Modern Languages & Literature Research Assistance

Ask a Librarian

There are a variety of ways to get help from a librarian.  You can come see us in person, call us, email us, or chat with us via our new online answerXpress service.

• Visit the Library
  Between the Business Building and Hemingway Center, we encourage you to come to the library and talk to a librarian in person.
  
  
• Call Us 
  You are welcome to call a reference librarian at 208 426-3301.
  
  
• Email Us
  We invite you to email us at refquest@boisestate.edu.  A reference librarian will reply to your email within 24 hours, Monday-Friday.
  
  
• answerXpress
  Live, online help from librarians is now available to the Boise State community 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from your computer through our www.answerXpress.com service.
  

Article Indexes and Databases

All databases are available both on campus and remotely, unless otherwise indicated.  You will need to supply your BroncoWeb ID and password to access these resources off campus.

• Basque Database
   

• Essay and general literature index (All subjects)
   

• Fuenta academica 
   

• InfoTrac diversity studies
   

• Informe (All Subjects, in Spanish)
   

• Literary Index
  A master index to Gale’s print literature series, providing biographical and critical essays from such sources as Guide to French Literature, European Writers, Contemporary World Writers, Hispanic Writers, Hispanic Literature Criticism, Modern Japanese Writers, and World Poets.
   

• MLA international bibliography (Literature)  (Modern Language Association Bibliography), 1963 to present
  Indexes critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Provides citations from worldwide publications, including periodicals, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies; some full-text.

Also Useful

• Academic OneFile (All Subjects)
   

• ArticleFirst, 1990 to present (First Search)
  Indexes 13,500 journals including those relating to French, German, and Spanish literature and language.
   

• Expanded academic ASAP (All Subjects)
   

• IngentaConnect (All Subjects), 1988 to present
  Providing access to over 6,000 full-text, online journals and thousands of print publications with academic and professional content in most academic subjects.
   

• JSTOR: The scholarly journal archive
   

• Powersearch (All Subjects) 
   

• Project MUSE, some coverage 1993 to present
  Produced by Johns Hopkins University Press, this full-text database covers literature and criticism, history, cultural studies, etc. with relevant journals including MLQ-Modern Language Quarterly, Comparative Literature Studies, MLN, and The Journal of Modern Literature.
   

• ProQuest dissertations and theses - full text (all subjects)
  With doctoral dissertations and master's theses, this database offers 24 page previews of 1997 and newer dissertations. Older citations date to 1861. Full-text of 1.7 million titles is available in paper or microform.
   

• WorldCat (All subjects)

Periodicals

To determine the library's holdings for each of the following publications, click on the journal title, and then enter the journal name in the search box.

Browse the tables of contents and complete text in current, and related modern language journals.  Kept on the Library's first floor in the current periodicals section; arranged in alphabetical order by title.

French

• The Canadian Modern Language Review (La Revue Canadienne des Langues Vivantes)

• The French Review

• French Studies

• Romanic Review

• Studies in Canadian Literature

• Yale French studies

French Reference Books          French Web Resources

General

• Bilingual Research Journal

• Foreign Language Annals

• Language

• Language and Society

• Language Teaching

• Modern Language Journal

• MLN (Modern Language Notes)

• Modern Language Quarterly

• Modern Language Review

• General Linguistics

General Reference Books          General Web Resources

German

• German History : the Journal of the German History Society

• The German Quarterly

• German Studies Review

• Germanic Review

• Monatshefte

• Neue Deutsche Literatur

• New German Critique

• Seminar

German Reference Books          German Web Resources

Spanish

• Anales de la Literatura Española Contemporánea

• Confluencia

• Hispania

• Hispanic Review

• Hisparmerica

• The Bilingual Review (La Revista Bilingüe)

• Latin American Literary Review

• Letras Femeninas

• Ojáncano

• Revista de Estudios Hispánicos

• Revista Iberoamericana

Spanish Reference Books          Spanish Web Resources

Reference Books 

The following books are located in the reference section of the library and are useful for providing brief, introductory information on a given topic.

