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EN316: Home

Books

Search for books in any of Colby's catalogs, expanding your search with subject linking

   - for readily available books

WorldCat - search catalogs of libraries worldwide

Center for Research Libraries -  includes rare materials that may not be available elsewhere. Note that these may be on microfilm

Directions on signing up for ILL

More ways to search:

 by Author, typing in the family name first. (But: Marie, de France )

by writer as Subject, e.g.:

Look for more Subject lines in catalog records and use them to branch out to more topics, e.g.:

Keyword Searching Tips--  

  • Experiment with synonyms
  • Use asterisks to search for multiple word-forms at once: Poet* = Poet, Poetry, Poetic, Poets
  • Use quotation marks to search for a phrase: "Marie de France"
  • Try searching the CBB catalog for Companion or Handbook and your keyword. Like this:  Companion  Chaucer.  

Companions can be very helpful in getting oriented to a new area of study. 

 

To Request Books from Bates, Bowdoin, or Colby Storage

 Click where the arrow points to request. Fill in the numerals only of the barcode on the back of your Colby ID.

Click here for 1-minute videos on how to search CBBcat, search WorldCat, submit ILL requests, etc.

Research Strategies

For background information, look in: 

Continue your research using terminology and facts learned from the background information to search for articles in:

  • JSTOR - A collection of scholarly journals, many embargoed for the most current 5 years.

  • Iter  -  Citations for secondary sources on the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, 400-1700. Search Article Title in OneSearch or Journal / Book Title in CBBcat. If not found, go to My ILLiad Account.

  • International Medieval Bibliography   - Multidisciplinary bibliography of Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, 300-1500. Search citations as for Iter.

  • Philosopher's Index  - Citations and abstracts from hundreds of journals on philosophy and related interdisciplinary fields, 1940 to present

  • Literature Resource Center - Includes "Overviews" of works

Articles in academic journals  reflect current scholarly debate

Look for a sidebar in databases that will allow you to limit searches by date,  type 

      of source, language, etc.

Explore digitized primary sources in:

  • Medieval Manuscripts Online  
  • ArtStor - images of paintings and other art, searchable by keyword, period, artist, place  Use Advanced Search!
  •  Index of Medieval Art  -  Princeton University's index of art -- primarily from the medieval era -- presenting Christian iconography as well as Jewish, Islamic, and nonreligious subjects

Investigate the notes and bibliographies of every good source you find for leads to more. For a quick video on how to look up and request articles you find cited, click here.

Think about what sorts of publications the information you need might be published in.

  •  Biographical? Try  encyclopedia articles or book-biographies. 
  •   Primary sources? Look for letters, government documents, and artworks.
  •  Literary analyses of an author? Search in Iter or International Medieval Bibliography for articles, in catalogs for books.
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