Use this pathfinder to locate information for your American Lit project  and don't forget to check with a librarian if you aren't finding what you need. We're here to help!

Author Biographical Information

• Books

               REF 920.073 A512  American National Biography (24-volume encyclopedia of famous Americans                     including many authors)

               REF 920  Dictionary of American Biography (a multi-volume set with famous Americans)

               REF 920  Notable American Women (check this 4-volume set for famous American women authors)

              Also check our Biography section for books about your author (ex. try the call number:  B Hemingway

               for biographies about Ernest Hemingway. 

•  Online

                WilsonWeb Biographies   (Requires password for home use--ask a library staff member.)

Subscription Databases

     We subscribe to a variety of great databases with full text articles that you can print or email.  All of these databases alowl you to create accounts or workspaces to save the sources you have found.  Take a few moments to create an account in each database to save your work and save yourself a lot of time!

     Searching from home? Ask a library staff member for the password.

Free Web  

     Most of these websites have been created by college and university professors and are gateways (or portals) to the 'best' websites for American author information.  These are much better starting places than just 'googling' you author.  Give them a try! 

• American Authors on the Web (A very comprehensive site created by a professor at Nagoya University in Japan)
•  Shmoop Literature (Take a peak at Shmoop before, you must take a look! You can search by author or title.)
• Literary Criticism Collection (Internet Public Library--follow the American Literature links)
• Literary History (Search by author's name or browse by century.  Also include British Lit.)
• Literary Resources--American (created by a Rutgers University Librarian--a great 'portal' to many other resources)
• PAL: Perspectives in American Literature--A Research and Reference Guide (created by a retired professor from California State University, there are links to information for over 400 American authors) 

Books (yes, actual books!)

• Begin with the library's catalog:  TideCat 

          Narrow your search by AUTHOR, if you want books WRITTEN by the author.

          Narrow your search by SUBJECT if you want books ABOUT the author.

• Also check our nonfiction section with the call number 813 to find literary criticism about American authors.

• Here's a list of Reference Books that could have information about your author:

REF 810.9 A512      American Writers (A multi-volume set with detailed entries)

REF 811.09 Salem  Critical Survey of Long Fiction (Available as a book and as a subscription database--click the link below)

REF 810.9 G786      Great American Writers:  Twentieth Century (A multi-volume set, a great source--but only for 20th century)

REF 810.9 N997      A Library of Literary Criticism:  Modern American Literature (Another great source, but only for 'modern authors.'

REF 810 H325        The Oxford Companion to American Literature (A one-volume reference which provides just the basics)

Ask Mrs. Mac about a few more online sources!

• Biography In Context
  
• JStor
  
• Literature Resource Center
  
• Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature
• Project Muse