Library News for English Literature

Complete Cambridge Companions Online

We now have full-text access to books in the Complete Cambridge Companions in Literature and Classics and Cambridge Companions in Philosophy, Religion, and Culture series.

At this time, the records for the individual books are not in the catalog; we hope this will change soon.  For now, go directly to the Cambridge Companions Online database to find the full-text of the book you are looking for.

Cambridge Companions in Literature and Classics and Cambridge Companions in Philosophy, Religion, and Culture series-- offering "over 1500 comprehensive and accessible essays on major authors, periods and genres, written by experts and designed for student readers. For the author Companions each writer is placed in literary and historical context; their major works are analyzed, either in separate chapters or grouped according to theme, and their influence on later writers assessed. The generic and topical Companions cover periods of English literature such as Old English or the Victorian Novel, and literary genres such as Modernism or Greek Tragedy, giving the student vital contextual information about political, social, religious and artistic relationships." (from each collection's descriptions within the website)

MLA moving to Ebsco

Access to several databases is being changed from OCLC FirstSearch to EBSCO.  While the subscriptions don't technically start until July 1, EBSCO has kindly agreed to turn on access before July 1, so you can start using the databases on the EBSCO search interface.  The FirstSearch access will cease as of July 1.

Through the Ebsco interface, it is possible to search MLA International Bibliography and MLA Directory of Periodicals simultaneously or separately.

MLA International Bibliography

MLA Directory of Periodicals

Redesigned WU Libraries home page and subject page

You may have noticed the redesigned library homepage (http://library.wustl.edu/).  In addition to this change, the research/subject pages are also changing. For all academic disciplines, an updated subject guide structure has replaced the previous pages.

The information presented is essentially the same, but the organization is different, in part due to the tabbed navigation system. The new research guide software allows rapid updating of information, opportunities for interaction (perhaps of most interest to students), and the creation of research guide pages for specific courses (see examples under the “Course guides” tab).  Page link:  http://libguides.wustl.edu/english

In short, here are the primary organizational changes that will probably affect you most:

· The databases are listed and described under the “Find articles” tab.

· There is a catalog search box under the “Find books” tab.

· There are links to Mobius and Worldcat under the “Find books” tab.

· There is a link to a listing of newly acquired books under the “Home” tab.

New title in Project Muse

Studies in the Novel

 

Studies in the Novel is published quarterly by the English Department at the University of North Texas. Since its inception in 1969, it has sought out excellence in criticism of the novel in all periods, from all interpretive approaches. It considers the work of established and emerging novelists worldwide. The average issue contains five to six essays, eight to ten reviews of recent books on novels and novelists, and the occasional essay-review. The journal publishes a special issue roughly once a year, devoted to a single topic, comprised of commissioned essays, and edited by a guest editor.

 

Articles submitted to Studies in the Novel are refereed by a wide array of scholars drawn from an extensive international pool. Studies in the Novel is a member journal of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals. (text of message taken from Project Muse alert)

British Humanities Index

We now have on-line access to the British Humanities Index.  Below is a brief description:

'An international abstracting and indexing tool for research in the humanities, BHI indexes over 370 internationally respected humanities journals and weekly magazines published in the UK and other English speaking countries, as well as quality newspapers published in the UK. Regular monthly updates ensure subscribers can retrieve the latest material on a wide range of arts and humanities subjects, aided by a completely interactive thesaurus and the capability to link to electronic fulltext of many journal articles.' (from BHI Factsheet)

http://libproxy.wustl.edu/login?url=http://www.csa.com/htbin/dbrng.cgi?username=rain29&access=rain2929&db=bhi-set-c&adv=1

I will be adding BHI to the MultiSearch groups.

Password change and reset forms

If you have forgotten your library password, you can now reset and change it yourself using online forms.  Both forms require you to enter your email address.  You need to use your @artsci.wustl.edu address.

Links to the forms are below.

Password reset:  https://interface.wulib.wustl.edu/patron/password-reset/

Password change:  https://interface.wulib.wustl.edu/patron/password-change/

Please email passwordhelp@wumail.wustl.edu or call 314-935-5410 if you need help.

New database-- Medieval Sourcesonline

"Developed from the Manchester University Press Medieval Sources series, this is an exciting electronic project which provides the full text of all of the books in the series for students, academics, colleges and universities. Bringing an amazing wealth of information together for the first time Medieval Sourcesonline delivers crucial history documents to the desktop quickly and easily." (from database homepage)

NOTE: Not actually a searchable database across all the texts; browse to find individual works and use the search function within Acrobat to search the PDF files.

