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Library Research Guide for German Studies
Related Library Pages:
New Acquisitions in German Studies | German Film Holdings
German-language resources are indicated by
SELECTED REFERENCE SOURCES
General Encyclopedias and Guides
Brockhaus Enzyklopädie in vierundzwanzig Bänden. Edition: 19., völlig neu bearb. Aufl. Mannheim : Brockhaus, Bd.1-30 (1986-1996) (Olin Ref AE27 B86 1986) ; mit Jahrbuch, 1993-2001 (Olin Ref AE27 B8603)
Other Titles: Brockhaus Enzyklopädie Deutsches Wörterbuch Brockhaus Enzyklopadie. Jahrbuch. Grosse Brockhaus. Previous edition published under title: Der Grosse Brockhaus. Continues with v. 25: index; v. 26-28: Deutsches Wörterbuch; v. 29: Wörterbuch Englisch; v. 30: Ergänzungen. Includes index. Also available online via Xipolis.net
- Formerly: Das Neue Duden-Lexikon.
Encyclopedia of Contemporary German Culture. Edited by John Sandford. London; New York: Routledge, 1999. (Olin Ref DD290.26 E53x 1999)
A one-volume reference source for people, events, topics, and things related to post-1945 German culture (society, politics, the arts, etc.), both canonical and popular. Each entry notes suggestions for further reading, both in German and English. Indexed.
- German Culture and Society: the Essential Glossary. Edited by Holger Briel. London: Arnold, c2002. (Olin Ref DD67 G475x 2002)
- "From advertising and 'Bauhaus' to 'Volkshochschule' and World War II, this text gives an interdisciplinary overview of German culture and society, and is a route map to further study. Designed specifically with undergraduates in mind, it contains concise and accessible explanations of the essential issues, events and concepts in Germany, beginning in 1918 and including key words and figures. Covering history, politics, popular culture, private life, cultural institutions and social structures, the entries are fully cross-referenced and assume no prior knowledge." - amazon.uk
- Modern Germany: an Encyclopedia of History, People, and Culture, 1871-1990. New York: Garland Pub., 1998. (Olin Ref + DD 14 M64x 1998 )
- This two volume work covers all aspects of German civilization from 1871 to 1990. There are biographical articles: "Marx," "Freud," as well as topics: "Philosophy," although the topical articles are somewhat brief. Signed articles are written by experts, who also provide some bibliography, much of it in English. The articles have many cross-references and the work is enhanced by a thorough index. Good for background on the late 19th and 20th Century Germany.
Provides full-text Web access to various German current editions to standard reference works from publishers Brockhaus, Duden, Harenberg, and Meyers, covering: Art and Culture, Biography, General Interest, Geography, History, Language, Law and Economics, Medicine, and Science and Technology.
Dictionaries
A variety of German-language dictionaries can be found in Olin Reference and in the Olin 6th floor stacks under the classification PF 3625. German-English dictionaries are classed as PF 3640.
- Newer edition of the above. Also available online through Xipolis.net
- The Oxford-Duden Pictorial German-English Dictionary. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; New York: Oxford University Press, 1994. (Olin Ref PF3629 O98 1994)
- Subject-arranged dictionary that correlates illustrations of objects with the German and English terms by which they are known.
Directories
Directory of German studies. DAAD/Monatshefte. Madison, Wis. : German Studies Information, Ltd. ; New York, NY: German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), 1991-. (Olin Library stacks PF3068 U6 D59)
- Revised every 5 years. Contains listings and contact information for German Studies departments, programs, and faculties in the United States and Canada. Issued by Monatshefte and Max Kade Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000- .
Bibliographies
Biography
Extensive listing of German-language biographical reference sources that have been digitized and made freely available online.
