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

English Drama Early Modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600

English Drama 17th century

English Literature Early Modern, 1500-1600

Great Britain Intellectual Life 16th century [or 17th century]

England Civilization 16th century [or 17th century]

England Intellectual Life 16th century [or 17th century]

Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616

Marlowe, Christopher, 1564-1593

Databases & E-Journal Collections

MLA Bibliography--the standard index for literature. Coverage begins in 1926. Includes citations to journal articles, books, chapters, and dissertations.

Year's Work in English Studies--Online from 1996. Bibliographic essays citing importance of titles published in a given year. Each vol. has a chapter on Shakespeare and one on "Renaissance Drama (excluding Shakespeare)."

JSTOR--Online collection of many scholarly journals from volume 1 until 2 to 5 years ago. Full text of articles is searchable! Includes Shakespeare Quarterly and Renaissance Quarterly.

ProjectMuse--online collection of many university press journals from current issues back 5 to 10 years. Full text of articles is searchable! Includes Shakespeare Quarterly (from 2001), Renaissance Quarterly (from 2007), and Shakespeare Bulletin (from 2006).

Brand new! : Cambridge Companions Online--includes volumes on Marlowe, Shakespeare, Shakespeare and popular culture, Shakespeare on film, Shakespeare on stage, English Literature (1500-1600), English Renaissance drama, Renaissance humanism, and more.

Reference Titles--a sampling

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.

Cambridge Guide to English Literature (online)

Dictionary of Shakespeare (online)

Continuum Encyclopedia of British Literature (online)

Tudor England: An Encyclopedia Ref. DA315.T753 2001

Historical Dictionary of the Elizabethan World

Ref. DA357.W34 1999

Elizabethan Dramatists (Dictionary of Literary Biography) Ref. PR651.E48 1987

The Marlowe Concordance Ref. PR2672.V73 1964

The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare

Ref. PR2892.O94 2001

Shakespeare's World and Work Ref. PR2892.S56 2001

William Shakespeare: A Documentary Volume

Ref. PR2893.W55 2002

The Essential Shakespeare: An Annotated Bibliography...

Ref. PR2894.A1C53 1993

Contact Information

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

Course Instructor: Niels Herold

RefWorks

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

Steps to Using RefWorks

Step 1 —Log in to RefWorks. (If you do not have an account, first create one. Be sure that you give your OU e-mail account when you register.)

Step 2 —Export records from the MLA Bibliography. Instructions for exporting.

Step 3 —Create folder/folders for your bibliographic records.  (View “Organizing your references” tutorial.)

Step 4 —Put your imported references into appropriate folders.  A reference can be placed in more than one folder.

Step 5 —Export references from other sources—the Library Catalog, JSTOR, and ProjectMuse (links take you to instructions).

Step 6 —Add references manually.  Sometimes you have references that you find in books and bibliographies that you need to add “by hand.” 

Step 7 —Share folders.  You can share folders with your fellow students, with your professor, or with anyone.  Be sure to click on “Allow users to post comments on references” when you share a folder with your instructor. 

Step 8 —Save a folder shared with you to your own RefWorks account.  This involves “exporting” the shared folder to your RefWorks. 

Step 9 —Create a bibliography from your references.

Potential Problems

1.Pop-ups. You may have to change your pop-up settings--in Google or Yahoo toolbar, in browser settings, and/or your internet security software (e.g., Norton).

2. You may get a screen indicating that "there is a problem with this website's security certificate." Click on "continue to this website."

3. When exporting a shared folder to your RefWorks from off campus, you will need to use the access code for OU (RWOakUniv) and log into RefWorks.

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.

Get It

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.

• OU Library's Research Guide for English