The Short Story Selected Resources

The following is a guide to library resources that may prove useful. It is not an exhaustive list; please consult a reference librarian for help in locating additional materials. Call 251-460-7025 or send a query to webref@jaguar1.usouthal.edu

Use SOUTHcat Catalog, the University Library catalog. Access from home page (URL above).Search by author, title, subject, or keyword. Search for a particular author known for short stories, i.e.,salinger, j d. or search by title. Leave off the initial article in searching for a certain book by title, the, etc.Keyword search using an author name and a phrase such as short stories. Example: "short stories" and Chesnutt. The word collections is one of the keywords to use in looking for anthologies:

Capital letters are not needed for searching SOUTHcat; don't use punctuation

Browsing for anthologies:
For multinational anthologies, browse in this call number area: PN 6120.1--PN 6120.95
For U.S. authors, browse PS 642-659; Special classes of authors, such as Hispanics or African American, further subdivide this call number range.
For British authors writing in English, all collections are from PR 1100-1369; prose is a narrower range within PR 1171-1369.
            There are also collections classified according to period and region. 
Period example for English literature:  PR 1269-1272 (18th-20th centuries). 
Period for American,  PS 530-536.2
Regions of U.S: PS 538-572

Lit Finder. http://www.litfinder.com Stories, commentary, and biographical information.
Short Story Index.  Ref. Z 5917 .S5 C62.  This index is used to find a particular story in some anthology
Humanities Index Ref. AI 3 .H84.  Library has through 1998.  Look under “short stories.”
Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature.    Ref. AI 3 .R48.  Library has through 1999.  Look under the heading “short stories.”
Reader’s Guide Retrospective. Electronic coverage 1963-1982.  Link through “Articles Indexes & Databases.”

 

MLA  Biblography. Database. From Library home page, link through “Articles, Indexes & Databases.”

Select EBSCO, then MLA.  The most complete index to criticism of literature.
Also coverage for linguistics, folklore, and mythology.  Do subject search by author of the work

JSTOR.  Complete text of articles from many leading literary journals. 

Generally, the last five years are not included.  Approach through “Articles, Indexes & Databases.”

Twentieth Century Short Story Explication. New Series.   Ref. Z 5917 .S5 W35. 

This title, combined with its predecessor, takes short story criticism back to 1900 for stories published as long ago as 1800.
Continental, American, British, Irish—plus others from the Commonwealth nations.  Indexing.

Critical Survey of Short Fiction.  7 vols. Ref. PN 3321 .C7 English and American.
Literature Resource Center.  . Link through Electronic Reference Books. 

Looking for critical books in SOUTHcat catalog: 

subject search on person (baldwin james) or topic.  The Library of Congress Subject Headings (near the Reference desk) has the standard terms for subjects. 
Examples: short stories German history and criticism                 short stories American history and criticism           
Keyword example:  Welty and criticism   (capital letters unnecessary in searching SOUTHcat Catalog).

 

Check Catalog to see if there is a full-length biography of the author of your story.
            For example, do a subject search on  cheever john
For short biographies, try some of these:
American Short Story Writers Since World War II. (1993).  DLB.  Ref. PS 129 .D5 v. 130
British Short Fiction Writers, 1880-1914. (1993).  DLB.  Ref. PS 129 .D5 v. 135
Oxford Companion to African American Literature.   Ref. PS 153 .N5 O96 1997
Feminist Companion to Literature in English.  Ref. PR 111 .B57 1990
Contemporary Fiction Writers of the South. Ref. PS 261 .C565 1993
Biography and Genealogy Master Index. Link from home page: Link is “Electronic Reference Books.

New Stories from the South: the Year’s Best. Bookstacks PS 551 .N4  
Best American Short Stories. Series.  Bookstacks PS 648 .S5 B47
Prize Stories. Series.  Bookstacks PS 6014 .O11
Short Fiction by Spanish-American Women. Bookstacks PQ 7085 .S475 1998
Calling the Wind: Twentieth Century African American Short Stories. Bookstacks PS 647 .A35 c35 1995
Oxford Book of Modern Women’s Stories. Bookstacks PR 1309 .W7 O9
Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories. Bookstacks PS 508 .I5 T34 1991
Bold Words: Contemporary Native American Short Stories. Bookstacks PS 508 .A8 B65 2001

There are many other collections or anthologies.  Ask at the Reference Desk for guidance in finding a story, author or kind of story you are looking for.

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Questions (jwright@jaguar1.usouthal.edu) or call (251) 460-7025.
URL: http://www.southalabama.edu/univlib/guides/shortstory.html
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Last updated: 12/21/06. te