- Das in Umfang und Abgeschlossenheit einzigartige historisch-biographische Nachschlagewerk enthält biographische Artikel und Einzelporträts von 60.000 Personen, aus der Zeit Karls des Großen bis zum Ende des 20. Jahrhunderts. Sie alle haben in ihrer Zeit und darüber hinaus die Geschichte Deutschlands, Österreichs und der Schweiz geprägt und beeinflußt, ob sie nun in der Öffentlichkeit, in der Politik, Wirtschaft, Kunst, Kultur oder Wissenschaft gewirkt haben. Das Lesen in ihren Lebensläufen vermittelt den Zugang zur Geschichte, durch die Menschen, die Geschichte machten. English translation available at Olin Ref CT759 D48 2001
- A cumulation of 284 biographical lexica, published up to and including the mid-20th century. Coverage of 19th century material has been increased following further research which brought to light a number of new 19th century sources. These have been included together with biographical sources published in the 20th century. The end of World War II was chosen as a cut-off point for this project; some titles from the 1950's and 1960's, however, which were considered valuable in helping to form a picture of the social, cultural and academic regeneration of Germany have also been included. (Saur)
Statistical Sources
- Es bietet in 26 Kapiteln ausführliche Informationen zu demographischen, ökonomischen, sozialen und kulturellen Gegebenheiten und Entwicklungen in Deutschland. Über die Entwicklung der Bevölkerung wird ebenso berichtet, wie über die Lage der Wirtschaft, des Arbeitsmarktes, über Löhne und Preise sowie die Staatsfinanzen. Angaben zum Bildungs- und Gesundheitswesen, über kulturelle Einrichtungen und Freizeit sowie Trends bei den Sozialleistungen und im Umweltbereich vervollständigen das Bild.
LIBRARY CATALOGS
Cornell's Online Catalog
Search Commands, Subject Searching, Keyword Searching, and other functions of the online catalog are explained under the help button in the catalog or at Help Using the Cornell Library Catalog.Some typical examples of Library of Congress subject headings:
Germany--history--20th century
Germany--statistics
Germany--periodicals
German literature
German fiction
Architecture, German
Music--Germany
Whenever you cannot locate the material you need, ask at the reference desk for assistance.
National and International Library Catalogs
Center for Research Libraries Catalog (Library Gateway's Find Databases)
- The CRL is a consortium of research libraries. It has "most favored interlibrary loan lender" status at Cornell which means that items found there can often be borrowed quickly. CRL has a few unique strengths, including a large collection of uncataloged European dissertations and extensive microfilm holdings..
- Der KVK ist ein an der UB Karlsruhe entwickeltes Meta-Suchinterface für WWW-Bibliotheks- und Buchhandelskataloge weltweit. Er weist ca. 75 Millionen Bücher aus Bibliotheks- und Buchhandelskatalogen nach. Neben dem "klassischen" KVK gibt es auf KVK Technik basierende Spezialkataloge und Bibliographien. An online catalog that allows simultaneous searching of many German library catalogs, as well as the catalogs of the Library of Congress and the British Library.
- OCLC WorldCat is a catalog of the holdings of books, journals, and other materials held by OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) member libraries. Includes NetFirst database holdings.
- A convenient list of links to national, international, and university online catalogs from around the world can be found under the Library Gateway's Help button: Library Catalogs Worldwide
GERMAN PERIODICAL INDEXES
Registry of more than 450 contemporary journals, print and electronic.
- Indexes nearly 200 late 18th and early 19th century German periodicals. Contains separate indexes for author, subject keyword, subject name, geographical subject, and illustration, as well as book reviews.
- Abteilung I., Zeitschriften der Berliner Spätaufklärung, indexes 14 journals published during the late years of the "Berlin Enlightment." Band 1 is an issue-by-issue listing of contents, Bd. 2 is an index of names and titles with recurrent phrases, and Bd. 3 is a keyword index.
- The IBZ is an international, interdisciplinary index of periodical literature covering basic research from all fields of knowledge, with particular emphasis on the humanities, arts and social sciences. Indexes a significant proportion of the periodicals published on the European continent. Multilingual, with English and German interfaces. An English-language interface is available. The online edition is updated monthly; the print (see below) is updated twice annually.
- Print version of the IBZ, which actually began publication in 1897 under the title Bibliographie der deutschen Zeitschriftenliteratur. With the exception of about 3 years at the end of World War II (when its bombed publishing plant was being rebuilt) it has continued to the present day.
The periodicals discussed in this set are on microfiche and are to be found in the library catalog under Deutsche Kulturzeitschriften des 19. Jahrhunderts, rather than by individual title.
