This page provides general library information as well as information on a few literature-centric electronic databases that are appropriate for this assignment. General suggestions for searching these databases are included. If you need assistance for this assignment beyond what is provided by this LibGuide, please contact your librarian.
Houston Cole Library contains many, many print sources containing biographical information, but due to COVID-19 at this time these sources largely are inaccessible. For this course assignment, these three databases are good points of departure.
If you do not find what you need here or from the databases/websites referenced on the next page of this LibGuide, contact your librarian.
Electronic Databases
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Contemporary Authors This database primarily provides biographical information, but it does include some brief general critical assessment. To locate the biographical material, just enter the author's name in the Author search box on the interface. If you want to see if your story is mentioned, put the title in another box; omit a, an, or the if it is the first word of the title.
Literary Reference Center Plus Enter your author's name and then look for Masterplots II or Critical Survey of in your results list. MPII provides a broad overview of the work with a very brief biographical snippet. CS is more author-centric, with sections on biography and general analysis. Sometimes, as a "bonus," a brief discussion of the work is provided.
Literary Reference Center Plus Enter your author's name in the appropriate search box. Click on the Biographies link in the Search Results line at the top of the page. To find information on the work, enter the title in a separate box to search along with the author's name.
Basic search in the Houston Cole Library catalog.
