Background Information

Reference works are a good place to begin your research. They can provide quick background information, help you to generate research topic ideas, and help you to develop a list of keywords to use when you begin searching the library catalog, article indexes and databases. The following is a selective list of works that may be found online or (unless otherwise noted) in the library Reference Room on Level 4 Williston:

Bio-bibliographical information on Suzan-Lori Parks and the writers who influenced her

• Biography Resource Center A database of biographical information on over 340,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and across all disciplines and subject areas. Includes biographies from publications such as Contemporary Authors and Contemporary Dramatists.
• LION: Literature Online A collection of over 350,000 full-text works of English, American, African-American and Canadian poetry, drama and prose from the 8th century to the present, with complementary criticism and reference resources.  Use the Authors search to find bio- and bibliographical information on a writer as well as criticism and other reference articles.
• Literary Research Center A full text database providing information on thousands of authors and their works. Content is drawn from major reference works, monographs, classic books and anthologies, literary journals, and original content from EBSCO Publishing. May be used to find both background information as well as literary criticism.

Bio-bibliographical information on Suzan-Lori Parks

• Contemporary Authors Volume 201
  MH Reference PN771 .C6
• Contemporary African American Female Playwrights. An annotated bibliography
  MH Reference PS338.N4 W55 1998
• The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre & Performance
  MH Reference PN2035 .O94 2003 (also available online)

Bio-bibliographical information on Parks' influences

• Contemporary Authors. Volume 143 (article on Richard Forman)
  MH Reference PN771 .C62 v.143
• Contemporary Dramatists. Fifth edition Edited by K.A. Berney. London: St. James Press, 1993. (article on George C. Wolfe)
  MH Reference PN771 .D55 1993
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 7: Twentieth- Century American Dramatists (articles on Edward Albee, Amiri Baraka, Lorraine Hansberry)
  MH Reference PS351 .T9
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Documentary Series. An illustrated chronicle. Volume 8 (article on Amiri Baraka)
  MH Reference PS129 .D48
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 9: American Novelists, 1910-1945 (article on William Faulkner)
  MH Reference PS129 .A53
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography, Documentary Series. An illustrated chronicle. Volume 2 (article on William Faulkner)
  MH Reference PS129 .D48
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 13: British Dramatists since World War II (article on Samuel Beckett)
  MH Reference PR106 .B74 1982
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 38: Afro-American Writers after 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers (articles on Amiri Baraka, Lorraine Hansberry, Adrienne Kennedy, Ntozake Shange)
  MH Reference PS153.N5 A39 1985
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 51: Afro-American Writers from the Harlem Renaissance to 1940 (article on Zora Neale Hurston)
  MH Reference PS153.N5 A396 1987
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 124: Twentieth- Century German Dramatists, 1919-1992 (article on Brecht)
  MH Reference PT666 .T87 1992
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 143: American Novelists Since World War II. Third Series (article on Alice Walker)
  MH Reference PS379 .A555 1994
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 223: The American Renaissance in New England (article on Nathaniel Hawthorne)
  MH Reference PS243 .A542 2000
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 266: Twentieth- Century American Dramatists. Fourth Series (article on Edward Albee)
  MH Reference PS350 .T96 2002
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 269: Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Documentary Volume
  MH Stacks PS1881 .N38 2003 Folio
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 228: Twentieth- Century American Dramatists (articles on August Wilson, Tony Kushner)
  MH Reference PS350 .T94 2000
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 249: Twentieth- Century American Dramatists. Third Series (article on Ntozake Shange)
  MH Reference PS350 .T95 2002
  
• Dictionary of Literary Biography. Volume 321: Twentieth- Century French Dramatists (article on Eugene Ionesco)
  MH Reference PQ556 .T94 2006

Historical background

• Africana : the encyclopedia of the African and African American experience
  MH Reference DT14 .A37435 2005
• Encyclopedia of African-American culture and history : the Black experience in the Americas
  MH Reference E185 .E54 2006
• Encyclopedia of African American society
  MH Reference E185 .E546 2005 (also available online)
• The Encyclopedia of civil rights in America
  MH Reference  E185.61 .E544 1998
• The Greenwood encyclopedia of African American civil rights : from emancipation to the twenty-first century
  MH Reference  E185.61 .E54 2003

Theatre

• The Cambridge guide to American theatre
  MH Reference  PN2220 .C35 1993
• Cambridge History of American Theatre
  PN2221 .C37 1998 (3 vol.)
• The Oxford companion to American theatre
  MH Reference  PN2220 .B6 2004
  

Books

To find books on a particular topic, or by title or author, search the Library catalog. You can search just Mount Holyoke's holdings or the holdings for all Five College libraries. When you find an item that's in Mount Holyoke's collection, note the location and call number then use the Getting Around in LITS guide to determine where it is located in the building. When you find an item that's in one of the other Five College libraries, use the catalog's Request Item feature to request that the book be delivered to you.

Journal Articles

Which indexes and databases to use

The library catalog, while it will tell you which library has a journal title and for which years, doesn’t contain information about the individual articles within each journal issue. Article indexes and databases, on the other hand, do contain information at the article level and are the better tool for finding articles on your topic. Mt. Holyoke subscribes to many article indexes and databases. A full list of these can be found at E-Resources A to Z, but you may find it easier to use the library's Research Guides. The Research Guides break down, by academic discipline, the most appropriate databases for each subject. Some potentially useful Research Guides and databases for this class:

English Language and Literature

• Modern Language Association International Bibliography (1963- ) Indexes over 3,000 journals and series in the fields of literature, language, linguistics, folklore, and the dramatic arts.  Some linked full text.

