Database Changes -- Part 3

LITERARY RESEARCH BY THE BOOK?....Not anymore! The PLYMC digital library has expanded to include a number of literary reference resources now available 24/7. In addition to Something About the Author, which we've had online since last fall, we and our patrons now have access to two additional literary databases--and the neatest thing is that all three Gale/Cengage databases are cross-searchable.

The Dictionary of Literary Biography Online is the digital version of the standard literary resource for biographical and critical material on the lives, works and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres. All 420+ volumes of the three DLB series--Dictionary of Literary Biography, DLB Yearook and DLB Documentary Series--are included in the database. This is an invaluable source for tracing the work and reputation of an author.

Literature Criticism Online presents the complete literary commentary from two major critical reference series--Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC) and Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (TCLC). CLC covers current, active authors or those who died after 1999, while TCLC covers authors 1901--1999. This is one of the finest sources to use for commentary on classic and contemporary books, poems and plays.

Use the Gale Power Search link on our database page and navigate down to the Literary Cross Search icon. Coming soon to our digital literature reference collection will be Contemporary Authors--new volumes will be electronic editions. We have not converted our print archive of this series to virtual format, so that series at present is not cross-searchable with these other online literary collections. Remember that you can use Gale's online Literary Index to

find which volumes of Contemporary Authors contain your desired material and then you can pull that material from your print or electronic archives.

There are plenty of self-training materials on the databases to help you familiarize yourselves with these new sources until we can arrange for some vendor training. If you're inclined to do online training, check out the calendar for the July -- September Webinar Training Sessions. However, the Gale Support site offers a variety of other user guides--including guided tours (webcasts), tip sheets, navigation guides and sample searches--for all of their products, not just the literature sources. Check out the Product Information Page at http://support.gale.com. The webcasts are particularly useful. Here's a sample guided tour to browsing the LCO database at http://www.tinygaleurl.com?duci. There are also a wealth of user guides for Something About the Author--so we can all do a little catch up training on our own as time permits.