Library Catalogs

OU Library Catalog--people can be searched as authors or as subjects

World Cat--union catalog of libraries worldwide

MelCat--union catalog of many Michigan libraries; 1st stop to interloan books

Subject headings, a sampling

United States Social Life and Customs 1865-1918

United States Social Conditions 1865-1918

United States Civilization 1865-1918

United States Intellectual life 1865-1918

Chessnutt, Charles W. (Charles Waddell), 1858-1932

Chopin, Kate, 1851-1904

..and many more!

Boolean Keyword searching:

You could also try Boolean keyword searching: "united states" and "1865-1918"

This would get you all the books listed under the first 4 subject headings! You could also try more complicated Boolean searches:

"united states" and ("1865-1918" or "19th century") and (motherhood or maternity or mothers)

Sampling of Web Sites

OU Library's Research Guide for English

Perspectives in American Literature (Paul Reuben, Calif. State, Stanislaus) 

American Literature sites (Donna Campbell, Washington State)

American Memory --A collection of photographs, posters, documents, films, sound recordings and other materials from American history. Areas covered include: American culture and folklife, African American history, women's history, Native American history, adverstising, war, religion and sports.

Making of America -- "A digital library of primary sources in American social history from the antebellum period through reconstruction. The collection is particularly strong in the subject areas of education, psychology, American history, sociology, religion, and science and technology. The collection currently contains approximately 10,000 books and 50,000 journal articles with 19th century imprints. "

The NYPL Digital Project --520,000 images from primary sources and printed rarities including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs, illustrated books, and printed ephemera.

Reference Titles

Oxford English Dictionary--Now available online. The OED is a historical dictionary of English, covering the language from the earliest times to the present day and showing the development of meanings through time.

Dictionary of American Regional English--similar to the OED but only for U.S. words and terms. Great fun--and helpful when reading literary works. Only through "Sk."

Ref. PE 2843 .D52 1985

Encyclopedia of American Studies--best for finding brief entries on topics related to American Studies (e.g., Jim Crow, Shakers, sharecroppers, ecocriticism, etc.). Only major literary figures are included.

--Dictionary of Literary Biography:

Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 [includes Johnson] Ref. PS 153 .N5 A396 1987

American Novelists, 1910-1945 [includes Wharton, Cather] Ref. PS129 .A53

American Poets, 1880-1945. Third Series [includes Frost, Williams] Ref. PS 324 .A44 1987

American Realists and Naturalists [includes Twain, Chesnutt, Howells, Chopin, Jewett, James, Wharton]

Ref. PS201 .A46 1982

American Women Prose Writers, 1870-1920 [includes Gilman, Freeman, Jewett] Ref. PS 362 .A83 2000

Afro-American Writers before the Harlem Renaissance [includes Chesnutt, Dunbar] Ref. PS153.N5 A393 1986

--Reference works on individual authors

When searching a literary writer as a subject in the Library Catalog, check titles listed as "encyclopedias" or as "bibliography."

--Listings of articles arranged by literary writer (years refer to when articles were written)

Articles on American Literature, 1900-1950

Ref. PS88.A1A7

Articles on American Literature, 1950-1967

Ref. PS88.A1A72

Brand new! : Cambridge Companions Online--includes volumes on the Harlem Renaissance, the African American novel, American realism and naturalism, American modernism, modernist poetry, Mark Twain, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Robert Frost, Henry James. Each volume is a collection of "critical essays."

Contact Information

Library Instructor: Millie Merz, 241 KL, 248-370-2457, merz@oakland.edu

Course Instructor: Kathleen Pfeiffer

Databases & E-Journal Collections

MLA Bibliography--This is the best index to find literary articles in journals and in books and to identify entire books on literary topics.  Indexing goes all the way back to items published in 1926.  There are no abstracts [only “enhanced” subject headings or descriptors], and OU will not own a number of the items indexed. Be sure to use the links!

America, History and Life--indexes journal articles, books, chapters in books, and dissertations on the history and culture of the United States and Canada..  Indexing began in 1964. Remember that you can "limit your results" by "historical period"--meaning that results will be about the period NOT written during the period. Also, you can use the "indexes" feature to check about subject headings. Be sure to use the links!

JSTOR--Online collection of many scholarly journals from volume 1 until 2 to 5 years ago. Full text of articles is searchable! Problem: JSTOR does not use subject headings. If you get too many results searching your terms in "full-text" try restricting them to "article title."

ProjectMuse--online collection of many university press journals from current issues back 5 to 10 years. Remember that you can search by subject headings here--and the same subject headings that work in the Library Catalog also work here. Full text of articles is searchable!

Newspapers/Magazines from period

New York Times, Historical (1851-2004)--Note that you can restrict your search to a date range ("from" "to). This is a great source for obituaries of famous people, for articles on events, or even for searching topics such as miscegenation, lynching, divorce, etc. You can also just pick a date and look at ads for clothing, furniture, medicines, homes, etc. Try Sunday papers--just put in a specific date, then click on "page map" on one of your results. From there you can "browse" the entire day's paper.

JSTOR--One great thing about JSTOR is that it does include several journals published during 1865-1920. Among them are: American Historical Review (1895-2002), American Journal of Psychology (1887-2004), American Journal of Sociology (1895-2002), Journal of Negro History (1916-2001), Political Science Quarterly (1886-2003), and many others. To limit to journals published from 1865 through 1920, use the "advanced search" and include these years in the "date range."

Harper's Weekly, 1857-1889--"America's leading 19th century illustrated newspaper." You can search for topics or "browse" issues. When you "browse," you can even specifically see the ads. Letters to the editor are quite interesting. [Official coverage is through 1889, but you may have access all the way through 1912--not sure why. mm]

Making of America journals--There are two separate MoA journal collections, one at Cornell and one at the University of Michigan. Many of the journals include issues from the latter half of the 19th century. There are important titles such as the North American Review, Putnam's, Scribner's Monthly, Vanity Fair, etc. You can search or browse each collection.

Detroit News, 1890-2007--This might be a good source to consult for the Michigan take on things. Unfortunately it is available at OU only on microfilm (Microfilm AN 2 .D47 D49). There is no index until the 1970s, but you could determine dates of particular events and then go to that day's paper. At the Circulation Desk there is a microform reader that enables you to digitize articles!

Other Info

Does the library have access to a journal online? Easiest way to find out is to check the "Alphabetical List of Online Journals" from the library's "Find Articles" page.

Where do you find lists of databases and other online resources available at OU? The easiest way to find these is to check "Databases by Subject" or "Databases A to Z" from the "Find Articles" page.

 

When you are using the library's databases, be sure to click on the blue link when the article you want does not have a full text link in the database. will then take you to the article from another source or take you library catalog record for print holdings or take you to a form to request a copy of the article via interlibrary loan.

 

• RefWorks - a reference management tool that allows you to create a personal database of references and automatically generate formatted bibliographies for your projects.