Culture (General)

• Encyclopedia of World Cultures
  From general societal summaries to specific information offered by leading “experts” inside the cultures themselves, this ten-volume resource provides demographic, historical, social, economic, political, and religious points of view for cultural groups; arranged geographically.
  ref GN550.E53
   

• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life
  Cultures and how people live today are covered in this basic set, highlighting twenty areas of daily life including cultural heritage, language, interpersonal relationships, family life, social problems, and religion, among others.
  ref GN333 .W67

                                   Culture Web Resources

European and Foreign

• Columbia Dictionary of Modern European Literature
  This reference offers short author biographies and critiques of authors’ works and more extensive essays of general subjects like French and German literatures.
  ref PN771.C575
   

• Contemporary World Writers
  Brief essays and information about 340 writers in over 60 countries “whose work has, at least in part, been translated into English.”
  ref PN51.C6235
   

• The Continental Novel : a Checklist of Criticism in English (1900-1980)
  Arranged by language and author, this two-volume set indexes English literary criticism of novels and novellas from France, Germany, Spain, and other European countries.
  ref PN3451.K4
   

• Critical Survey of Long Fiction : Foreign Language Series
  With lengthy critical studies of authors, whose works have significantly influenced literature in their native tongues, and essays devoted to the novel’s development in areas of the world where English is not the native language, this series provides information about the time and culture in which selected writers produced their works.
  ref PN3353.C7
   

• Dictionary of Literary Biography
  From the award-winning series, career biographies of writers in all eras and time periods, including Spanish, French, German, and authors of other nationalities are presented with detailed primary and secondary bibliographies.
  ref PS88.D5
   

• European Writers
  In fourteen volumes, this set provides expansive history and detailed criticism of the literature of Europe from the Middle Ages to the 20^th century.
  ref PN501.E9 
   

• Great Foreign Language Writers
  Offers a select list of writers with entries including a biography, complete list of books, bibliography, critical studies, and a signed critical essay about each.
  ref PN451.G7
   

• Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800
  Arranged by author, this 97 volume compilation of authors represents a variety of nationalities and presents each “author’s critical reception in English or [in] foreign criticism in translation.”
  ref PN86.L56

European and Foreign Periodicals          European and Foreign Web Resources

French

• Critical Bibliography of French Literature
  Multi-volume set, arranged by topic, containing extensive lists of bibliographies, books, journal articles, dissertations, and reviews from medieval times to the present.
  ref PQ103.C74
   

• Dictionary of Modern French Literature : From the Age of Reason Through Realism
  Nearly 300 entries with coverage from the Neoclassicism period in 1715 to 1880 with the advent of Symbolism, including short biographies and brief entries about important works.
  ref PQ41.D65
   

• Encyclopedia of Contemporary French Culture
  A compendium of popular French culture defined in its very broadest social sense since the end of World War II to the present, this compendium includes information about cinema, political institutions, general-based studies, and critical theory, among many.
  ref DC33.7 .E53
   

• French Novelists
  Part of the Dictionary of Literary Biography series, including dictionaries, bibliographies, and biographies of French novelists.
  ref PS88.D5 v. 65, 72, and 83
   

• French Women Writers : a Bio-bibliographical Source Book
  Essays covering the lives and works of 51 important French women writers, with a selection of critical studies.
  ref PQ149.F73
   

• Guide to French Literature
  This set offers lengthy entries on French authors and literary themes presented by author, or topic, from the beginnings to the present.
  ref PQ226.L48
   

• Historical Dictionary of the French Revolution 1789-1799
  Providing the basic facts, persons, and events of the French Revolution, this reference offers a single work with over 500 entries to broaden general understanding of France’s great rebellion.
  ref DC147 .H57
   

• Modern French Poets
  Part of Literary Biography, this resource contains biographies and bibliographies of 20^th century French poets and poetry.
  ref PS88.D5 (v. 258)
   

• The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French
  With over 3,000 briefer writer, literary, and subject entries, this reference also includes comprehensive articles on literary movements and genres.
  ref PQ41.N49

