Quick Facts, Dictionaries, and Encyclopedias
Use to find brief background information.
- Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
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Oxford Reference, previously known as Oxford Reference Online Premium, comprises more than 120 dictionaries and reference titles covering a comprehensive subject spectrum including: General Reference, Language, Science and Medicine, Humanities and Social Sciences, Business and Professional content. - Literature Resource Center This link opens in a new window
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Find up-to-date biographical information, overviews, full-text literary criticism and reviews on more than 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods and from around the world.
Oxford English Dictionary (Online)
The definitive record of the English language
Encyclopedias and dictionaries remain valuable sources of bio-bibliographical information and introductions to a topic. Consider keyword searches such as:
Dictionary of Canadian BiographyPublication Date: 1966-The print version covers Canadians who died before 1931. The online version includes selected entries for individuals who have died after 1930. Future print volumes are still under development.
- The Canadian EncyclopediaAn online, bilingual, one-stop site for researching people, events and topics relating to Canada.
Encyclopedia of the Book by ISBN: 9781884718151Publication Date: 2001A comprehensive reference with over 3,000 entries defining terms used in bookmaking, printing, papermaking, and the book trade. Includes biographical details of printers, authors, bookbinders, bibliophiles; and information on machinery and equipment, famous books, printing societies, organizations, customs of the trade, and arcane book lore. Moderately illustrated, including eight pages of color plates. First published in 1960 by George Allen and Unwin as Glossary of the Book in Britain and An Encyclopedia of the Book in the US, and here reprinted from the revised 1979 publication Glaister's Glossary of the Book. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR- Oxford Dictionary of National BiographyPublication Date: 2004Comprises 50,113 substantive articles in a single alphabetical sequence. It covers people who were born in the British Isles, people from the British Isles who achieved recognition in other countries, people, such as Egerton Ryerson, who lived in territories formerly connected to the British Isles at a time when they were in contact with British rule, and people born elsewhere who settled in the British Isles for significant periods or whose visits enabled them to leave a mark on British life.
American National Biography by ISBN: 0195206355Publication Date: 1999American National Biography is the first new comprehensive biographical dicionary focused on American history to be published in seventy years. Produced under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies, the ANB contains over 17,500 profiles on historical figures written by anexpert in the field and completed with a bibliography. The scope of the work is enormous--from the earlest recorded European explorations to the very recent past.
Books and E-books at TMU
- TMU Library Cataloguesearches for books, e-books, dvds, and other resources. It is a good place to look for known books, or when using the keyword search to find some relevant titles for an assignment. When you find a good title, open the catalogue record in order to identify the assigned Library of Congress subject headings that can be used to identify similar works.
Keyword Searching in the Catalogue
Keyword searching can be very fruitful.
Search examples:
- bookbinders
- bookbinding
- canadian book artists
- "history of the book" [this is a phrase search]
Browsing Library of Congress Subject Headings in the Catalogue
Browsing the Library of Congress subject headings index in the catalogue can be effective.
For biographical and critical works about specific book artisans, search by subject by the individual's name in inverted order (last name first). Search also for the name of a firm.
- Newfeld, Frank
- Torosian, Michael
- Walker, George A.
- Golden Cockerel Press
- Kelmscott Press
- Lumiere Press
For works about a specific topics, consider headings that begin with the following terms:
- Book collectors
- Book design
- Book industries and trade -- Canada
- Bookbinders
- Bookbinding
- Books--History
- Fine bindings
- Private presses
- Printing -- Canada -- History
- Publishers and publishing -- Canada -- History
- Rare books
Getting More from E-books
Increasingly, the TMU Library acquires books in electronic only formats. These can be found in the main library catalogue and when using the Search Everything box. Many of the e-books have virtual call numbers so you can link on the call number field and see both print and electronic books. This will give you a more accurate understanding of our collection than just browsing the printed books in the library stacks.
Many of the e-books that we have access to can also be found in Scholars Portal Books, along with large numbers of books published prior to 1923 that are presumed to be out of copyright, and other works created using a Creative Commons License that allows free access.
The Internet Archive has many more freely accessible books, videos and sound recordings. It is especially good valuable for works printed in English prior to 1923. The Hathi Trust Digital Library is another large digitization initiative with a lot of books and magazines that are no longer protected by copyright.
A Brief Sampling from TMU's Collection
The History of the Book in the West, 1455-1695ISBN: 9780754627715Publication Date: 20105 vol. compendium of articles.
A Companion to the History of the Book by Call Number: Also available online.ISBN: 9781405127653Publication Date: 2007
The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain,ISBN: 9780521661829Publication Date: 1998-2009.Multi-volume collection.
More Resources From the Toronto Public Library (TPL)
The Toronto Public Library has an excellent collection that supports the study of English literature. Many scholarly works are only available at the Toronto Reference Library located on Yonge Street one block north of Bloor Street. These items generally must be used in the library. Some material is part of the vast circulating collection. Online databases and books are becoming more common.
Literature Criticism Online covers contemporary and classical literature, drama and poetry as well as children's literature.
Literature Resource Center is a database that is also available through TMU.
A TPL account is required for log-in. All members of the TMU Community are eligible for TPL borrowing privileges.