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English Research Guide: Specialized Databases

This research guide features resources and strategies for finding information and conducting research related to English.

SPECIALIZED DATABASES

The databases highlighted on this page:

1.  Provide indexing to literary works

2. Cover specialized subject areas within literature, including children's and young adult literature, drama and theatre, Shakespeare, and themed literature

3. Offer results in media format

INDEXES TO LITERATURE

PlayIndex 

Index of classic and historical plays as well as works by contemporary playwrights, including descriptive annotations to summarize the plot and indicate musical requirements with coverage from 1949-present (Updated weekly)

Short Story Index

Index of short stories searchable by author, title, subject, genre, keyword, date, literary technique, and source

SHAKESPEARE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shakespeare's house at Stratford-on-Avon

JSTOR and Shakespeare's Sonnets

Literary criticism of Shakespeare's sonnets

JSTOR Understanding Shakespeare

In-depth coverage of all of Shakespeare's works

Oxford Academic Journals

Full text of electronic journals published by the Oxford University Press from 1996 to the present.

Shakespeare Survey 

Ebooks of peer-reviewed essays about Shakespeare studies and production, including Shakespearean images and photographs, published from 1948 to the present

DRAMA AND THEATRE

These media and online print resources specialize in the dramatic arts

Theatre in Context

Reference materials and records to plays, people, theatres, productions, and production companies covering all aspects of the Canadian and American Theatre, including images, playbills, postcards, scrapbooks, and other resources

Theatre in Video

Videos covering a wide range of 20th century theatre history, including documentaries as well as interviews with directors, designers, writers, and actors, along with excerpts of live performances

 

MEDIA RESOURCES

Films on Demand

Streaming video clips and select full-length documentaries and other educational films from acclaimed producers

Kanopy

Video streams of films for education, enrichment, and entertainment. (Please note that there may be films in this collection that do not align with the views of Liberty University. It is expected that students will abide by the Liberty Way and use discretion.)

Overdrive

E-books and audiobooks covering a wide range of popular interests including young adult and juvenile titles, all of which can be streamed online or enjoyed via the free Libby app

Swank Digital Campus

Video streams of films and documentaries in categories such as drama, adventure, comedy, fantasy, science fiction, and western

THEMED LITERATURE

This list includes literature resources focused on a particular time period, people group, or literary movement.

Black Short Fiction and Folklore: African, African American, and Diaspora

Works of short fiction produced by writers from Africa and the African ancestry from the earliest times to the present, including materials from early literary magazines, archives, and the personal collections of the authors, many of which have never been previously published

British Periodicals

Full-text periodicals from the late seventeenth century to the early twentieth covering literature, philosophy, history,  science, social sciences, music, art, drama, archaeology, and architecture

EEBO (Early English Books Online)

Extensive full-text collection of early English books, including titles by John Locke, Captain John Smith, William Shakespeare, and others

Irish Women Poets of the Romantic Period

Full-text volumes of poetry by approximately 50 Irish women written between 1768 and 1842 as well as biographical and critical essays prepared by leading scholars

Loeb Classical Library

Up-to-date texts and accurate English translations of all important aspects of Greek and Latin Classical heritage, including epic and lyric poetry; tragedy and comedy; history, travel, philosophy, and oratory; the great medical writers and mathematicians; and Church Fathers who made particular use of pagan culture

 

          

Poets of the Romantic Period: Lord Byron, William Blake, and Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

Romantic Era Redefined 

Full-text electronic collection of works focusing on the period between 1800 and 1830, including canonical and previously unrecognized poetry, prose, drama, letters, and diaries as well as political, philosophical, scientific, and sociological works from Britain, the British Empire, and North America as well as the full run of The Wordsworth Circle

World Folklore and Folklife

Reference works, handbooks, classic folk tales, contextual material, multimedia resources, images, and maps that address holidays, festivals, language, stories and fairy tales, proverbs, foodways, and folk remedies that define our society and our place within it

CHILDREN'S AND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE

These databases are dedicated to the coverage of books aimed at children and young adults and the authors who write them.

CLCD 

Resource for children's books and media, including reviews of thousands of children's books ranging from the earliest baby board books to novels and nonfiction for young adults. Also includes awards and reading lists for items reviewed.

Something About The Author Online 

Illustrated biographical profiles of authors and illustrators for children and young adults, ranging from established award winners to authors and illustrators who are just beginning their careers

                                                                                         

     Illustration from Little Women and picture of Louisa May Alcott