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AUTHORS, LITERARY CRITICISM, & PLOT SUMMARIES

Use the Online Catalog to find biographical material on an author, or critical material on their work. Authors may write plays, poetry, articles for newspapers and magazines, novels or short stories.  There are specialized reference works that document these different forms, or styles, of writing.  Some of the sources listed below are available only at Central Library.

Example: Search by Subject   =  “(Author's last name, first name)”
“biography – dictionaries”
“literature, modern”
“women – biography”

Biographies 2nd floor unless otherwise noted These sources include indexes of where to find biographies, short sketches of one or two paragraphs, and longer, multi-page sketches of authors.

Paper indexes include:
  • Author biographies master index R808.016 A939
  • Biography and genealogy master index R920.073 B615 1980-1990 (updated and available online at SPL terminals only)
    • American Writers Rq810.9 A5122 1974
    • British Writers R820.9 B862 1979
Other sources with biographical sketches and indexes include:
  • African writers R896 A258
  • Contemporary American authors R810.9 M653
  • Contemporary authors R928 C761
  • Current biography R920 C976
  • Cyclopedia of World Authors R809 C995
  • Dictionary of literary biography R809 D554
  • Great women writers R809.89287 G786
  • Modern women writers R813.016 M689
  • Twentieth century authors R928 K96t
  • Who was who among English and European authors R809.04 W628
  • Who's who in America R920 W623
  • World authors R928 W149
  • World poets R809.1003 W927 See also “Electronic Resources”
  
Criticisms 2nd floor
  • Contemporary literary criticism R809 C761
  • Critical survey of long fiction R809.3 C934L
  • Critical survey of mystery and detective fiction R809.3872 C934
  • Critical survey of poetry R821.09 C934
  • Critical survey of short fiction R809.3 C934
  • Feminist companion to literature in English R820.9 F3292
  • Twentieth century literary criticism R809 T971 See also “Electronic Resources”
  
Plot summaries 2nd floor Plot summaries give short descriptions and outlines of an author's work
  • Cliff Notes R809 C683c (Entire set)
  • Magill's literary annual R808.3 M1942 (1977-1991)
  • Masterplots R808.3 M194
  • What do I Read Next R808.83 W555
See Also “Internet Resources”
  
Electronic Resources All OPACS or through the internet. From the library’s home page (ww.saclibrary.org) select “Find Articles/Databases,” then choose Biography to see the first two choices, and Books & Reading to see the last two choices:
  • Biography Resource Center Database of more than 185,000 people throughout history.
  • Literature Resource Center Biographies, bibliographies, and critical analysis
  • Novelist Criticism, reviews, series, find books by author or plot
  
Internet Resources Accessible from any computer connected to the internet. Within the library, internet computers on second and third floors For further help, ask at an Information Desk