This document provides an overview of library resources for English literature students at Royal Holloway University of London. It defines primary, secondary and tertiary sources and gives examples. It describes how to search the library catalog and databases to find books, journals, newspapers and other sources. Specific databases like Literature Online and Early English Books Online are explained and tips are provided for searching within texts. The library collections for English literature are also located.

1. Library Services
Finding quality information
for your course
libguides.rhul.ac.uk/English
22 October 2014
Kim Coles
@RHUL_Library

2. Department
Types of Information
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Books Academic journals Databases
Newspapers
Websites
Encyclopaedia Dictionary
…

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Primary, secondary, or tertiary sources?
A primary source is first-hand information.
It could be a novel, poem, interview in a
newspaper, letter in an archive…
A secondary source is an analysis or
commentary on existing information.
It could be a review in a newspaper,
criticism in an academic journal, a
book on an author/novel/poem…
A tertiary source is a summary or
collection of primary and/or secondary
sources. It could be a dictionary,
encyclopaedia, bibliography…
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Tertiary
Secondary
Primary

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Types of Information – and where to find them
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Books
- Library – use LibrarySearch ‘Books, Music and Films’ search to check
- Databases such as EEBO, LION, etc.
Academic journals
- Library – use LibrarySearch ‘All’ or ‘Journals by Title’ search to check
- Databases such as JSTOR, ProjectMUSE, MLA International Bibliography,
LION, etc
Databases
- Library – use the English subject guide to find a full list
Newspapers
- Library – use LibrarySearch or the Nexis database to find specific articles
- General web – search for newspaper titles (limited access!)
Dictionaries, encyclopaedias, other reference material
- Use the English Subject guide to find a full list under ‘Reference e-resources’

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Key Library Resources
Use LibrarySearch for items on your reading list: http://librarysearch.rhul.ac.uk
Use your Subject Guides for databases, including reference material:
http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/English
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Your reading list
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On your laptop, tablet, smartphone, etc… please go to
socrative.com
1. Go to Student Login
2. Type RHULLibrary into this box,
and Join Room.

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Finding primary sources - Literature Online
Try http://libraryblog.rhul.ac.uk/2014/09/25/literature-online-lion/
Access Literature Online via the English Subject Guide
To find a specific work
• Use the Quick Search bar – type the title in quotation marks to search for a phrase, use the ‘Narrow results’
options to limit by type of text
• Use the Texts option to browse or search
To find phrases/quotations in a particular work
• Use the Texts options to search
• Include Keywords in the Keywords search box, and as much other information as necessary e.g. author, title…
Using the Look Up options helps to narrow your search quickly.
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8. Department
Finding William Carlos Williams ‘Spring and All’ recommended
on your reading list
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What do the quotation marks do?

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Finding William Carlos Williams ‘Spring and All’ recommended
on your reading list
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Finding William Carlos Williams ‘Spring and All’ recommended
on your reading list
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How to find the Search/Browse Texts option
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What does the protagonist of Northanger Abbey have to say
about history?
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Why is this better?

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What does the protagonist of Northanger Abbey have to say
about history?
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What does a particular author have to say on a topic?
Click on the Biography icon next to an author’s name for information, a list of texts,
and the option to search all full texts by this author
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Finding primary sources – Early English Books Online (EEBO)
Access EEBO from the English Subject Guide
Early English Books Online provides copies of works published between 1475 – 1700
To find a specific work
• Use the Search option
• Select Author and Title details ‘from a list’
• View text, scanned images, bibliographic information…
To search within a work
• Include the keywords you are interested in in the Keyword(s) search
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Why ‘select from a list’?
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Variations in spelling will make accurate searching difficult

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Finding Christopher Marlowe’s ‘Hero and Leander’
recommended on your reading list
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Icons
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Icons
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Record: bibliographic information from the British Library on the
physical item
Document images: a scanned, downloadable, copy of the physical
item to browse
Illustrations: view any illustrations in the document
Full text: a plaintext copy of the document with links to document
images
Thumbnails: thumbnail versions of all of the document images, which
link directly to the relevant pages

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How many times is Leander mentioned in Marlowe’s ‘Hero and
Leander’?
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Use the arrows in the text to skip between ‘hits’/instances of the word

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Don’t forget! Primary sources are available online, but also in the Library!
The English Literature collection is spread across all floors of Founder’s Library
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Ground Floor East
Literary Criticism and
American Literature
Old English, Middle English, and
Shakespeare
17th Century English Literature to present day

22. Department
For next session – evaluating information
Please work through the presentation at
http://libguides.rhul.ac.uk/EnglishYearOne
And complete the exercise on the same page.
You will find a link to this page under ‘Training’ on the English Subject Guide:
libguides.rhul.ac.uk/English
Any questions about accessing the presentation, email Kim at
k.coles@royalholloway.ac.uk
See you on Wednesday 12th November at 12pm in the Windsor Auditorium
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23. Department
Questions?
Kim Coles
Information Consultant
2-07 Bedford Library
Royal Holloway University of London
k.coles@rhul.ac.uk
01784 404107
libguides.rhul.ac.uk/English
23 Leo Reynolds. Flickr. CC-BY-NA
Library
Services

24. Department
What did you think?
Please use your phone, laptop, tablet etc to go to this page, and complete a form.
http://tinyurl.com/nyuhvqq
It’s totally anonymous and helps to make sure Library sessions are better in future.
Thank you!
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