Reference Works

Located in the Reference Collection on the Library's Main Level.

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Meanings and origins of words and phrases -- especially good for explaining British topics.
Ref. PN 43 .B65 1999

British Writers. Long entries with strong bibliographies. The base set arranges authors by date. If you don't see your author, remember to check the supplement volumes.
Ref. PR 85 .B688

Cambridge Guide to English Literature.
Ref. PR 85 .C28 1983

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Articles first provide information about the authors and their works, then criticism.
Ref. PN 771 .C59

A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory.
Ref. PN 41 .C83 1998

Encyclopedia of British Women Writers.
Ref. PR 111 .E54 1998

Encyclopedia of the Novel. Example of an encyclopedia devoted to a particular literary form.
Ref. PN 41 .E487 1998

A Handbook to Literature. Dictionary-style listing of terms pertaining to literature in English.
Ref. PN 41 .H6 1986

New Encyclopaedia Britannica. A general encyclopedia, so don't expect extensive coverage or entries on more obscure authors. However, it does provide good overview information on major authors, and articles may give information on where to find the more influential criticism.
Print Edition: Ref. AE5 .E363 2002
Encyclopedia Britannica Online Fully searchable version.

Oxford Companion to English Literature. Shorter entries on authors as well as all aspects of English literature.
Ref. PR 19 .O94 2000

Reader's Guide to English Literature. Guide to literary criticism for major authors; can lead you to the best and most influential criticism.
Ref. PR 85 .R33 1996

Books

Use the library's Voyager catalog to find books on your author. British Literature is on the Lower Level, shelved in the PR section.

Internet Resources

Humbul Humanities Hub An extremely selective offering of links in the humanities. Sites are well described, so Humbul makes a good guide to humanities Web resources. This is part of the Resource Discover Network, which is funded by the British government and operates out of Oxford University.

Literary Resources on the Net Links to sites dealing with English and American literature.

The Voice of the Shuttle An essential online destination for the humanities. Started by a University of California, Santa Barbara professor in 1994, VoS provides research links in such categories as Literature (in English), Literary Theory, and Philosophy.

Finding Periodical Articles

The library subscribes to about 1,100 periodicals in print format, and we have access to another 24,000 online journals. Use the "Find Periodicals" box located on the library's homepage to locate journals we have either in print or electronically.

Current issues of print periodicals are displayed on the Main Level behind the Reference area, arranged in broad subject areas. Most of our periodical backfiles are on the Upper Level, shelved alphabetically by title.

To find articles in periodicals on a specific topic, you need to use a periodical index. For research on British Literature, the best index we have is:

Academic Search Premier Provides many articles in full text. When full text is not available, abstracts are usually provided.

Also try:
JSTOR A journal archive with full-text of over 200 older journals covering a wide range of topics.

For articles in journals that we don't have, see "Loans from Other Libraries" below.

Citing Sources

MLA handbook for writers of research papers. 2003. This is a detailed reference book describing all of the MLA's requirements with respect to general format and citations.
Ref LB2369 .G53 2003. Another non-circulating copy at the Reference Desk; circulating copies in the general collection.

How to Cite Sources This UH Hilo Library page has links to web resources on citations. Make sure to check out "Research and Documentation Online" by Diana Hacker, which tells you how to cite most formats in MLA style.

Loans from Other Libraries

Books may be borrowed from other libraries in the UH System. Click here for more information.

Students may obtain copies of articles from journals to which the library does not subscribe through our intrasystem loan service.

Fees may apply.