There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes luminous with manifold allusion. Every sentence is doubly significant, and the sense of our author is as broad as the world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) U.S. poet, essayist and lecturer
Databases do not provide full-text articles for all the items in their collections. Some databases contain a higher percentage of full-text articles than others. ProQuest Central offers a far higher number of full-text articles than does the MLA International Bibliography.
Do not let this get in the way of your getting the best materials that you need for doing the best job on your research projects. The Library provides Interlibrary Loan Services. We have a very short return time for articles that you request, usually within 1-3 days. From time-to-time, it may take longer to receive an articles that you've requested but this is the exception rather than the rule.
If you're not familiar with our Interlibrary Loan Service, read about it at this link -
Articles are more narrowly focused than books. Use articles from scholarly journals when doing in-depth research or when you're interested in a specific aspect of an author's work. For example, it would be easier to find an article about the theme of African American Mothering in Toni Morrison's Beloved than one that provides an overview of her works, which would more than likely be the subject of a book.
Use one of the databases listed here to locate literary criticism that has been published in scholarly journals. Just remember to check the box for either "scholarly journals" or "peer-reviewed" when conducting this type of search.
On the other hand, author interviews and additional information about their works can also be located in databases, either in popular magazines, newspapers or occasionally in scholarly journals.
The databases listed below can be accessed from the main Library web page by clicking on the "Articles/Databases" link and then choosing the database from the A-Z list.
The MLA International Bibliography
Produced by the Modern Language Association, the MLA International Bibliography provides citations, with limited full-text, to articles from more than 4,000 journals, edited books, dissertations, and web sites for material that relates to all forms of human communication. Coverage includes literature from all over the world--Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America. Folklore is represented by folk literature, music, art, rituals, and belief systems. Linguistics and language materials range from history and theory of linguistics, comparative linguistics, semantics, stylistics, and syntax to translation. Other topics include literary theory and criticism, dramatic arts (film, radio, television, theater), and history of printing and publishing. NOTE: This database is listed here first as English Literature Professors regard it as the most comprehensive and important database in the field and highly recommended that students begin their searches here FIRST.
Literature Criticism Online (Gale)
Literature Criticism Online, paired with print volumes, which are shelved in the Faculty Wing in the Main Administrative Building. provides access to a wide range of modern and historical views on authors and their works and includes both scholarly analysis as well as popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals. The series included in this database are: CONTEMPORARY LITERARY CRITICISM, SHORT STORY CRITICISM AND POETRY CRITICISM. This database is discussed in more detail under the "Literary Criticism" tab in this Literature Research Guide.
ProQuest Central
While ProQuest Central is generally regarded as an all-purpose database since its coverage is so broad, it can also serve as a supplement to other, literature-focused databases. It just may turn up an elusive article that can top off a carefully researched paper.
Take a look at these helpful tips for more efficient searches.