More than forty Enlightenment-era periodicals
- Index of articles from German newspapers. Issued Monthly, 1993- .
RESOURCES FOR GERMAN HISTORY
Focus on Global Resources. Center for Research Libraries. Spring 2008 issue on German Resources.
See especially the features on the German Colonial Archives and German Illustrated Periodicals.
Historical Abstracts. Santa Barbara, CA : ABC-Clio, 1998-
This historical periodical database includes annotated references to the history of the world from 1450 to the present (excluding the U.S. and Canada which are covered in "America: History and Life"). Covers over 2000 journals, including historical journals from almost every country and selections of journals in the social sciences and humanities for researchers and students of history.
Die Datenbank zur Geschichte Die Datenbank Historische Bibliographie der Berichtsjahre seit 1990 umfasst über 145.000 bibliographische Einträge der in Deutschland sowie im deutschsprachigen Ausland erschienenen historischen Bücher, deutsche sowie fremdsprachige Zeitschriftenaufsätze, Beiträge aus Sammelwerken und sonstige Veröffentlichungen. Sie wird ergänzt durch über 10.000 Einträge in Bearbeitung befindlicher Forschungsarbeiten aus dem "Jahrbuch der historischen Forschung". Index to publications on history, cumulated from 1990 onward.
Medieval Germany: an Encyclopedia. Edited by John M. Jeep. New York ; London : Garland Pub., 2001. (Olin Ref DD126 M43x 2001 + )
Nearly 650 alphabetically arranged entries cover German- and Dutch-speaking Europe from A.D. 500 to 1500. Articles cover "major persons, places, historical occurrences, artistic and technological accomplishments, intellectual developments, and daily life." Among the topics covered are Carmina Burana, Gardens and gardening, Hanseatic League, Heraldry, Jews, Meistersinger, Pregnancy and childbirth, and Printing press. There are also entries for persons and places, from the Carolingian capital Aachen to the Cistercian monastery Zwettl. Entries vary in length from a paragraph or two to 20 pages. Articles were written to be accessible to the nonspecialist as well as the scholar, and bibliographies cite English-language sources whenever possible. (Booklist)
Periodical Contents Index: PCI. Alexandria, VA : Chadwyck-Healey.
Covers 1770-1993. Electronic index to thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, covering each periodical from its first issue. Every article is indexed. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other languages.
Francis. Dublin, Ohio: OCLC.
FRANCIS covers a wide range of multilingual, multidisciplinary information in the humanities (67%), social sciences (30%), and economics (3%). FRANCIS is strong in French studies, religion, the history of art, and literature, with particular emphasis on current trends in European and world literature. Updated monthly, FRANCIS covers 1984 to the present. Click here for the current database size and a complete list of journal titles.
International Medieval Bibliography (online). Leeds, England: W.S. Maney, 1967- .
Indexes articles, notes, and similar literature on medieval subjects in journals, Festschriften, conference proceedings, and collected essays. Covers all aspects of medieval studies within the date range of 400 to 1500 for the entire continent of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa for the period before the Muslim conquest and parts of those areas subsequently controlled by Christian powers. Includes more than 300,000 articles published 1967- , all of which are fully classified by date, subject and location.
Iter: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Toronto, Ont. : Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies of the University of Toronto, 1996-.
A bibliographic database of interdisciplinary journal literature pertaining to the Middle Ages and Renaissance, 400-1700. Includes articles, reviews, bibliographies, catalogs, editions, abstracts, discographies, and notes.
American bibliography of Slavic and East European studies (ABSEES) online. Urbana-Champaign : Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois.
ABSEES covers North American scholarship on East-Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and contains bibliographic citations for journal articles, books, book chapters, book reviews, dissertations and selected government publications.
Web of Science (including Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences Citation Index). Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1977- .
A multidisciplinary index to over 1200 leading international arts and humanities journals. It includes journal articles, letters, editorials, notes, meeting abstracts, discussions, poems, short stories, plays, musical scores, excerpts from books, and bibliographies. It is unique in that it allows the user to trace cited references, i.e., you can locate all articles published in a given year that cited a key article on your topic.