History

• America : History and Life (1964- ) Citations, with abstracts, to social science humanities literature on all aspects of US and Canadian history, culture and current affairs from prehistoric times to present.     

Gender Studies

• Women's Studies International (1972- ) Covers the core disciplines in Women’s Studies to the latest scholarship in feminist research.  Includes the areas of sociology, history, political science & economy, public policy, international relations, arts & humanities, business and education. Nearly 800 essential sources include: journals, newspapers, newsletters, bulletins, books, book chapters, proceedings, reports, theses, dissertations, NGO studies, important websites & web documents, and grey literature. Over 2,000 periodical sources are represented. Updated quarterly.

Film Studies

• FIAF: International Index to Film Periodicals The International FilmArchive Database is published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and contains several databases, including: the International Index to Film Periodicals, the International Index to Television Periodicals, the Treasures from the Film Archives, the Bibliography of FIAF Members Publications and the International Directory of Film and TV Documentation Collections. The main database, the International Index to Film Periodicals, contains over 230,000 article references from more than 300 periodicals. The database, which cumulates citations from the annual printed volume, offers in-depth coverage of academic and popular film journals from 1972 to the present. Some plays are covered in addtion to film. Note: this is a partial full-text database. Where citations do not include the full text, consult the library catalog to find out if we have access to the journal referenced.

Multidisciplinary databases

• Academic Search Premiere (EBSCO) Scholarly, multi-disciplinary database containing full text for nearly 4,650 serials, including more than 3,600 peer-reviewed publications. Also offers indexing and abstracts for more than 8,200 journals. Disciplines covered include arts & literature, women's studies, psychology, and history.
• Art Abstracts (1984- ) Indexes and abstracts more than 450 international art publications, including periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins. Covers both the visual and performing arts.
• JStor Full text of back issues of scholarly journals from all disciplines, some citation information for newer issues. If you use the Advanced search form,it's possible to limit your search to journals in specific disciplines. Disciplines include (among many others) Feminist & Women's Studies, History, Language & Literature, and the Performing Arts.

How to get a copy of an article

Once you've identified an article you wish to read, the next step is to get a copy of the article. Some databases make this easy because they contain not just citations for each article, but also a link to a full-text, electronic version. Other databases contain only citations. In the latter case, check the citation for the title of the journal in which the article appears, then check the Five College Library Catalog to determine if the journal is available in print or electronically. Most of the library's databases have a built-in Check SFX feature that links to the catalog so you can easily determine a journal's availability. If a journal isn't available electronically or in print at Mount Holyoke, you can request that a copy of the article be sent to you via Interlibrary Loan using the ILLiad web form. This usually takes within 5 days if the journal is at one of the other Five Colleges. However, getting copies of articles from journals outside of the Five Colleges can take longer so plan ahead.

Newspaper Articles

Newspapers are often a good source of performing arts reviews. For more recent authors and playwrights, you may find more information about their work in newspapers than in scholarly journals and books.

• Proquest National Newspapers -- This full text database allows you to search 9 major US newspapers ( New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, Boston Globe, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. Dates available vary for each paper. Tip for searching only reviews: Click on the Advanced tab then on More Search Options. In the More Search Options section, find the Document type drop-down menu and select Review.
• Ethnic NewsWatch -- Full text database of the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press. Designed to provide the "other side of the story," ENW titles offer additional viewpoints from those proffered by the mainstream press. Tip for searching only reviews: This database works the same as the previous.
• Lexis/Nexis -- Full text database of major U.S. and international news sources. Tip for searching only search reviews: Click on the News tab, and, in the Select Sources drop-down menu, choose Book, Movie, Music, Play, and Video Reviews.

Archives and Special Collections

Archives and Special Collections holds 9,000 linear feet of unpublished manuscript materials and over 11,000 published volumes primarily relating to the history of the higher education of women. The unpublished items include official non-current records of the College, papers of individuals associated with the Mount Holyoke, papers of early educators, and records of numerous organizations. Archives Librarian Patricia Albright has created a bibliography of materials pertaining to Suzan-Lori Parks and Mt. Holyoke at the time she attended. Click here to download the Parks bibliography. If you wish to browse these materials, visit the Archives reading room and mention that you are in the English 379/Theatre 350 course. If you have any questions, be sure to ask for help from our archivists!

Evaluating Information

Not all information resources are created equal! Be sure you think about what kind of information you are  using:

• Who is the audience of the article or book?  The general public or scholars? 
• Did you get it from the library's resources and databases, or from an Internet search engine like Google?

Some additional information to help you evaluate the information you find:

• What's the difference between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine? (From Carleton College)
• Evaluating Web Pages (From UC Berkeley Library)

Selected Web Sites

• 365 Days 365 Plays Web site for Parks' 365 Days/365 Plays project.
• Suzan-Lori Parks '85 Comes Home to MHC Mount Holyoke page on Suzan-Lori Parks visit to Mount Holyoke as part of 365 Days/365 Plays. Includes podcasts and photos.

Citing Tools

• A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation. Prepared by the Humanities Department and the Arthur C. Banks, Jr., Library Capital Community College Hartford, Connecticut.
• MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
  MH Reference LB2369 .G53 2003
• RefWorks online research management tool that helps you generate citations and bibliographies for your papers. See the RefWorks Tutorial and Tip Sheets for Importing Records to help you get started.
  

Need more help?

Contact Mary Stettner, English librarian, or try Ask a Librarian.