Print Resources
GALE LITERARY INDEX
Finding Criticisms from GALE
Gale Publishers is one of the best publishers of literary criticism. Each volume contains hundreds of authors. You need an index to determine if your author is in any of the volumes. You can search the company's online index to see which Gale Books have the information you need. Then you can take a printout from the online index to find the books in our library.
Read the steps below before accessing the index.
Titles in the PTHS Library:
Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction - All Volumes
Contemporary Authors - Volumes 1-155
Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) - Volumes 1-22
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) - Volumes 1-200 (approximately)
Drama for Students - All Volumes
Literature and Its Times - All Volumes
Novels for Students - All Volumes
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism - Volumes 1-4
****Research Hint: Pay attention to whether or not each article is signed by an individual author, or not. If the article is signed, the works cited must be in the format of "Single Work Within an Anthology." If not, the works cited can be done as a book with multiple volumes. Consult the MLA reference sheet for help or see Ms. Gilroy if you have any questions about how to cite your information.
Gale Publishers is one of the best publishers of literary criticism. Each volume contains hundreds of authors. You need an index to determine if your author is in any of the volumes. You can search the company's online index to see which Gale Books have the information you need. Then you can take a printout from the online index to find the books in our library.
Read the steps below before accessing the index.
- Once you get to the index search page you will have to choose which search you'll be conducting. If you know which novel/play/poem you are going to read, do a Title Search. If you don't know or are researching a poet, do an Author Search. Author searches must be done Last Name, First Name.
- After doing your search, print out the list of results or write down the titles and volumes in which your title or author is located.
- Compare your list to the list of books that are located in the PTHS library. Ignore books on the printout that we do not have. Remember, our library will not have every book on your list. You can use Alexandria to find whether or not the specific book on the list is in our library.
- Take this list to the reference area of the library. Look on the shelves between REF 800-820 and REF 920. Find the title and volume you need.
- Find your author in the book. Your author will be listed alphabetically by their last name within the book.
- Read, take notes and/or photocopy the information you find. Don't forget to record your bibliographic information.
Titles in the PTHS Library:
Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction - All Volumes
Contemporary Authors - Volumes 1-155
Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) - Volumes 1-22
Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB) - Volumes 1-200 (approximately)
Drama for Students - All Volumes
Literature and Its Times - All Volumes
Novels for Students - All Volumes
Twentieth Century Literary Criticism - Volumes 1-4
****Research Hint: Pay attention to whether or not each article is signed by an individual author, or not. If the article is signed, the works cited must be in the format of "Single Work Within an Anthology." If not, the works cited can be done as a book with multiple volumes. Consult the MLA reference sheet for help or see Ms. Gilroy if you have any questions about how to cite your information.
Databases & Internet resources
We offer a variety of excellent resources that you can access for your author research. These resources will hopefully provide all of the information you need. However, if you are still looking for more information, you can access other databases from the Peters Township Public Library or search the Internet for information on various websites. Information on those two resources is at the bottom of this page.
Click HERE to access the passwords for the Databases. You must sign in using your webapps account to access this page.
Usernames and passwords are also available in the library.
Blooms Literature Database
Excellent Database for:
- author biographies
- literary criticisms
- summaries
- videos about famous literary works
Gale Databases
Topics Covered and Resources Available:
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There's an app for that!
Gale's Databases have an Access My School Library App available for the iPhone and iPad.
Search your App store for the Access My School Library App, select Peters Township High School, and begin researching! |
FactCite
Locate a variety of information on: various countries of the world; basic biographical information on a variety of people; Greek myths and historical features.
Power Library
School Access: Click HERE to access Power Library at school.
Home Access: TWO OPTIONS
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Available Databases in Power Library:
- Contemporary Authors - provides access to biographical and bibliographical information on more than 145,000 of the most influential authors past and present
- AP Images -multiple images from the past up today. Download from here for use in projects; images downloaded via PowerLibrary will be free of watermarks
- SIRS Discoverer - offers basic encyclopedia; articles from numerous periodicals and news outlets; and images from a variety of sources
- Masterfile Main Edition - excellent resource for articles from a variety of academic journals
- Newspaper Source Plus - search for articles from both domestic and international news sources
Peters township public library
Internet resources
Recommended websites
Washington State University American Authors
Washington State University American Literature Websites
Google Scholar
Washington State University American Literature Websites
Google Scholar
If those websites don't work for you then it might be time to search the web. Watch the video below for help with search strategies:
Tips for Using Google:
- Search using multiple keywords. Make sure that you are spelling things correctly!
- Use a + sign to add words to your search, and a - (minus) sign to take away words
- DON'T just look at the first couple items that come up in a search.
Evaluate Your Online Resources!
When selecting an online resource for your project, you need to make sure that you have properly evaluated the website that you locate. You need to remember the following: Authorship, Accuracy, Coverage, Currency, and Bias. Here is a list of criteria that you should ask yourself about each website that you find: