See Terry Belanger's class handout (revised, expanded version)
· "Descriptive
Bibliography," by Terry Belanger
· "A Field Guide to the Faces," David Mundie
· "A Sample Bibliographical Description with Commentary," by G. Thomas Tanselle (Studies in Bibliography vol. 40, 1987)
Philip Gaskell, A New Introduction to Bibliography [Useful for learning how to describe books physically, e.g., transcription of title pages (p.325) and pagination(p. 332.) ] Ald. Ref. Z116.A2 G27 1995
Bowers, Fredson Thayer. Principles of bibliographical description. New York, Russell & Russell, 1962 [c1949]. Z1001 .B78 1962 (on reserve in Clemons)
National Union Catalog [Lists all editions found in American Libraries through 1956. For later years see supplements and Worldcat and Rlin. Alphabetical by author, then by title of the author's work, then chronologically. The first edition ought to be the one first listed.] Ald. Ref. Z881.A1U518 1968. The large green volumes you see on the wall as you walk into the Reference Room.
WorldCat [Over 30 million records from libraries around the world including UVA, This database is useful for bibliographic information on books, journals, manuscripts (although RLIN is better for mss), videos, etc. This is the first place to go to find out whether another library has a work. In addition, many individual libraries around the world have web sites or telnet addresses that you may reach through our home page. There are two versions of this database available from our Virgo's "Other Databases" page. The "Virgo" version is simple to use and allows ILL ordering from the screen; the "web" version allows more sophisticated searching and is useful for finding translations, etc.] http://www.lib.virginia.edu Catalogs". Also in Virgo (full access,) "Other Databases http://virgo.lib.virginia.edu
RLIN. Competitor to OCLC's Worldcat. Good for California libraries, other academic institutions, and mss.] On Virgo's "Other Databases:" This search tool is also referred to as Eureka
Bruccoli. First Printings of American Authors. 4 Vols. [Each volume alphabetized a-z. Illustrations of title pages, etc.] Ald. Ref. Z1231.F5F57
Blanck. Bibliography of American Literature [For authors before 1930.] Ald. Ref. Z1225. B55.
Primary bibliographies for individual authors may be found in the Z8000s of Alderman Library. The Z8000s are arranged alphabetically. The most famous authors are in Alderman Reference, others are in the stacks.
Also see online book services to identify particular editions. Good choices include Bibliofind, Interloc, Advanced Book Exchange, etc. [Choose books from the Library home page's "reference link.] and even Amazon.com
Hackett. 80 years of Best Sellers,1895-1975. Ald Ref. Z1033.B3 H342
Justice. Bestseller Index: All Books, Publishers Weekly and the New York Times Through 1990 [A big help!] Ald. Ref. Z1033 .B3 J87 1998
Publisher's Weekly (1928-present). [Fairly useful for sales and printings information.] Ald. Stacks. Z1219 .P98 (1928- ), Microfilm S-13 1873-1927.
Bowker Annual. 1956- . [Sometimes has sales figures] Ald. Stacks. Z731.B6. Current edition in Ref.
History of Book Publishing the United States. Ald. Ref. Z473.T42
Tanselle. Guide to the Study of United States Imprints. Ald. Ref. Z1215.A2 T35
Kurian. Directory of American book publishing. Ald.Ref.Z475 .K87
Dictionary of American Biography [The "official" biography for famous Americans.] Ald. Ref. E176. D563
American Biographical Archive [For less famous authors than the above.] Ald. Microfich 1641
Biography and Genealogy Master Index. [Indexes historical directories.] Virgo other databases.
Dictionary of Literary Biography [Very good biographies written by literary scholars. Cumulative index at end of latest volume.] Ald. Ref. PN466. D52
Contemporary Authors. [Good for recent authors. Includes bibliography of works and criticism.] On Virgo Other Databases.
Biography Index. 1946- . [Indexes secondary literature, including popular.] Ald Ref. Index Table #2
Current Biography. [Chatty.] Ald. Ref. CT120.C8 1940- .
Readers Guide to Periodical Literature. Ald. Ref. Ind.Table #1
New York Times. Indexed from 1851 to the present. [Other newspapers are unindexed before 1970.]
Book Review Digest (1905-present). [Abstracts of selected reviews.] Ald. Ref. Ind.Table #2. Pn virgo's "Other Databases" from 1983 to the present.
Book Review Index. (1965-present). [More sources than above.] Ald. Ref. Ind.Table #2 [better].
Twentieth Century Literature Criticism. Ald. Ref PN 771 .T8
Contemporary Literary Criticism. [This and above title reprint sample reviews and excerpts of reviews. Also useful as a biographical source.] Ald. Ref. PN771. C59.
MLA Bibliography. [The standard bibliography for modern language and literature]Ald Ref. Table 1 and Virgo's "Other Databases" http://virgo.lib.virginia.edu [Choose "other databases", then "Humanities."]
Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature Indexes "monographs, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews, collections of essays and doctoral dissertations published anywhere in the world." Coverage from 1920 to 1996 at present. On http://www.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/English/english.html or from Virgo's "OTHER DATABASES"
Bruccoli. Facts on File Bibliography of American Fiction: 1866-1918. [One of the few good bibliographies to include popular authors outside the literary canon.] Ald. Ref. Z1231.F4B46 1993
Bruccoli. Facts on File Bibliography of American Fiction: 1919-1988. 2 Vols. [Includes popular authors.] Ald. Ref. Z1231.F4 B47 1991.
Film Literature Index. 1973- . Clem. Ref.Z 5784 .M9 F45. [Other film sources in Ald. Ref. Z5780s and PN1990s]
America History and Life. [Indexes history journals.] On Virgo's "Other Databases".
Humanities Index, 1907-1982 [under different titles.] Ald. Ref.Index Table #1 and Humanities Abstracts on Virgo's "Other Databases"(1983- .)
SGML and Scanning Helpsheets from the Etext Center
Special Collections Digital Center: Equipment and Services
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