Finding Background Information Finding Books and Movies Finding Periodical Articles & Reviews Evaluating Sources Citing Sources Help

FINDING BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Use Reference Universe, a database you can search to find subject encyclopedias on any topic. Be sure to click the "Restrict Search to Titles in your Library" checkbox to limit your search to titles that we own. Click on the open book icon to get the Cornell call number and location. Amaze your friends with your erudition.

Selected Individual Reference Titles:

Encyclopedia of German Literature. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000.
(Olin Reference PT 41 .E53x 2000+)

Authors make up the majority of the more than 500 entries which conclude with bibliographies of works by the author, including English translations, as well as secondary scholarship. In addition to authors, literary movements and periods and types of literature (fairy tales, travel literature) are included. Also, the intersection of German literature with such topics as fascism, film, homosexuality, and religion is explored. Entries for important cities (Berlin, Vienna) and historical developments (National Socialism) provide the background of persons, places, issues, and events.

Gale Virtual Reference Library Gale Group.
(online)

Search across dozens of authoritative subject encyclopedias for articles on your topic.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. 4th ed. 4 vols. Detroit: St. James, 2000.
(Olin Reference and Uris Reference PN 1993.45 .I61 2000 + and online)

Written for film students and film buffs alike, this set features thorough coverage of legendary films, actors, actresses, directors, writers, and other production artists through detailed essays and commentary by experts. Entries include biographies, filmographies, comprehensive credits, production information, major awards, and bibliographies. Article on Fritz Lang

Literature Resource Center. Gale Group.
(online)

Literature Resource Center is a literature reference database that combines biographical, bibliographical, and contextual information on authors and their works (fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, history, and journalism).

Zipes, Jack, ed. The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales. New York: Oxford UP, 2000.
(Olin Reference PN 3437 .094 2000)

With more than 800 entries written by a team of 67 specialists from around the world, the Companion offers discussion of the classic tales themselves, both ancient and modern, from Jack and Jill and Cinderella to Alice in Wonderland and the Wizard of Oz. The contributors also profile the writers who wrote or reworked these tales, as well as the illustrators, film-makers, choreographers, and composers who have been involved with creating or interpreting them. The Companion also covers such related topics as film, art, opera, ballet, music, even advertising. An introductory overview by Jack Zipes sets the subject in its historical and literary context, and special survey articles explore the development of the fairy-tale tradition in individual countries, focusing particularly on the European and North American traditions.

You can find materials owned by the Cornell University Library in the Cornell Library Catalog. This includes books, journals, magazines, and newspapers by title (not individual articles!), videotapes, audiotapes, music CDs, CD-ROMs, DVDs, manuscripts, microfilm, microfiche--in short, anything the library owns.

You can search by author, title, subject heading, call number, or journal title. You can also search by keyword--any combination of words in the author, title, subject, contents, and notes fields. Words are combined using the Boolean operators AND, OR, or NOT. You will have an opportunity to practice this searching in class.

FINDING MOVIES: Films and other video materials can be searched in the catalog by title, director, and performer. Set the Quick Limit in the catalog's Basic Search page to Visual Materials to limit to video. Or you can add "videorecording" to a keyword search. The Media Center on the B level of Olin Library houses a large film collection on DVD and VHS tape. More detailed help searching for videos in the catalog here.

Our catalog also allows you to recall or put a hold on items that are currently checked out by other library users. Clicking on the Requests button and logging in allows you to see what you have checked out; you can also renew your books from this page.

For more information about using the catalog, click on the Help button on the catalog home page.

Things to remember about the Cornell Library Catalog:

• The online catalog lists the holdings of all twenty Cornell libraries.

• You cannot find journal articles in the catalog. Only the titles of journals, magazines, and newspapers are listed along with the years and volumes that we own. Use periodical databases (next section) to search for individual articles.

Library of Congress Classification Outline
(Online at http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/lcco.html)

Your online guide to the call numbers we use and what they mean.

These resources (except IMDb) can also be found by searching Databases Names in the Library Gateway.

Academic Search Premier. [EBSCO]

A general periodical database that provides citations and abstracts for articles from over 4,100 journals and includes full text from over 3,170 journals. You can limit your search to peer-reviewed articles (scholarly articles). Good source for film reviews.

Humanities International Index. [EBSCO]

Provides indexing, citations, and abstracts for articles from over 2,000 journal articles, essays and reviews, as well as original creative works including poems, fiction, photographs, paintings and illusrations.

Internet Movie Database [IMDb].

A searchable, free database of movies and films. To see full text reviews, use the "external reviews" link in the left column at the record for a specific title.

MLA International Bibliography. [OCLC FirstSearch]

An international index and database providing references to scholarly articles and reviews from over 4000 journals in literature, film, folklore, literary theory, semiotics, and linguistics. 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.

ProQuest Research Library.

Indexes and abstracts over 2,000 general interest magazines and scholarly journals. Includes citations and abstracts to selected television and radio programs. Many of the articles found by searching in this database are available in full text electronic formats. The database can be divided by subject (general or business), format (newspaper or magazine and journal articles), or by date.

EVALUATING SOURCES

Evaluating the sources you find is a crucial step in the process of library research. The questions you ask about books, periodical articles, or multimedia sources are similar whether you're looking at a citation to the item or have the item in hand.

How to Critically Analyze Information Sources lists some of the critical questions you should ask when you consider the appropriateness of a particular book, article, media resource, or Web site for your research.

Periodicals are aimed at a wide variety of audiences. For help evaluating the articles you find, see Distinguishing Scholarly from Non-Scholarly Periodicals.

The Internet is a democratic tool: anyone can write or say virtually anything they wish on it. As you would do with books and journal articles, look to see who is responsible for producing the web page or site that you are accessing. Does the individual or institution have a particular bias or concern or agenda in presenting their information. How objective is the information? How accurate or truthful? How authoritative? See Five Criteria for Evaluating Web pages.

Using MLA Style

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th edition. Copies in Olin and Uris Libraries are shelved behind the reference desks Ref Z 253 .M68 2003.

MLA citation style (Library Gateway Help)

Managing Citations using RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based program that allows you to easily collect, manage, and organize bibliographic references by interfacing with databases. RefWorks also interfaces directly with Word, making it easy to import references and incorporate them into your writing, properly formatted according to the style of your choice. For more information and to sign up for an account: http://www.refworks.cornell.edu .

Library Online FAQ

Reference Desk Phone Directory

Request a research consultation with a reference librarian when you need in-depth, personalized research help.