II. Visiting the Library

1updated 12/02/09

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Pat’s English class visits the BCC Library to locate literary criticism

on Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s story, “The Yellow Wallpaper.”

Table of Contents

Choosing a Topic 4-5Finding Literary Criticism 6Literature Resource Center 7Finding Books 8-9Gale Literary Index 11-12Finding Periodical Articles 13-17Web Sources 18-19Research Tips 20Useful Links 23

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Choosing a Topic

Read “The Yellow Wallpaper” carefully and make notes about what interests you.

– What are the main themes?

– What intrigues you about the story?

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Where do I begin looking?

I need to find some criticism to help me get started…

What if I write about the

importance of the wallpaper in the

story?

Finding Literary Criticism

• Literary criticism can be found in journals, books, and in the Library’s databases.

• Look for an overview and criticism of the story in the Literature Resource Center on the Library Web site.

And/or

• Find books of criticism by using the Library catalog.

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Literature Resource Center

Literature Resource Center is a database accessed from the “Full List of Databases” on the Library Web site. The Literature Resource Center includes:

– Literary criticism and articles– Author biographies– Work overviews

To watch a short demonstration, click here.For step-by-step instructions, click here.

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Finding Books

Search for books in the Library catalog.

Use SUBJECT search to find criticism:Gilman, Charlotte

or use KEYWORD search:yellow wallpaper gilman

To watch a short demonstration click here.For step-by-step instructions click here.

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Pat prints out records for books of criticism, finds them on the shelves, and browses the tables of contents and indexes for ideas.

Pat finds several references to the symbolic meaning of the wallpaper in the books and in the overview from the Literature Resource Center.

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This isn’t as easy as

I thought…

…but I’ll see what else I can find in the Library.

I think I’ll write about symbolism in “The Yellow Wallpaper” but can I find enough criticism on this?

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I’ll use the Gale Literary Index to find criticism in reference books and then look for some articles in

databases.

I need more literary

criticism on my topic.

Gale Literary Index

• Gale Literary Index is an online index to criticism in reference books, most of them available in the Library. (Click here to see the list.)

• The Literature Resource Center contains some, but not all, of the criticism in the reference books.

To watch a short demonstration click here.For step-by-step instructions, click here.

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Periodical Articles

• Periodicals (magazines, newspapers, and journals) can be found in Library databases or in print.

• Databases may give full text, an abstract (summary), or just a citation of an article.

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Using Library Databases to Find Articles

• Go to the Library Web site (http://www.bergen.edu/library)

• Under “Find Articles”, click on “Full List of Databases” to see a list of ALL the databases.

OR

• Click on one of the “Frequently Used Databases”.

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Frequently Used Databases

These databases have articles on most topics, including literature:

• Academic Search Premier

• Academic OneFile

• ProQuest Research Library

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Database Search Tips

• Combine keywords using “and”.Example: gilman and yellow wallpaper

• Do not type whole sentences into the search box.

• Try different combinations of keywords.

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I’m finding articles in the

database called Academic

Search Premier.

I’ll scan the article titles

and abstracts to find the ones that

mention the symbolism of

the wallpaper.

Database Searching

For a short demonstration, click here. For step-by-step instructions click here.

Web Sources

The Web is not always a reliable source for literary criticism, but

• You might try the Internet Public Library’s links for literary criticism at http://www.ipl.org/div/litcrit/.

• If you use a search engine, carefully evaluate what you find. Google Scholar may retrieve more scholarly sources than other search engines.

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Who put this online?

A professor or a student?

What is the Web site’s purpose?

Are they selling me something here?

How does this information compare to

what I found in other sources?

When was the Web site last

updated?

Evaluating Web Sites

Research Tips

• Keep track of sources used.

• Photocopy parts of the books used.

• Keep complete source information such as the author’s name, source title, place and year of publication for the Works Cited page.

• Follow the “Citation Guides” link on the Library Web site for help with citation formats.

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Need more information?

• Stop by the Reference Desk

• Call the Reference Librarian

201-447-7436.

• E-mail a librarian Ask-a-Librarian http://www.bergen.edu/library/ask

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Pat’s next step is thesis revision

Help! I found a lot of information at

the Library!

Let me find a quiet place now…

Useful Links

• Off campus access to the Library http://www.bergen.edu/library/remote

• Ask a Librarian http://www.bergen.edu/library/ask

• Library Catalog http://www.bergen.edu/library/catalog

• Citation guides http://www.bergen.edu/library/citation

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