British literature is found downstairs in the PR section and American literature is in the PS section. The authors are organized first by time period (oldest first) then alphabetically by last name.
At the front of the book, look at the book's table of contents. The table of contents will list the book's chapters. Chapters that deal with the work should be pretty easy to spot. A chapter length treatment of a work is similar to an article. So, before checking an index, check the book's table of contents.
At the back of a book, you will often-but not always-see the book's index. Search for your literary work there. Depending on the book, you may find the literary work under its own entry but sometimes it will be listed under the author's name. A few other things to realize about indexes is that larger page range referneces tend to be more useful than references to one page mentions. Also, you may see "ff." This means that there are more pages following the page that is mentioned.
Main Collection: In addition to finding works by an author, you will also find biographies and criticism in the Main Collection.
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Biography Location: Found in the Z section that follows an authors works. Notes: In addition providing a history of an author's life, a biography can provide you with clues as to what was happening when he or she was writing a work. Check the index to see if the work is mentioned, and you can find out how an author's work intersected with an author's life.
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Essays Covering an Author Location: Found in the Z section that follows an authors works. Notes: These books can be invaluable. They function like journal articles. The Table of Contents are musts to check out. Use the index if what you are looking for isn't obvious from the essay titles. |
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Books Covering a Novel Location: Found right after the novel that the book is about. Notes: If you are writing a paper on a specific novel, a book like this is very helpful. Think of it as a book of articles just on the work your are writing about. The Table of Contents are musts to check out. Use the index if what you are looking for isn't obvious from the essay titles. |
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