RESOURCES FOR GERMAN LITERATURE
- Contents: Bd. 1. Von den Anfängen bis zum Jungen Deutschland -- Bd. 2. Vom Realismus bis zur Gegenwart. Der erste Band beginnt mit dem frühen Mittelalter von 750 bis 1170, läuft weiter über das hohe und späte Mittelalter, die Renaissance von 1470 bis 1600, auch Barock, Aufklärung, Empfindsamkeit, natürlich Sturm und Drang, die Klassik und Romantik, schließlich Biedermaier und Vormärz. Der Realismus ab 1850 leitet den zweiten Band ein, den man gleich zusammen mit dem ersten Band anschaffen sollte. Zu jeder Epoche gibt Frenzel einen historischen Überblick mit wesentlichen Ereignissen auf politischer und geisteswissenschaftlicher Ebene, den Zusammenhang zu zentralen Werken, Vorbildern und ausländischen Einflüssen. Epoche eine Chronologie aller bedeutenden Werke mit Angaben zu Autor, Titel, Inhalt und Bedeutung. - amazon.de
- Full-text electronic version "covers almost 500 years of German lyric poetry and includes the work of over 500 authors from the 15th to the 20th century. Die Deutsche Lyrik in Reclams Universal-Bibliothek is published with the co-operation and support of Philipp Reclam jun., Stuttgart and covers all volumes of German poetry published within Reclams Universalbibliothek since 1945"--English version of home page.
- Encyclopedia of German Literature. Matthias Konzett, editor. 2 vols. Chicago; London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. (Olin Ref PT41 E53x 2000+)
- Authors make up the majority of the more than 500 entries, and important writers in the history of German literature from Goethe to Hesse are treated. Inclusion has been extended to contemporary writers such as Aysel Ozakin and Yoko Tawada. Author entries conclude with bibliographies of works by the author, including English translations, as well as secondary scholarship. One or more additional articles follow many author entries, treating specific literary works by that author. Includes bibliographical references and index.
- The Feminist Encyclopedia of German Literature. Edited by Friederike Eigler and Susanne Kord. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997. (Olin Library stacks PT41 F46x 1997)
- "In entries for more than 500 topics, the volume surveys literary periods, epochs, and genres; critical approaches and theories; important authors and works; female stereotypes; laws and historical developments; literary concepts and themes; and organizations and archives relevant to women and women's studies. Each entry offers a concise identification of the term, a discussion of its significance, and a bibliography of works for further reading." - amazon.com
- Originally published as Kindlers Literatur Lexikon. Das große, als Standardwerk anerkannte Literaturlexikon liegt jetzt als broschierte Studienausgabe vor - ein unerschöpfliches Nachschlagewerk für den Literaturfreund und -kenner.
(Olin: PT155 .K92). Das KLG auf CD-ROM (Olin Reference: Disk PT155 .K92a) available in the Electronic Text Center (ETC).
- "Walter Killys Literaturlexikon ist wohl inzwischen zu einem Standardwerk der germanistischen Nachschlagewerke geworden. In wissenschaftlich fundierten Artikeln, die teilweise, etwa über Goethe, schon Aufsätzen gleichen, werden Biographien deutscher Schriftsteller und Schriftstellerinnen genauso behandelt wie ihre größten Werke. Zudem gibt es einen literaturgeschichtlichen Überblick, der alleine schon den Erwerb des Lexikons lohnen würde." - amazon.de
- Das "Metzler Autoren Lexikon" umfaßt 440 Artikel über deutschsprachige Autorinnen und Autoren der Literaturgeschichte und der Gegenwartsliteratur - begeisternd erzählt, sachlich dargestellt - eine kompetente Fundgrube für alle Literaturliebhaber - jetzt als ungekürzte Sonderausgabe nach der zweiten, wesentlich erweiterten Auflage. Das "Metzler Autoren Lexikon", in der zweiten Auflage mit 440 Artikeln, hat sich längst den Rang eines studienbegleitenden Standardwerks erobert. Für seinen Wert spricht, daß die vorhandenen Literaturgeschichten nur punktuell auf den Zusammenhang von Leben, Werk und Wirkung einer Autorenbiographie eingehen. Das "Metzler Autoren Lexikon", an dem nahezu 150 Fachwissenschaftler mitgearbeitet haben, soll das Verstehen von Literatur durch die Beschreibung dieses Regelkreises bereichern und vertiefen. Es hebt sich von den vorhandenen Nachschlagewerken zu biographischen und werkgeschichtlichen Aspekten der deutschen Literatur durch die Lebendigkeit und Eindringlichkeit der Darstellung und die Konzentration auf die wesentlichen Autoren in Geschichte und Gegenwart ab. Die Artikel sind angemessen breit angelegt und enthalten die Daten und Fakten, die einen weitergehenden Eindruck der Autorenpersönlichkeit vermitteln. Die Nennung wichtiger, allgemein zugänglicher Sekundärliteratur vervollständigt den Überblick." - amazon.de
- MLA International Bibliography. New York: Modern Language Association, 1963 - . (Library Catalog and Find Databases)
- An international database providing references to scholarly articles from over 4000 journals dealing with languages, literature, folklore and linguistics. It is useful for finding literary criticism of a particular author or work, as well as articles on literary theory, women's studies, popular culture, and performing arts.
