American Literature: Books

Finding Books, and More in the Library

Use the Library catalog to find books, videos, audiobooks and more. 

To find materials BY an author, use advance search and enter as an Author Search [Twain, Mark]

To search the Title of a novel or short story collection, enter as a Title Search . Also, if you are certain of the title, use quotation marks (" ") around the title. ["adventures of huckleberry finn"]

To find materials ABOUT an author or his or her works, enter as a Subject Search [Twain, Mark]

 

See Literary Crticism for more information.
 

College of DuPage Library doesn't have the book, story or poem you seek?? No problem, try I-SHARE services that will allow you to find material from 82 academic libraries throughout Illinois.

Searching by Subject Headings

To identify materials about a particular type of literature, consider the following subject headings:

Call Number Range

Use these call number ranges to browse the General Collection and the Reference Collection.

Reference Books and eBooks

Why Reference Sources?

Is your research topic too big to cover in a short paper?  Is your topic so specific that sources will be hard to find?

Before you even begin your research, start the process with reference sources-- in the Library's Reference Section or online in our databases.  Reference books, like subject encyclopedias, can give you a head start and make your research easier in the long run.  Use reference sources to:

• find a topic
• narrow your topic
• find keywords
• get background information on your topic

Use the menu below to find the reference tool that will best help you start the research process.

Print Reference sources

Dictionaries/Handbooks/Encyclopedias:
The Oxford Companion to American Literature Ref PS 21 .H3

Plot Summaries/Explication:
Masterplots PN 44 .M33
Magill's Literary Annual PN 44 .M35
Masterplots II: African-American Literature Series PS 153 .N5 M2645
Masterplots II: American Fiction Series PS 373 .M3
Masterplots II: Short Story Series PN 3326 .M27

Biographical/Critical Comment on Individual Authors:
American:
American Women Writers PS 147 .A4
American Writers Ref PS 129 .A55
Oxford Companion to African American Literature Ref PS 153 .N5 O96
Reference Guide to American Literature Ref PS 129 .R44

Multinational, including American and British:
Contemporary Authors Ref PN 451 .E8 C62
Dictionary of Literary Biography Ref PN 451 .D52
European Writers Ref PN 501 .E9
Reader's Guide to Literature in English Ref PR 85 .R33
Hispanic Writers : A Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors Ref PQ7081.3 .H58 1999

Genre-Related Sources:

Drama:
Oxford Companion to American Theatre Ref PN 2220 .B6
Oxford Companion to the Theatre Ref PN 2035 .O9

Long Fiction:
Critical Survey of Long Fiction Ref PR 821 .C7
English Novel Explication Ref PR 821 .E6

Short Fiction:
Critical Survey of Short Fiction Ref PN 3321 .C7
Reference Guide to Short Fiction Ref PN 3373 .R36
Twentieth Century Short Story Explication Ref PN 3373 .W3

Poetry:
Critical Survey of Poetry Ref PR 502 .C85
Guide to American Poetry Explication PS 201 .G85
New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics Ref PN 1021 .N39
Poetry Dictionary Ref PN 1021 .D78

Other Genres:
Critical Survey of Mystery and Detective Fiction Ref PN 3448 .D4 C75
Encyclopedia of Fantasy Ref PN 3435 .E53
Encyclopedia of Frontier & Western Fiction Ref PS 374 .W4 E53
Feminist Writers Ref PN 451 .F46
Fifty Western Writers Ref PS 271 .F5
Gay & Lesbian Literature Ref PN 56 .H57 G36
Horror Literature Ref PR 830 .T3 H67
Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature Ref PN 56 .F34 S97
Twentieth Century Crime & Mystery Writers PR 888 .D4 T8
Twentieth Century Romance and Gothic Writers PR 888 .L69 T86
Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers PS 374 .S35 T89

Electronic Resources

You can begin your research without even stepping into the Library with the online reference sources available through our databases. Visit the Databases by Title page for links-- you will need your Library card to access these resources if you are off-campus.

Credo Reference is an online reference service made up of full-text books from the world's best publishers. Whether you're working on a research paper, trying to win trivia or just curious, Credo Reference has something for you.

Discovering Collection has thousands of overview essays, critical analyses, biographies, timelines and multimedia elements in Literature and other core areas. In Literature, search Authors, Literary Works and Literary Topics, Genres, and Movements.

The Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) provides access to general reference materials as well as the following literature resources:

Archetypes and Motifs in Folklore and Literature: A Handbook , 2005
Literary Themes for Students: The American Dream , 2v, 2007
Reference Guide to World Literature , 3rd ed., 2v, 2003