Shakespeare Research Guide
Welcome to the Research Guide for your course on Shakespeare. The suggested databases are available linked from here and from the Electronic Resources section of the library home page. Print resources are available in the PHC on campus collection or by mail to distance learning members of the PHC community. You may check out the location and availability of an item in the on campus collection through the online catalog, Voyager, accessed here and through the library home page.
Professional library assistance is available on campus, by phone at 541-441-8400, or by email at askalibrarian@phc.edu .
Reference Works
- Oxford English Dictionary is the definitive resource on the English language, its current use and evolution over the last millinneum
- Oxford Companion to Shakespeare available in the PHC collection at Ref PR 2892 .O94 2001
- Oxford Encyclopedia of British literature available in the PHC collection at Ref PR 19 .O95 2006, vol. 6
- Oxford companion to English literature available in the PHC collection at Ref PR 19 .O94 2000
Note: PHC collection contains a number of valuable resources by Shakespeare and relating to his plays and poetry. Please see the catalog for items available. You may search by subject or browse the collection in the PR 2800 through PR 3000 call number range. Audio recordings and some DVD recordings of Shakespeare plays are available in the PHC collection. Please see the catalog for details.
Databases
NetLibrary provides immediate access to thousands of full text books by and about Shakespeare that can be viewed immediately on your computer. Books containing historical background and context, as well as literary criticsm are available here.
The Literary Reference Center is an extensive, full text reference database with information combined from literary reference works, journals, and books. A search here is sure to bring results on any of a variety of literary topics. Please access this database through the Electronic Resources / Literature Research section from the library home page.
MLA Bibliography is a resource for researching literature and language topics, including literature criticism. The site provides indexes, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. Please access this database through the Electronic Resources / Literature Research section from the library home page.
Original sources provides access to full text original source information in the public domain, including works relating to American, British, World, Classical and juvenile literature.
Selected Journals
Shakespeare quarterly: Journal articles dated 1950 – 2003 are available from JSTOR. Journal articles dated 1988 to the present are available from ProQuest
Shakespeare studies: Journal articles dated 1975 to the present are available from Literary Reference Center. Journal articles dated 1997 to the present are available from ProQuest.
Internet Resources
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/ offers access to the complete works of Shakespeare including plays and poetry online and without commentary.
http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/ is an annotated guide to the scholarly Shakespeare resources available on the Internet. Resources that are not scholarly, but usefulness to students, in the broadest sense, are placed in the section, ”Other.”
Subject Searches
Search the catalog using the following Library of Congress subject headings:
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Poets, English
English drama--Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600--History and criticism.
Research Tips
- Search by subject: Once you have located one item in the catalog, you may click on the search term within the record to find other items on the same, or similar, subjects.
- Search by call number: Once you have located one item in the catalog, click on the call number to view similar titles that surround that item on the shelf.
- Use JSTOR and ProQuest to locate articles on a particular jubject and NetLibrary to locate books available electronically.
- If you are unable to locate an item in the PHC online or on campus collection, you may request resources through Interlibrary loan (ILL). ILL requests may be made directly into the library database WorldCat. If you have difficulty requesting an ILL in WorldCat, you may use the form on the website or request assistance from any of the library staff.
- Once you locate an appropriate resource, potential valuable resources may be listed in the item's bibliography.
- Loudoun County Public Library's Purcellville branch is available to students. The online catalog can be accessed online and a library card obtained with a PHC I.D.
Turabian is the approved citation format for this course. Check with the professor for premission to use other citation styles. Information on proper Turabian citation is available in the PHC collection, Chicago manual of style, at Ref Z 253 .U69 2003 or online at several sites, such as http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/chicagogd.php .
Created: August 2008 by Melanie Gladden. Revised: January 2010 by V. Thornhill
