Library Guides: English Library Guide: Home

Find Books and Articles

Library Search at Tulane This link opens in a new window
One-stop discovery of books/eBooks, articles, digital media, and more at Tulane University Libraries.
WorldCat This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
WorldCat allows you to discover materials at Tulane University AND in libraries worldwide. View local holdings or borrow from U.S. libraries using Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Two different interfaces, the first a more in-depth option via subscription (FirstSearch, via the Tulane University icon link), and the second open-access (WorldCat Local, via the orange OA icon) offer unique user experiences.

Interlibrary Loan
If the libraries at Tulane don't have the article or book that you need, request an interlibrary loan. Our library will find a library that has the book or article and we'll have them send it to us.

Databases for English Research

Bloomsbury Medieval Studies This link opens in a new window
Bloomsbury Medieval Studies brings together high-quality secondary content and visual primary sources for the study of all world regions from c. 300-1500.
Early English Books Online This link opens in a new window
EEBO has digitized virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700 - from the first book printed in English by William Caxton, through the age of Spenser and Shakespeare and the tumult of the English Civil War.
Eighteenth Century Collections Online This link opens in a new window
Every significant English-language and foreign-language title printed in the United Kingdom during the 18th century, along with thousands of important works from the Americas. Tulane's subscription includes Parts I and II.
Gale Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
Addresses all facets of literary study, including biographical, bibliographical, critical, and contextual information on authors and their works. LRC includes access to the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Twayne's Authors Series, and Scribner Writers Series.
JSTOR Advanced Search This link opens in a new window
A trusted archive of scholarly journals, primary sources, and books. Content spans many disciplines, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. The most recent 3-5 years of journals are generally not available; this is known as a "moving wall."
MLA Directory of Periodicals This link opens in a new window
A directory of all information available on the journals and series in the MLA International Bibliography's Master List of Periodicals.
MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
The leading international index of journals, books, dissertations, and more on literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism, and dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing.
Oxford Bibliographies Online This link opens in a new window
Visit "American Literature" for useful direction in English courses.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new window
Biographies of those who shaped all aspects of Britain's past, from the fourth century BC to the year 2010.
Oxford English Dictionary (OED) This link opens in a new window
Widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, this descriptive dictionary traces the historical development of the language.
Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
Explore a wealth of facts, figures, definitions, background information, and translations found in dictionaries and subject reference works published by Oxford University Press.
Project MUSE This link opens in a new window
Access full-text, high-quality scholarly content (journals and books) in the humanities and social sciences as published by select leading university presses and scholarly societies.

Google Scholar

Google Scholar
Search results often include "Cited by ##" links below the citation, which leads you to other articles available to Google's robots. Full text may not be available via Google, but the library probably has it in a subscription database or print copy for you.

Annotated Bibliography Tutorial

adapted from Cornell University, https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/tutorial

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a list of citations to books, articles, and documents. Each citation is followed by a descriptive and evaluative paragraph, the annotation. The purpose of the annotation is to inform the reader of the substance of each of the works cited, and their relevance to the project

Annotations vs. Abstracts

Abstracts are the purely descriptive summaries often found at the beginning of scholarly journal articles or in periodical indexes. Annotations are both descriptive and critical; they reveal the author's point of view, clarity and appropriateness of expression, and authority.

The Process

Locate books, periodicals, and documents that may contain useful information and ideas on your topic.
Briefly examine and review the actual items.
Choose those works that provide a variety of perspectives on your topic.
Cite the book, article, or document using the appropriate style.
Write a concise annotation that summarizes the central theme and scope of the book or article. Include one or more sentences that
- evaluate the authority or background of the author,
- comment on the intended audience,
- compare or contrast this work with another you have cited, or
- explain how this work illuminates your bibliography topic.

The following example uses the MLA format for the journal citation:

Forter, Greg. “Against Melancholia: Contemporary Mourning Theory, Fitzgeraldis The Great Gatsby, and the Politics of Unfinished Grief.” Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies, vol. 14, no. 2, 2003, pp. 134–170.