LibGuides: ENG 230: Reading and Writing About Literature (Huff): Encyclopedias, etc.

What are reference resources?

"Reference resources" are information resources that are intended to be read a portion at a time, as needed. Encyclopedias and dictionaries are great examples. When you want to find an explanation of an unfamiliar concept, you can look it up in an encyclopedia or dictionary, read the part that is about the concept, and then set the encyclopedia or dictionary aside until you need it again.

Reference resources exist in print and electronic formats. When they are electronic, they are often gathered into reference resource databases - online collections of encyclopedias and similar materials.

Demonstrated in class

Literature Resource Center
Contains "topic and work overviews" that offer background information about authors, novels, and stories. Also incorporates other kinds of content, including literary criticism and recent news.
Description: Literature Resource Center is a great source for background information on major authors and their works. It includes biographies and basic literary criticism of the works of novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of the most-studied authors. Consider using in conjunction with Literature Criticism Online.
Time Period: 1973 to present
Sources: Indexes or contains the full text of more than 480 magazines or journals and 42 reference titles.
Subject Headings: English & Linguistics, Humanities
Gale eBooks
A database of content from a variety of encyclopedias. Useful for background information about authors and stories, as well as about history, culture, and social conditions.
Description: Gale EBOOKS is a collection of searchable subject encyclopedias and reference books from Gale Publishing and many other publishers.
Time Period: Current
Sources: Searches across nearly 500 reference sources.
Subject Headings: Art & Architecture, Education, English & Linguistics, General, Health, History, Humanities, Law, Philosophy & Religion, Science, Social Sciences, Technology (Reference books)
Primary Materials: Reference Resources

Not demonstrated in class

Literature Criticism Online
Similar to Literature Resource Center but with more scholarly literary criticism. Does contain "topic and work overviews" of authors, novels, stories, etc.
Description: Literature Criticism Online provides access to scholarly and popular commentary from books and periodicals, broadsheets, pamphlets, and encyclopedias published in Gale literary criticism titles. Content is delivered in an online format that matches the print originals.
Time Period: 19th century to present
Sources: Contains articles and reviews from more than 1,100 volumes of literary criticism.
Subject Headings: English & Linguistics, Humanities
Primary Materials: Books/e-books, Magazine Articles, Reference Resources
Oxford Reference Online
An online collection of encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other reference materials. Similar to Gale Virtual Library, but with different and often shorter content.
Description: Searchable and browsable collection of highly trusted reference books. Dictionaries and encyclopedias in Oxford Reference Online include general works, foreign-language works, and specialized subject works in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Time Period: Current
Sources: over 200 dictionaries and encyclopedias
Subject Headings: Art & Architecture, English & Linguistics, General, History, Humanities, Philosophy & Religion, Psychology (General)
MagillOnLiterature Plus
Contains biographical information about authors and overviews their bodies of work, and information about novels and stories including plot summaries and overviews of their themes.
Description: MagillOnLiterature Plus contains information about 8,500 authors of fiction, poetry, and drama. It has biographical essays covering the 2,500 most studied authors. These entries include up-to-date lists of each author's principal works and current secondary bibliographies. The database also has more than 400 comprehensive essays on specific literary genres, themes and settings.
Time Period:
Sources: More than 36,000 analyses of literary works, 16,000 biographical entries, 150 volumes of reference works, and 8,200 book reviews.
Subject Headings: English & Linguistics, Humanities
Primary Materials: Reference Resources

Finding more reference material in OneSearch

You can use OneSearch, on the University Libraries' homepage, to find additional reference resources in both print and electronic formats. Choose some search terms relevant to your topic or research question and enter them into the OneSearch box.

On the left side of the results page, find the "Content Type" filter. If you see the option "Reference" in the filter, check its box. If "Reference" does not appear among the top four or five options within the filter, type "reference" in the text box above the filter, then check "Reference."

Electronic items on your list of results will be marked with a "Full Text Online" button. These results are individual articles/entries in encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. You can link to the full text of these articles/entries from OneSearch.

Printed items on your lists of results will be accompanied by location information: One of the campus' four libraries, a collection (or area) within that library, and the item's call number. These results are whole encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. You can locate them on shelf and look up your topics within them.