- The Oxford Companion to German Literature. 3rd ed. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. (Olin Library Ref PT41 G23 1997)
- Designed to be a reliable source of information on the whole sweep of literature from German-speaking countries from the eighth century onwards, the Companion now encompasses the mid-1990s. The entries, arranged in a single alphabetical sequence, cover authors and their major works, as well as historical, intellectual, and cultural backgrounds. The Companion's historical coverage and depth of information--on subjects as various as Kafka and Kleist, Werther and Christa Wolf, Nietzsche and the Nibelungenlied, Jung and Jelinek, Rilke and Die Reformation--makes it a useful reference book for everyone with an interest in the literature and literary culture of the German-speaking world.
- Das ‚Reallexikon der deutschen Literaturwissenschaft‘ (RLW) ist ein Begriffswörterbuch, das eine umfassende und systematische Bestandsaufnahme des literaturwissenschaftlichen Sprachgebrauchs bietet. Sein eigentliches Ziel ist die Klärung und Präzisierung des wissenschaftlichen Sprachgebrauchs. Daher unterscheidet es im Gegensatz zu anderen Lexika deutlich zwischen Wort-, Begriffs-, Sach- und Forschungsinformation. Es führt in mehr als 900 Artikeln in die Begriffswelt der deutschen Literaturwissenschaft ein. Das klar gegliederte Artikelschema ist eine Innovation: Es führt von einer ersten knappen Definition durch Wort-, Begriffs-, Sach- und Forschungsgeschichte bis zur weiterführenden Literatur.(De Gruyter)
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PRIMARY TEXTS in DIGITAL FORMAT
Online:
CD-ROM:
The Electronic Text Center (ETC). Located on the first floor of Olin Library, the ETC is a laboratory for the use of full-text primary sources in electronic form (such as CD-ROM). The ETC provides access to the library's electronic texts for scholarly textual analysis and editing from a set of dedicated workstations. The Text Center is open during the hours the library is open. Ask at the reference or information desks for assistance.
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Other German Studies Web Sites
- WESSWEB: German Studies Web.
- Produced by the Western European Specialists Section, Association of College and Research, this site provides access to scholarly resources in German Studies, including all German-speaking countries. The resources organized here have undergone a selection and evaluation process. If needed, annotations have been provided augmenting the research value of these resources to scholars.- Goethe-Institut Inter Nationes - Site of the "the largest organisation promoting German cultural and educational policy abroad."
- Berkeley Germanic Collections Web Site.
- Yahoo's Links to German Web Sites
Research and Reference Help
Library Gateway HelpReference Help is available in person at the desk, by telephone, by email, or by chat.
A research consultation with a reference librarian can be arranged when you need in-depth, personalized research help.
June 2008
Questions? Suggestions? Contact Kizer Walker, Bibliographer for German Studies
Created by Fred Muratori and Martha Hsu; revised by Kizer Walker
Olin and Uris Libraries, Cornell University, Ithaca NY 14853
PSA: Public Services and Assessment
Information and reference: 607-255-4144, okuref@cornell.edu
Circulation: (Olin) 607-255-4245, (Uris) 607-255-3537, olincirc@cornell.edu
