Here are a few key resources for finding literary criticism in the library.

• Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale, 1962-- (Ref PN 771 .C632) This series gives biographical information, brief bibliographies of works by and about the author and sometimes further background information such as an interview. It is concerned solely with modern writers, and covers writers in fields outside of literature. Check the most recent cumulative index to locate biographies in any of the volumes and to locate biographies published in other Gale biographical series.
  

• Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit, MI: Gale, 1973-. (Ref PN771.C59)
  This resource covers contemporary works of literature and provides excerpts from reviews and critical articles as well as citations to the original sources and brief biographical sketches. Because a given writer may be covered in several different volumes, consult the most recent cumulative index, which includes cross-references to other Gale biographical series.
  

• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures. New York: Modern Language Association, 1921--. (Ref Z7006.M643)
  This is the most important ongoing bibliography for literature and linguistics. It also covers folklore and film studies. It lists works of all kinds--books, journal articles, articles in books, dissertations--in many different languages. It is also available (for the years 1923--present) online . The online database contains only citations, not the texts themselves. If the item is a journal article, click the button. This searches the library's journal holdings to determine if the library owns the item or has access to it electronically. For books, go to the Gustavus library catalog to determine if the library owns the item. Those items we don't own can usually be obtained through Interlibrary loan, although dissertations are often unavailable.
  

• Short Story Criticism. Detroit, MI.: Gale, 1988--. (Ref 3373. S56)
  This resource covers writers of short fiction and provides biographical information as well as literary criticism from a variety of sources. Because a given writer may be covered in several different volumes, consult the most recent cumulative index, which includes cross-references to other Gale biographical series.

Web Sources:
Internet Public Library - Literary Criticism (http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/)

Also visit our Resources for Literature page.

Last updated October 16, 2006