Biographical Compilations and Indexes
- American Women Writers: A Critical Reference Guide from Colonial Times to the PresentAuthoritative biographies and critical summaries of the lives and work of thousands of ports, fiction writers, playwrights, journalists, hymnists and writers in other genres.
- American National Biography Online This link opens in a new windowBiographical essays on men and women who shaped the American nation.
- Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors This link opens in a new windowProvides brief biographical information and lists of publications for about 90,000 current authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, media, etc.
- Dictionary of Literary Biography This link opens in a new windowProvides general essays and biographical information for authors from all genres and time periods. Also includes references to primary and further critical information.
- Oxford Dictionary of National Biography This link opens in a new windowBiographies of noteworthy men and women who shaped Britain's past.
- Academy of American PoetsThe largest membership-based nonprofit organization fostering an appreciation for contemporary poetry.
Dictionaries
Language Dictionaries
- Dictionary of Old English This link opens in a new windowCovers the vocabulary of the English language between the years 600-1150 A.D.
- Dictionary of the Scots LanguageCombines A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue and The Scottish National Dictionary
- Green's Dictionary of Slang"The largest historical dictionary of English slang.... coverage of over 500 years of slang from c. 1500 onwards." Updates the printed edition of 2010.
- Middle English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowA comprehensive analysis of lexicon and usage for the period 1100-1500.
- Oxford English Dictionary This link opens in a new windowDefines and traces the usage of millions of words through quotations from a wide range of international English language sources.
Dictionaries of Terminology
- A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory"Comprehensive dictionary of those literary terms which are in regular use in the
world today"
- Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism This link opens in a new window226 essays on individual critics and theorists, schools and movements, and specific countries and historical periods.
- The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics"A comprehensive reference work dealing with all aspects of its subject: history, types, movements, prosody, and critical terminology."
Guides to Archives and Manuscripts
- ArchiveGrid This link opens in a new windowDescriptive records and detailed finding guides for archival and manuscript collections in U.S. and international institutions.
- Catalogue of English Literary Manuscripts 1450–1700a complete catalogue of literary manuscripts by 237 British authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
- Literary Print Culture: The Stationers' Company Archive, 1554-2007The Stationers’ Company Archive is one of the most important resources for understanding the workings of the early book trade, the printing and publishing community, the establishment of legal requirements for copyright provisions and the history of bookbinding. Explore extremely rare documents dating from 1554 to the 21st century in this invaluable resource of research material for historians and literary scholars.
Style Manuals
- Chicago Manual of Style Online This link opens in a new windowcomplete manual available for Penn State users
- MLA Quick Citation GuidePenn State guide for MLA references with examples.
- MLA Style CenterFind answers to common MLA questions and other great resources from the Modern Language Association. Includes practice templates and sample papers.