LITERATURE RESOURCE CENTER

This database is useful for biographical information on an author or for literary criticism of the author's work/s.

• Select Literature Resource Center from the alphabetical list of databases.
• Click on Proceed.

Author Search (this is the default search)

• Type in the authors' name (ex: Langston Hughes).  Typing in the last name only may bring up several names with birth-death years.
• Click on Search (screen appears with picture of author, other brief facts).  Note the tabbed "folders" which organize resources by type of document.  Double clicking on a tab will pull up a list of articles.  The Biography tab is already highlighted with biographical articles listed below.  Other tabs provide:  Literary Criticism, Articles, and Work Overviews; Bibliographies; Additional Resources (websites); and Literary-Historical Timeline.
• Scroll down and double click on an article (blue text) to view the full text.

Different Search Options

Note the green boxes at the top of each screen provide different search options:  Title Search, Keyword Search, Authors by Type, Advanced Search, Literary-Historical Timeline, Authors on the Highway, Encyclopedia of Literature, and Gale Literary Index.

Title Search (the default here is "Literary Criticism")

• Enter the title of a work  [ex., I know why the caged bird sings]
  Suggestion - Click the "Exact title" or "All words entered" button.
• Narrow your search by typing in the authors name [ex., Angelou].
  Suggestion - Click the "Start of the last name" or "Exactly as entered" button.
• Click Search to pull up articles.  Remember to use the other tabs for additional information.

Keyword Search

Use Keyword Search if you have a theme but are not sure of a title or an author. Ex. entering the kw: psychosis, will find you authors and their works that concentrate on "psychosis" as a theme of their works.

Print and E-mail Options

Note the Print and E-Mail features are located at the top left of the screen.

• Print - by selecting this option, the article will be made available for printing. Click File and do a Print preview to view the pages you need to print. Close the preview and click on File--Print and select the pages you need.  Remember:  To print in the library costs .10 per page.
•  E-mail - Click on this button to send the article to an e-mail account that you enter. 

Click Help at the bottom of the page/article for additional help, e.g, Advanced Search.   Select a link from the "index."

Click Search Tips for ideas on how to compose your search.

Click Research Guide for useful information on writing your research paper.