Hi all-
it looks like you will be researching an author of your choice. Depending on who your author is, you will find results in different places.
1. Older or ”Literary” Authors
If you are choosing an author of an older work (Wolff, Dickens, Hemingway, Shakespeare, etc.) or someone who may be considered“literary” (Morrison, Tan, Vonnegut,ask Ms. Kirkpatrick if you are not sure), my advice is to first search the online catalog to see if we have a book about the author. Do a subject search using their last name and see what you find.
I would also go to the corner in the reference section and try theContemporary Literary Criticism and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism series. These are the brown books in the corner. Choose the highest number volume you can find and then check the Cumulative Index in the back- it will tell you which volumes of CLC and TCLC have entries for that author.
More Recent or Popular Authors
Some authors, though popular (Grisham, King, etc.) , are not usually reviewed in literary journals or book reviews. For those authors, I would try one of the Online Databases. Elibrary is good for magazines, especiallyRollingStone, which will have feature stories on musicians (Jim Morrison, Alicia Keys, etc). LexisNexis Scholastic is good for Newspapers, which are often the only place some authors are interviewed or written about (usually in their local paper). Use the password shs123 and then click on the Newsmodule.
If Nothing Else Works
Some very recent authors (or authors who have only written one or two books) may not show up in any of these sources. If you have tried all the above go toAmazon.com and search your book. Under Editorial Reviews, you may find a brief review from Booklist or Publisher’s Weekly, which may be the only place a review appeared.
remember that you have to cite your sources. Please don’t be shy and be sure to ask me or any of our staff for help if you are stuck.
Mr. Davidson
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