Finding Books and Articles

Four College Library Catalog and UMass Library Catalog All books and journals owned by the Five College libraries. A person can always be a SUBJECT as well as an AUTHOR. Try KEYWORD to find formal subjects.
Bibliothèque nationale de France Try searching the catalog and website of the most important library in France.
MLA International Bibliography: The most important American database of references (in many languages) about literature, genres, linguistics and more. Use ACLinks to find articles online or in print.
Academic Search Premier and Expanded Academic ASAP References to articles from a wide range of journals, covering many topics, including literature. Be warned: articles are only in English.

Encyclopedias and Handbooks

French Novelists Since 1960 (Reference PQ 671 F69 1989): Not the newest publication but good background on the authors it covers.
New Oxford Companion to Literature in French (Reference PQ 41 N48 1995) Look up authors, titles, genres, etc., you don't recognize.
Biography Resource Center: Database of short biographies from many sources; includes Contemporary Authors for fast, sometimes superficial information that is still very convenient for what it is.
The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism (Reference PN 81 J554 2005): Essays about theorists, movements, national literatures, etc.
Penguin Dictionary of Critical Theory (Reference PN 98 S6 M33 2001): Very brief definitions of terms, movements, concepts, etc.
Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy or Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy: Philosophers, movements, terms, and more. Cambridge for quick reference; Routledge for more in-depth articles and bibliographies.

Dictionaries

Don't ever let words go by if you don't understand them, especially when you read literature:

Le grand Robert de la langue française Deuxième édition. (Reference PC 2625 R552 2001): The biggest, best dictionary to use.
Le nouveau petit Robert Nouv. éd. (Reference PC 2625 R554 2004): An abridged, more portable version of the larger dictionary
Concise Oxford-Hachette French Dcitionary Online: English-French and French-English: Just for quick reference (and handy online). Not very comprehensive.

How to Get Help and Other Useful Tips

Ask for help! Reference and research advice from librarians. Or just Ask Us on email.

Journal Locator See if a journal is available at AC; connect to electronic copies or look in library catalog for print journals

Citing Sources
Do you want help citing books and other sources in your paper? Use Citing References: MLA Style from the Library at University of Wisconsin - Whitewater or the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (at Reference Desk); the online and print versions both tell you how to format references to all kinds of sources for courses in the humanities.