Recommended Sources - Dr. Reid - ENC1102 - Plant City Campus - LibGuides at Hillsborough Community College

Literary Books in Databases

Literary Criticism Sources

The following book titles are accessed through online library databases. These excellent sources are great to use for literary criticisms or literary analysis on a specific author, short story, novel, poetry, or play.

Short Stories for Students by Kathleen Wilson (Editor)
Call Number: eBook
ISBN: 0787616915
Publication Date: 1997-09-15
Look for the Author's name or Story/Play title in the Table of Contents to open the resource

Contemporary Literary Criticism

The Contemporary Literary Criticism is a series of books that are available through a searchable database called Gale Literature Criticism.

Short Story Criticism

The Short Story Criticism is a series of books that are available through a searchable database called Gale Literature Criticism.

Bloom's How to Write About...

The series of titles called Bloom's How to Write About... includes many authors studied in English Composition classes.

Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism

The Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism is a series of books that are available through a searchable database called Gale Literature Criticism.

Critical Insights

There is a series of literature books called Critical Insights that is published by Salem Press and are available in both print and eBook format through the HCC Libraries. The name of the database for access is called Salem Online or you can search the HCC Libraries Online Catalog for both print and eBook access.

Literary Database Tips

Bloom's Literature

This is a great database to browse. At the Home Page, under Most Studied Authors, choose the View All option. The authors covered in this database will be shown and listed here in alphabetical order. Look for your author, such as O'Connor, and choose the author's name. Open the result Header called Literary Works and look for your story title.

screenshot of the search terms and results for Bloom's Literature database. Searched for O'Connor, Flannery and chose the criticism section in the results

Bloom's Literature (Infobase Publishing)
Examines great writers, important works, memorable characters, and influential movements and events in world literature. Funded by FLVC group license.

Gale eBooks

This database is a collection of eBooks on a variety of topics. The best way to use this database is to type in your keyword search term(s) and under More Options > to Collection > Literature. See picture below for a sample:

Screenshot of Advanced Search page with "Hawthorne, Nathaniel" typed in the first search box

eBooks (Gale)
Searchable database of more than 85 reference sources including encyclopedias, almanacs, series and - eBooks - in many subject areas, including literature, health, science, art, history, business, social science, and multicultural studies. Funding source: HCC and Statewide. Here is a tutorial.

Gale Literature Criticism

This literary database is a great tool to find resources on themes, figure of speech and symbolism. Below is a sample search term entry.

Screenshot of the Advanced Search page with death AND dying AND "Emily Dickinson" as the search terms.

Literature Criticism (Gale)
Provides full-text literature criticism from Drama, Short Story, Poetry, Nineteenth Century, Twentieth Century, and Contemporary Literary Criticism. Funding source: HCC perpetual license

Gale Literature

Ways to use Gale Literature

Use the Works Search option.
Type the name of your short story, novel or poem.
1. Results page will show you how many records are available.
  1. Records include:
    1. Biographies
    2. Work Summaries and Overviews
    3. Literary Criticisms
    4. Primary Sources of Works

Literature (Gale)
Literary criticism, reviews, primary sources and literary works, and more. Funding source: Statewide allocation. Here is a tutorial.

Gale Literature - HCC
This file is in addition to the other Gale Literature. Offers a more general, short, quick tips on basic searches and saving mechanisms.

JSTOR

JSTOR is an article database that is also very good to use for literature research. Here are two simple tips when JSTOR.

1. Use the Advanced Search option

Screenshot of JSTOR Advanced Search page

2. After the results populate, narrow results by using the Subject filter. Choose Language and Literature.

Screenshot of Subject filter heading

Screenshot of Language and Literature filter option box checked

JSTOR
Back issues of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Funding source: Statewide allocation. Here is a tutorial.

Literary Reference Center Plus

When using this database, sometimes searching for the story title as the keyword search term develops the best results. Remember, DO NOT use reviews as a source for literary criticisms. Use Plot Summaries, Overviews, Literary Criticisms types of sources.

Screenshot of Source Types option box

Literary Reference Plus (EBSCO)
A database of reference entries, journal articles, and other information on literary works and authors. Funding source: Statewide allocation. Here is a tutorial.

Literary Reference Center Plus - HCC

Literature (Salem Press)

Salem Press is a large book publisher. Many of these books are in both print and eBook versions. The Salem Press database provides access to the ebook versions.

Screenshot of Literature Table of Contents in Salem Online database

Use the Search box to locate resources for your author or playwright.

Literature (Salem Press)
The Literature subset of the Salem Online ebook platform. Funding source: HCC.Here is a tutorial.

Very Short Introductions

Published by Oxford University Press, Very Short Introductions introduce students to a topic, concept or in literature, authors and literary themes, genres and styles. The text is written in short, clear and concise terminology for easy understanding. The online database version also provides greater access. Titles are available in Print as well.

Very Short Introductions
eBooks authored by scholars in their fields, combining facts, analysis, and new ideas for readable introductions to challenging topics. Broad subjects areas include: Arts and Humanities, Science and Mathematics, Social Sciences, Law, Medicine, Health and more. Funded by: FLVC group license.
Search tips
1. Near the top of the screen, click Browse by subject for different categories and subjects.
2. Once you select one, there will be a list of eBooks for the subject.
3. When you open an eBook, you can read it in your browser and search for keywords within it to find the info you need.
Additional strategy
Try the search bar at the top of the screen to find both whole eBooks and individual chapters from eBooks that mention your keyword. You might find information on your topic from another subject eBook that you might not have thought of.

Dr. Reid - ENC1102 - Plant City Campus: Recommended Sources

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