French Periodicals          French Web Resources

General

• The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics
  This ten-volume set contains extensive essays on languages, linguistics, and significant figures in their study with detailed bibliographies and a glossary.
  ref P29 .E48
   

• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Language and Languages
  Provides a basic background of each language and simple descriptions of linguistic terms.
  ref P29.C68
   

• International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
  Embraces the full range of linguistics’ topics, from brief entries to signed 5,000 word essays, including descriptive, historical, comparative, typological, functionalist, and formalist specialties.
  ref P29.I58
   

• Facts About the World’s Languages: an Encyclopedia of the World’s Major Languages, Past and Present
  Cultural, historical, and linguistic descriptions of languages are presented including location, family related languages, morphology, basic syntax, and efforts to preserve each language.
  ref P371.F33 

General Periodicals          General Web Resources

German

• A Companion to German Literature : From 1500 to the Present
  Organized chronologically and generically, this reference delves into the tastes and literary market determined by people reading in their time, not by modern critics.
  ref PT236.S55
   

• Encyclopedia of German Literature
  This two-volume set presents topical essays with a transnational perspective to better understand the context of individual German authors.
  ref PT91.E53
   

• Encyclopedia of German Resistance to the Nazi Movement
  From broad overviews to specific topics, from dissidence and everyday civil disobedience to military sabotage and solidarity; this work includes bibliographies and biographies.
  ref DD256.5 .L51313
   

• The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich
  A two-volume translation of the original German language work, this multi-faceted reference contains entries from anti-Semitism and Hitler’s worldview to Third Reich sports and religion.
  ref DD256.5 .G76313
   

• The Encyclopedia of the Third Reich
  A two-volume translation of the original German language work, this multi-faceted reference contains entries from anti-Semitism and Hitler’s worldview to Third Reich sports and religion.
  ref DD256.5 .S57
   

• The Feminist Encyclopedia of German Literature
  Focuses on women’s contributions to German literature, film, culture, history, and the historical context, which both enabled these contributions and marginalized them.
  ref PT41.F46
   

• Oxford Companion to German Literature
  Representing vast historical and cultural influences of Europe’s past and present day Germany, this resource provides information about German culture from the 1960’s to the present.
  ref PT41.G3

German Periodicals          German Web Resources

Spanish

• Diccionario de literatura española e hispanoamericana
  A two volume set comprising a Spanish and Spanish-American literature dictionary.
  ref PQ6006.D525
   

• Encyclopedia of Contemporary Spanish Culture
  Covering 1939 to the present, this resource contains over 700 entries from architecture, university education, and language to national identity and famous authors and artists.
  ref DP233.5 .E63
   

• Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture
  Containing the work of over 800 scholars, this resource with its 5,000 entries reflects how Latin Americans of all classes comprehend their worlds.
  ref F1406 .E53
   

• Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature
  Covers writers, their works, and topics related to Latin American literature, including survey articles about all Latin American countries.
  ref PQ7081.A1 E56
   

• The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature
  Spain’s literature is examined through a women’s studies’ lens; alphabetically arranged articles consider writers, works, movements, genres, and other aspects of Spanish literature.
  ref PQ6055.F46
   

• Guide to Reference Works for the Study of the Spanish Language and Literature and Spanish American Literature
  Excellent guide to general and regional resources.
  ref PC4071.W66
   

• Handbook of Latin American Studies
  An annual compilation of important publications in the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, government, history, politics, literature, and others with a Latin American focus.
  ref Z1605.H23
   

• Hispanic Literature Criticism
  With longer, more detailed essays, this three-volume collection “presents a broad selection of the best criticism of works by major Hispanic writers of the past one hundred years.”
  ref PQ7081.A1 H573
   

• Hispanic Writers : a Selection of Sketches from Contemporary Authors
  More than four hundred entries on 20th century Hispanic writers, originally written or updated for this compilation.
  ref PQ7081.3.H58
    

