Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale Group, 1998–. An online portal to a number of literature resources including the text of Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, Dictionary of Literary Biography, Twayne's Author Series, Scribner's Writers Series, and the full text of other reference works. Many libraries have some of the contents of this database in print form (see the Reference books tab for descriptions).

MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures. New York: Modern Language Association, 1921–. The most important ongoing index of scholarship in literature and linguistics, published by the Modern Language Association. The bibliography lists citations to books, book chapters, articles, and dissertations in all languages on literature, linguistics, folklore, and some film criticism. It covers literary criticism in depth, but book reviews and articles appearing in popular magazines are not included. Available in many libraries as an electronic database, it is also published in print format. Since 1980, the print edition is published annually in two volumes. One volume is an alphabetical subject index; the other is arranged by nationality and period.

American and English Literature Internet Resourceshttp://library.scsu.ctstateu.edu/litbib.html Includes selective links to online texts and to American and British literature sites by genre as well as to a list of pages devoted to specific writers, with an emphasis on canonical authors of the nineteenth century. Each entry is annotated. The list is maintained by Winnie Shyam at the Buley Library, Southern Connecticut State University.

Internet Public Library Online Literary Criticism Collectionhttp://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit A collection of links, to literary criticism and biographical information, organized by author, title, nationality, and period. The site includes a search engine. Some of the links are out of date, but those that are active tend to be of good quality. The project is part of a large reference site maintained by the School of Information, University of Michigan.

Literary Resources on the Nethttp://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Lit A selective directory of Web resources of interest to scholars in English and American literature. Arranged by period, it also includes sections on the history of the book, theory, women's literature, ethnicities, and literature of other nationalities. The directory is maintained by Jack Lynch of Rutgers University.

The Online Books Pagehttp://digital.library.upenn.edu/books Provides links to over 20,000 full-text books and journals in English and allows searching by author and title. The site includes special exhibits on women writers, banned books, and prize winners. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom at the University of Pennsylvania.

American Writers. 4 vols. New York: Scribner, 1979–87. With supplements. Offers essays analyzing the life and work of major American writers, arranged chronologically with an alphabetical index. Scribner publishes a similar series for British, Latin American, and European writers. These works are also available in electronic format as part of the Literature Resource Center (see the Databases and indexes tab).

Bloomsbury Guide to Women's Literature. By Claire Buck. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 1992. A thorough compendium of information on women's literature from around the world, from early times to the present. This text provides concise and informative articles and includes lengthy regional surveys. Its coverage of non-Western women writers is particularly good.

Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. By Chris Baldick. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. Defines and briefly discusses terms used in current critical theory. Notable for its clear and succinct language, this dictionary is also available in electronic format.

Contemporary Authors. Detroit: Gale Group, 1962–. 218 vols. to date. A long-running series that offers profiles of modern authors, including some whose work is not strictly literary. To locate author profiles, consult the most recent index. This work is available online as a separate database or as part of the Literature Resource Center (see the Databases and indexes tab).

Contemporary Literary Criticism. Detroit: Gale Group, 1973–. 185 vols. to date. A series that offers background on contemporary authors, with excerpts from critical essays and reviews. Citations for original sources are included. Consult the most recent cumulative index, which includes cross-references to other Gale biographical series. This is a good place to get a quick sense of how a writer's work has been received. This work is available online as Contemporary Literary Criticism Select or as part of the Literature Resource Center (see the Databases and indexes tab).

Dictionary of Literary Biography (DLB). Detroit: Gale Group, 1978–. 300 vols. to date. A series that offers lengthy biographies of authors with criticism of their works. Volumes are arranged thematically. To find an author, consult the index in the most recent volume. Though the DLB emphasizes American and British literary authors, it offers substantial coverage of writers from other countries and of journalists and historians. This work is available online as part of the Literature Resource Center (see the Databases and indexes tab).

Encyclopedia of German Literature. Ed. Matthias Konzett. 2 vols. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000. Covers authors and topics such as literary movements.

Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century. Ed. Steven R. Serafin. 3rd ed. 4 vols. Farmington Hills: St. James, 1999. Covers twentieth-century authors and movements and provides lengthy surveys of the modern literature of different countries.

European Writers. Ed. William T. H. Jackson and George Stade. 14 vols. New York: Scribner, 1983–91. A chronologically arranged work offering substantial critical essays about writers and their times from the Middle Ages and Renaissance to the present.

Guide to French Literature. Ed. Anthony Levi. 2 vols. Chicago: St. James, 1992. Includes biographical information as well as entries on movements and themes, covering Francophone Africa, the Caribbean, and France.

Literary Research Guide: A Guide to Reference Sources for the Study of Literatures in English and Related Topics. By James L. Harner. 4th ed. New York: Modern Language Association, 2002. A guide to tools and methods of literary scholarship, emphasizing English literature; includes annotated lists of reference sources. Changes and new resources are listed at the author's Web site: <http://www-english.tamu.edu/pubs/lrg/addenda.html>.

Modern Japanese Literature. Ed. Jay Rubin. New York: Scribner, 2000. Offers profiles and analysis of 25 prominent Japanese authors, including the cultural and literary context of their work as well as substantial bibliographies.

The Oxford Companion to English Literature. Ed. Margaret Drabble. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Brief descriptions of writers, literary works, schools and movements, and places of literary significance, arranged alphabetically. A number of Oxford Companions cover other national literatures and genres; some are available in electronic format.

The Oxford English Dictionary. Ed. J. A. Simpson and E. S. C. Weiner. 2nd ed. 20 vols. Oxford: Clarendon, 1989. With supplements. An invaluable source for understanding the various meanings of words and their changing definitions. The OED provides chronological examples showing how a word has been used throughout history. It is unequaled in its depth of coverage and is available in print and electronic formats.