositories like Project Gutenberg, and local bookstores
Note that, because of copyright and permissions issues, many modern works are not contained in collections like the LION database. But the Reference Librarians can help you try!
Use LINUS the Library's online catalog, to identify books and media. Search known works by Author or Title. For media items, directors and actors are considered authors. If you don't know of a specific book or media item, search for a topic by Word, then select the best Subject headings from the links you find when you open up a single book or media record.
Sample Word searches (guessed) Sample Subject Headings (exact)
Novel critical history Fiction-History and Criticism
Chinese novel criticism Chinese fiction-History and Criticism
Tim O'Brien things O'Brien, Tim, 1946-? - Criticism and interpretation
Virginia Woolf feminis* Woolf, Virginia, 1882-1941 - Political and social views;
Feminism in Literature
American detective fiction Detective and mystery stories, American
You may request books from other university libraries if they are not available at LMU. Search LINK+ and request the book online using your OneCard. Your book should arrive in 3-4 working days. For more information on LINK+ please see LINK+ Instructions.
If you are looking for a specific journal, consult LMU's Journal List located on the library homepage to determine if the Library owns the journal you need (it will tell you if the journal is available in print or in one of our online databases). If LMU does not have what you need, you can order articles via our Document Delivery Service for a small charge. Ask at Reference.
If you are looking to browse for scholarly articles by topic, title words, author, date, and more, you should search in the following databases:
Humanities Abstracts LMU only
Indexes over 460 periodicals in the humanities, including poetry, from 1984 to the present. From 1994 on, may include abstracts.
Print version, available as Humanities Index, goes back to 1974. INDEX HM 1.A3 S61
ProQuest Research Library LMU only
Indexes journals and magazines; some with full-text available. Limiting to the Humanities module in the Collections menu will limit search to mostly academic journals. The General Interest module includes magazines, and there are modules for newspapers as well.
**ProQuest Tutorial available
The MLA Bibliography LMU only
A comprehensive index covering over 3000 journals covering the literatures of the world as well as language, linguistics and folklore. Also indexes literary books and contributions to anthologies.
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature [online database; print version available]
Annual comprehensive bibliography of literature in English. Part of the Literature Online / LION database covering 1920-2000, with over 750,000 records. Select from LION internal menu of databases.
SEARCHING THE INTERNET can be very time-consuming, frustrating and sometimes unproductive. Unlike academic journals, there is little quality control on the Web. Try to find some expert lists or selective directories to point you to reliable, authoritative resources. Examples of these include:
A Selective Directory:
Librarians' Internet Index
Expert Lists:
English Server Poetry Collection
Voice of the Shuttle: Literature in English
To find additional Web sites, see Searching the Web for recommended search engines.
Remember to keep track of ALL the resources you may use in your research and writing. Complete citations (minimally, author, book title, publisher and year for a book; author, article title, journal title, volume, issue, date and pages for an article) are a must! Web citations need the URL and date consulted as well as the usual information. Check your LMU style manual, or the MLA Style page.
 back to top
Tony Amodeo
English Literature Subject Selector/Liaison
Reference Librarian |