New Databases in MultiSearch Groups

I have recently updated the MultiSearch groups to include the following databases/ebooks:

English Literature MultiSearch Group:

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers-- subject gateway

Book Review Index--index   
Iter Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance--index
Times Literary Supplement-- ejournal
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography--ebook
Oxford Reference Online--ebook
18th Century Journals II-- newspapers
Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages--ebook
International Medieval Bibliography--index
Medieval and Early Modern Sources Online--subject gateway
Middle English Compendium--ebook
Literary Encyclopedia—ebook

Books in Print--index
Times Digital Archives-- newspapers

American Literature MultiSearch group:

17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers-- subject gateway
Book Review Index--index   
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography--ebook
Oxford Reference Online--ebook
Radical Scatters--subject gateway
North American Women's Drama-- subject gateway
Literary Encyclopedia--ebook
19th Century Newspapers-- newspapers
Books in Print--index
North American Letters and Diaries-- subject gateway
20th Century North American Drama-- subject gateway

 

You  can get to these groups by selecting MultiSearch from the University Libraries' homepage.  Once at the MultiSearch page, choose the appropriate subject group, and you will see the list of databases.  It is best to search each database individually rather than as a group.

Meet the New Subject Librarian

Please join me in Olin Library's Ginkgo  Reading Room on Wednesday, March 19^th from  4-6 p.m. 

If you are unable to attend, please give me the opportunity to meet you via telephone, email, or in person.  I would be happy to come to your office, or you could find me in office #124 in Olin Library.

I also include a brief bio below.

 
Kris Helbling began November 1^st, 2007 as a Reference/Subject Librarian for American and English Literature.  Kris is a native of St. Louis and has experience in teaching English at Clayton High School and at Fontbonne University.  She earned her MAT (Masters of Arts in Teaching, English concentration) from Washington University, recently changed careers and in 2004 completed a Masters of Library Science degree at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  You can contact Kris at helbling@wustl.edu, 5-7466, or at the Olin Reference Help Desk.

 

New Off-Campus Access Service

Using subscription databases off-campus will be much easier with the Libraries' new proxy service. You'll be asked to log in once using your WU ID number and the password you use to log on to the public computers in the Libraries. Then, you will in most cases be able to navigate freely among the various databases and journal packages (there are some exceptions). Additional information is here; please let us know if you encounter any problems.

Logging on to the ILLiad Interlibrary Loan System

All library patrons who have an ILLiad interlibrary loan account will be receiving an email about a change in the log on procedure. Instead of using your current username and password, you'll use your university ID number and the password you use to log on to library computers. This change will occur 8/24-8/29. If you have questions or encounter problems, contact Nada Vaughn at 935-4087 or the Olin Library Help Desk at 935-5410.

ArticleReach Direct for Getting Articles Quickly

The Libraries have launched a new unmediated delivery service for requesting journal articles. As usual, for immediate access, check to see if the Libraries provide the full text in paper or electronic format via the familiar Get it! retrieval options. But if not, follow the ArticleReach Direct link and click through the forms. You'll receive an email message when the article is ready, usually 2-3 days, and you'll log in to My Catalog to retrieve it. More information about the service is here.

More eJournals

The Libraries now subscribe to the Project Muse Premium Collection.  Previously, we had access to all titles in the Standard Collection.  For a comparison of the two collections, see: http://muse.jhu.edu/about/subscriptions/collection_comparison_2008.html.

Neureuther Competition Winners!

Congratulations to this year's winners of the WU Libraries' 20th annual Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition:

Undergraduate category
1st place: Robin Meyer, “My Collection: Defined”
2nd place: Lauren Hosek, “The Not-So-Silent Past: An Archaeology Collection”

Graduate category
1st place: Tafline Crawford, “Science and Politics in the History of Paleoanthropology”
2nd place: Carter Smith, “Thinking the Line: A Collection of Books on Poetry and Visual Art”

Selected books from the winning collections will be on display in Olin Library the week of April 30th, and the essays are now posted on the Neureuther website.

Library Book Sale

The West Campus Library will be holding a book sale April 25-26, 10:00am-4:00pm, in Conference Room C. Prices range from $.50 to $2.00. Come find a bargain. The sale is open to all.