BC1201: First Year English
Reinventing Literary History

Fall Semester

REFERENCE BOOKS

Library Research Guide
Reference Books for Spring Semester

Encyclopedias, dictionaries and other reference books are useful for:

  • an overview of a topic
  • background information
  • bibliographies
  • factual information

The reference books in this list are available in the Barnard Library Reference Area on the second floor.
 

General Reference Sources Call Number in Reference Area
Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery BL600 .V74 1976
Oxford English Dictionary: OED PE1625 .087 1989 & online
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory PN41 .C83 1998
Encyclopedia of the Novel PN41 .E487 1999 & online via CLIO
Handbook to Literature PN41 .H355 2003
Dictionary of Literary Themes and Motifs PN43 .D48 1988
Literature and Its Times PN50 .L574 1997
World Literature and Its Times PN50 .M625 1999-2004
Encyclopedia of Allegorical Literature PN56 .A5 L44 1996
Encyclopedia of Literary Modernism PN56 .M54 E53 2003
Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism PN81 .J5554 2005 online
Encyclopedia of Feminist Literary Theory PN98 .W64 E53 1997
Critical Survey of Poetry       PN1021 .C7 2002
Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature PQ7081 .A1 E56 1997 & online via CLIO
Cambridge Guide to Literature in English PR85 .C29 2006
Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature PS221 .E532 2004
Oxford Companion to Women’s Writing in the United States PS147 .O94 1995
Oxford Companion to African American Literature PS153 .N5 O96 1997
Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature Butler R820 Ox2 & online
Blackwell Reference Online, compendium of reference sources online
Oxford Reference Online, compendium of reference sources online
Reference Universe, compendium of reference sources online
Cambridge Collections Online online

 

Subject Encyclopedias and Handbooks Call Number in Reference Area
Early Encounters in North America online
Oxford Companion to World Exploration online
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy B51 .R68 1998 & online via CLIO
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment B802 .E532 2002 & online
Encyclopedia of the Renaissance CB361 .E52 1999
Dictionary of the Middle Ages D114  .D5 1982
Europe 1450to 1784: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World D209 .E97 2004
Medieval England: an Encyclopedia DA129 .M45 1998
Medieval France: an Encyclopedia DC33.2 .M44 1995
Oxford Classical Dictionary DE5 .O9 2003 & abridged edition online
Civilization of the Ancient Mediterranean: Greece and Rome DE59 .C55 1988
Medieval Italy: an Encyclopedia DG443 .M43 2004
Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies E45 .E53 1993
Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History E169.1 .E624 2001
Readers’ Companion to American History E174 .R43 1993 1991
Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History E185 .E54 2006
Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture F1406 .E53 1996
Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in the World HQ1121 .093
Women and Gender in Medieval Europe HQ1147 .E85 W66 2006
Encyclopedia of Women in American History HQ1410 .E53 2001
Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery HT861 .M24 1998
Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales PN3437 .O94 2000
Feminist Encyclopedia of French Literature PQ149 .F47 1999 & online via CLIO
Oxford Companion to Shakespeare PR2892. O94 2001
Dante Encyclopedia PQ4333 .D36 2001

 

Criticism Series Call Number in Reference Area
Literature Criticism Online online
LC: Literature Criticism from 1400-1800 PN86 .L56  & online
CMLC: Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism PN681.5 .C57 & online
NCLC: Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism PN761 .N56 & online
CLC: Contemporary Literary Criticism PN771 .C59  & online
TCLC: Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism PN771 .G27 & online
PC: Poetry Criticism PN1010 .P499  & online
SSC: Short Story Criticism  PN3373 .S56  & online
SC: Shakespearean Criticism      PR2965 .S43  & online   

 

Authors: Biography and Overview Call Number in Reference Area
Ancient Writers: Greece and Rome    PA3002 .A5 1982 
African Writers PL8010 .A453 1997
European Writers     PN501 .E9 1983 
Latin American Writers PQ7081 .A1 L37 1989
Latin American Women Writers online
British Writers     PR85 .B688
Oxford Guide to British Women Writers PR111 .S48 1993 & online
American Writers PS129 .A55
DLB: Dictionary of Literary Biography PS129 .D5 & online
American Women Writers   PS147 .A42 2000

Return to First Year English Class Page

Last Modified 2/6/08
Karen Dobrusky, Lois Coleman, Jenna Freedman and Heidi Winston, Reference Librarians
Barnard College Library

 

 
Barnard College Library | 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027 | 212-854-3846