Literature & Books Databases

Literature Criticism Online is the most extensive compilation of literary criticism available. It is comprised of the complete contents of 10 individual, award-winning Gale series that represent a range of modern and historical views on authors and their works across regions, eras and genres. Included are centuries of the scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals: tens of thousands of hard-to-find essays at your fingertips. The following series are included in this database: Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, Shakespearean Criticism, Literature Criticism from 1400–1800, Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Poetry Criticism, Short Story Criticism, Drama Criticism, Children’s Literature Review, Dictionary of Literary Biography and Something About the Author.

Gale Reference Ebooks (formerly Gale Virtual Reference Library) – Provides in-depth literary and historical background on the most commonly studied nonfiction essays, books, biographies, and memoirs in a streamlined, easy-to-use format. Covering 15-20 works per volume, this reference series gives high-school and undergraduate students an ideal starting point for class assignments, term papers, and special projects.

Novelist K-8 helps librarians, teachers, parents, and other adults who care about children in grades K-8 find fiction and non-fiction books to read tailored to their reading level and interests. Or, kids can try it themselves to help them select books they’ll enjoy. Using simple search techniques, find helpful resources such as expert reading recommendations, read-alikes, book discussion guides, thematic book lists and more.

Novelist Plus helps readers of all ages or those who help readers find fiction and non-fiction books they’ll enjoy. Using simple search techniques, find helpful resources such as expert reading recommendations, read-alikes, book discussion guides, thematic book lists and more.

Search more than 3 million articles from some 375 leading magazines; many of the articles are peer-reviewed. Find articles by keyword, subject heading, publication, dates, journal, author, article title, ISSN, article type, and more. This database provides full text coverage of Wilson Library Bulletin, including PDF page images.

Something About the Author presents information on tens of thousands of authors and illustrators of books for children and teens. Included are the complete contents of two long-published print series: Something About the Author and Something About the Author: Autobiography Series. Biographical sketches include personal data, career, awards and honors, writings, adaptations, additional sources and more–searchable by keyword, full text, named author, and illustration caption. Specially commissioned autobiography essays and an abundance of personal photos provide an entertaining and informative first-person perspective of the lives and careers of their subjects.

Books come to life through animation, narration, sounds and music. Tumblebook Library is a collection of electronic picture books for children, which are sure to entertain and evoke a love of reading.

Oxford’s Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects–from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume provides incisive and provocative–yet always balanced and complete–discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society.

(OCLC) — The world’s most comprehensive bibliography with 40 million bibliographic records representing 400 languages. Covers information back to the 11th Century. Includes holdings information from the world’s libraries.