• Latin American Literary Authors : an Annotated Guide to Bibliographie
  Bibliographies of Brazilian and Spanish American authors, journalists, linguists, and literary critics, this resource includes lesser known references to all.
  ref PQ7081.Z8
   

• Latin American Literature and Its Times (World Literature and Its Times, v. 1)
  Profiles of notable Spanish-American, Brazilian, and Latino literary works and the historical events that influenced their authors.
  ref PN50.W6
   

• Latin American Writers
  This set offers longer entries with good bibliographies; many major writers covered extensively.
  ref PQ7081.A1 L37
   

• Libros en Venta en América Latina y España
  Catalogs, publishers, and literature published in Spain and Latin America.
  ref Z160.L59
   

• Oxford Companion To Spanish Literature
  A one-volume guide to information selected for its value to readers of literature written in the Spanish language, including selections about Spanish, Central American, Basque, Catalan, and Castilian authors.
  ref PQ6006.O95
   

• A Reference Index to Twelve Thousand Spanish American Authors : a Guide to the Literature of Spanish America
  This dated, but still valuable, resource indexing authors alphabetically from both North and South American and Spain, offers author information and where their works can be accessed.
  ref Z1601.G86

Spanish Periodicals          Spanish Web Resources

Web Resources

• Modern Languages Resource Center at Boise State
  Computer, language software, videos, conversation lab, satellite TV, and other resources are available in the center, Library, Room 144, to assist students in their language studies.
   

• Berkeley Germanic Collections
  This site offers a comprehensive entry to the University of California Berkeley Collections, comprising German and Austrian library catalogs and servers, literature sites in both German and English, and current information and references.
   

• FSI Language Courses
  "Home for language courses developed by the Foreign Service Institute. These courses were developed by the United States government and are in the public domain. This site is dedicated to making these language courses freely available in an electronic format. It is an independent effort to foster the learning of worldwide languages."
   

• Gabriel
  Powered by the British Library, this site is a gateway to Europe’s national libraries, including those in France, Spain, and Germany.

• Humbul Humanities Hub
  Hosted by the University of Oxford, England, this portal offers evaluated online sources including those in Modern Languages, Linguistics, and studies in French, German, and Spanish.
   

• ILoveLanguages
  More than 2,000 links have been reviewed by librarians at the Virtual Library; providing information about translating dictionaries, native literatures, language schools, and more.
   

• Internet Public Library Literary Criticism Collection
  Links to critical and biographical sites about authors and their works can be browsed by author, title, nationality, or literary period.
   

• LANIC (Latin American Network Information Center)
  Academic resources for Latin American literature, including primary texts and criticism, are listed here in this University of Texas site dedicated to Latin American studies.
   

• Linguist List
  The “world’s largest online linguistic resource” run by linguistic professors and graduate students.
   

• Modern Language Association
  Founded in 1883 by scholars and teachers, 30,000 MLA members promote the study and teaching of language and literature in 100 countries.
   

• The New English-German Dictionary
  Personal webpage created by Rüdiger Werner and Dr. K. Koora. A comprehensive English-German Dictionary containing more than 570,000 translations. Helps you to find translations to a specific term including several examples for context usage. In addition to the daily usage terminology, it also includes translations to many special terms from the field of mathematics, physics, electronics, technical drawing, chemistry, law, geographics, medicine, biology, architecture (and many more).
   

• Spectator On-Line
  Electronic archive of the complete runs of The Spectator and The Tatler with split screen comparison page for detailed analysis.
   

• Tennessee Bob’s Famous French Links
  A 10,000 link supersite, including links to Francophone information, books and literature, general culture, history, the French language, and French in everyday life.
   

• UC Publications in Linguistics
   

• Western European Studies Section : WESSWEB
  A site maintained by the Association of College and Research Libraries, providing links to French, German, and Iberian (Spanish and Portuguese) studies.

General Library Information and Assistance: 208-426-1204
Support for Electronic Resources and Remote Access: 208-426-1235
Albertsons Library, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725-1430 USA
Network Services Manager: Dan Lester, dlester@boisestate.edu