Research Guides: American Literature/Criticism: Getting Started

Author Information

Library Catalog
Search for the author as a subject (e.g. Faulkner, William). Works by and about the author are shelved together in the library stacks.

The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Literature
Call Number: Knight REF: PS153.H56 G74 2008
Asian American Writers
Call Number: knight REF: PS153.A84 A845 2005
Encyclopedia of American Indian Literature
Call Number: PS153.i52 E53 2007

American Literature

By Eugene de Salignac (NYC Muncipal Archives) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Reference Materials

Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new window
Traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
Cambridge Companions to Literature and Classics This link opens in a new window
Scholarly overviews of authors, movements, genres, periods, and national literatures.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Language and subject dictionaries and reference works

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory
A comprehensive guide to critics, theorists, schools and movements in literary theory. Includes entries on historical periods.

Dictionary of Literary Biography -- The hundreds of volumes in this series give overviews of the careers of writers from all eras and genres, including journalists and screenwriters. Each entry has bibliographies of the author's works and of secondary literature, and gives the whereabouts of the author's papers. To find the volume(s) with material on a particular author, search for "Dictionary of Literary Biography" in the library's catalog, and keyword "author's name." Cumulative indices for the entire series are found at the front and back of each volume and here.

Connect to the UO Network from Off Campus

1. Library Proxy Service

Links on library webpages (including in LibrarySearch, Browzine, and Databases A-Z) run through a proxy server which verifies you are a UO member, and are eligible to access library materials. When you click on a proxied link for the first time in the session, you are prompted to enter your DuckID and password to access the resource.

2. VPN (Virtual Private Network) Service

For certain library resources, using the UO's VPN service will be necessary. VPN is not necessary for Canvas or LibrarySearch access.

If the proxied links or bookmarklet aren't working for you, the VPN lets you join the UO's network from off-campus. Using the VPN slows your internet speed, so only connect when you need to access resources, and disconnect once you're done.

For more information on accessing Library resources from off-campus, please check the following links: