Research Guides: Introduction to Literary Study: Home

Other Guides You Should Know About

Literatures in English: A Research Guide

Kevin Mulcahy is the bibliographer for literature at the Alexander Library in New Brunswick. His research guide is comprehensive.

Research Tips for Graduate Students

by Roberta Tipton

General library information for Newark graduate students.

Basic Sources for Undergraduate Students

by Roberta Tipton

Introductory guide to Rutgers Libraries sources for undergraduate students.

Even More Research Guides in Literature

You can search all the Rutgers LibGuides research guides with keywords like "literature", "poets", "drama", and the like. You will find guides from librarians all over the Rutgers system.

Access to Library Resources

Activate Your Barcode for Borrowing
You need a pin number to activate your library bar code. Your library bar code is located on the back of your Rutgers ID card.
Connect from Off-Campus
Instructions for connecting to library resources with your Net ID from off-campus.
Request an Article
This brief video from Mei Ling Lo and Jill Nathanson at the Rutgers Library of Science and Medicine tells how to request an article that you cannot obtain electronically or at your local Rutgers library.
How Do I...?
Answers to your most frequently asked questions about using our library system.
More How-to Videos for the Rutgers University Libraries
Videos about how to use the library system from Mei Ling Lo and Jill Nathanson at the Library of Science and Medicine
Electronic Journals & Publications
List of electronic journals available from the Rutgers University Libraries. If you do not find the title you want, search the catalog.
Learning Tools
For more help using Rutgers library resources, including tutorials, citation managers, and tips on avoiding plagiarism, visit our Learning Tools pages or call the Dana Library reference desk at 973-353-5901.
Main Rutgers University Libraries Page
Home page for the Rutgers University Libraries, a major research library.

Best Bets for Lit Crit

MLA International Bibliography
One of the oldest lit crit databases, this offering from the Modern Language Association indexes criticism on the literature of all genres, all languages, and all countries, beginning in 1926. The EbscoHost format makes bibliography output in MLA format a breeze.
Academic Search Premier
Contains some literature among its many subject areas. Searches exact phrases. Will output references in MLA format. Some full text articles available.
Literature Online (LION)
Provides more than 350,000 full-text literary works as well as author biographies, entries from reference works, and literary criticism.
Literature Resource Center
Excellent, full-text introductions to authors and their works. Designed for an undergraduate audience, but useful for everyone.
More Databases in English Language and Literature
Rutgers databases relating to English-language materials.

Really Useful Interdisciplinary Databases for Literary Study

Humanities Index Retrospective

Indexing of "core" academic titles in the humanities for 1907 to 1984.

Google Scholar (Rutgers restricted version)

Indexes many items not commonly found in one place elsewhere. Lists PDF or indicates Full Text@Rutgers if readily available. Will provide citation in MLA/APA/Chicago, or you can use a citation manager (RefWorks, EndNote, Zotero, or the like) or other method to capture bibliographic information. Other sources might give more full citations.

JSTOR

Full-text backfiles of important academic journals in many fields. Now provides citation in MLA/APA/Chicago. WARNING: Most materials in this database are more than five years old. (Even your best friends won't tell you!)

Project Muse

Recent full-text articles, primarily in the humanities and social sciences.

Even More Databases in Arts and Humanities

Rutgers databases related to history, art, music, literature, philosophy, religion, and other humanities.