Search tips for Creative Works
Use the advanced version of the Libraries' Search by clicking "Advanced Search" under the search box on the libraries' website (libraries.usc.edu). Use the pull-down menu to choose "Author," then type the name of the artist you're interested in.
Suggested Databases:
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Literature Online (LION) A fully searchable library of over 355,000 works of English and American literature, overseen by an academic Advisory Board.
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Litfinder International in scope, LitFinder covers all time periods and contains a wealth of primary literature content, including more than 125,000 full-text poems, 850,000 poem citations and excerpts, and thousands of full-text short stories, essays, speeches and plays.
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ARTstor Nonprofit digital library of more than one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences with a suite of software tools to view, present, and manage images for research and pedagogical purposes.
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Dance Online: Dance in Video Contains 500 dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century.
Search tips for Reviews
Many databases, including the libraries' Search, allow you to limit your results to the source type Reviews. Try searching for a work or an author/artist and using this limiter in your search.
Suggested Databases:
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International Index to the Performing Arts Full Text This database provides indexing and abstracts for more than 260 international periodicals, plus full text for more than 100 of the indexed journals.
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ProQuest Databases of resources for arts, business, humanities, social sciences, science and newspaper resources.
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Project MUSE MUSE provides access to the complete content (including all images) of nearly 500 current scholarly journals in the humanities and social sciences.
Search tips for Critical Works
Use the advanced version of the Libraries' Search by clicking "Advanced Search" under the search box on the libraries' website (libraries.usc.edu). Use the pull-down menu to choose "Subject terms," then type the title of a work you're interested in. This should give you books and articles about that work.
Suggested Databases:
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Literature Criticism Online LCO is comprised of 10 collections of English-language scholarly and popular commentary on literary works in most languages ranging from the classical to Shakespeare to contemporary publications.
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Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text is the definitive online tool for film and television research.
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Literature Resource Center Biographies, bibliographies and critical analysis of authors from every age and literary discipline.
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JSTOR A growing full text collection of core social science, humanities, and science journals and books.
Browsing for Books
Try a starting search for your topic in the main search box on the libraries' home page. Once you have some search results, use the "Material Type" limit on the left-hand side to limit to Books - then click on a title.
Note the call number, or book's location, at the bottom of the page. Try going to this call number in the book stacks of whatever library is indicated, and take a look at the books NEAR that book to discover some other angles on the same topic.