2. Using HOLLIS for Literary Research
The HOLLIS catalog contains over 9 million records for 14 million+ items (books, journals, sound recordings, manuscripts, visual materials, maps, government documents, CD-ROMs and other electronic resources) held by various libraries at Harvard. Records for Journals, but not journal articles, are included in the catalog. To search for citations to articles and chapters in books, see the "Finding Journal Articles" section of this guide.
For information on using the catalog, see A Brief Guide to the HOLLIS Catalog. This guide includes information on browsing and keyword searching, how to use Your Account, how to e-mail catalog records and save them to disk, how to limit and refine results.
HOLLIS and literary research
Browsing can be used for author, subject (see next section), series and call number searches. Browsing is useful when you wish to see your search results in the context of nearby records in the catalog, in an "index" arrangement. The match to your search query will always be the second item on the list, unless you are browsing call numbers.
If searching for the works of a prolific author [via Browse: Author (last name first)], you may select one of two results displays:
Subject Searching in HOLLIS: Two approaches
To find works about an author and his/her work, including critical and interpretative works, you may use either Browse or Search mode.
Keyword searching
Using Search (keywords anywhere: glissant, edouard and criticism
will lead to records with official subject headings such as:
Glissant, Edouard, 1928- --Criticism and interpretation
Or to broader headings, such as:
Caribbean literature (French)--History and criticism
West Indian literature (French)-- 20th century--History and criticism
Determining which "official" subject headings are established for aspects of a topic is an important step in finding relevant materials. Several methods may be used to browse the official subject headings and subheadings in HOLLIS. You may browse on authors' names, or on terms related to literary concepts or movements, genre and/or genre/period, etc.
Searching Authors as Subjects
- To do so, use Browse mode, select "Subject beginning
with..." and enter the author's name in last name/comma/first
name order to see the results for author as subject. When browsing the
entries for prolific authors, a range of subheadings will display, for
example:
Glissant, Edouard, 1928- --Bibliography
--Contributions in postcolonialism
--Interviews
--Knowledge-- Literature
- Interspersed in the index will be works devoted primarily to one
particular title, such as:
Glissant, Edouard, 1928- Case du commandeur.
Chamoiseau, Patrick. Texaco.
Browsing for other subject terms (literary concepts/movements, genres, genres/periods):
When doing a Browse search, Subject beginning with..., insert two hyphens for subdivisions, as indicated.
French literature (fiction, poetry, drama) subdivide
by period, then topic.
e.g. French literature--18th century--History and criticism
African literature (French)--20th century--History
and criticism
Caribbean literature (French) or African fiction (French) etc.
Haitian fiction
French literature--French-speaking countries
West Indian literature (French)
Guadeloupe fiction (French
Martinique fiction (French)
Martinique literature (French)
French-Canadian literature
Africa, French-speaking West (subdivides
by topic)
North African literature (French)
Algerian literature (French)--Women authors, etc.
Ethnicity—French-speaking countries
Exiles (followed by country or region)
Identity (Psychology) in literature
Difference (Psychology) in literature
Marginality, Social
Marginality, Social in literature
Memory
Memory in literature
Memory—Social aspects
Modernity
Postcolonialism (Caribbean Area)
Postcolonialism in literature
Colonies in literature
Decolonization in literature
Nationalism and literature—West Indies, French—History—20th century
Negritude (Literary movement)
African diaspora (subdivides by region)
Caribbean Area—Emigration and immigration
Return migration—Caribbean Area
Folklore and literature—Caribbean Area
Language and culture—Caribbean Area
Women and literature--Africa, French-speaking--Social conditions,
etc.
(or Caribbean Area, etc.)
Women--French-speaking countries--Social conditions, etc.
Caribbean Area--Civilization
Caribbean Area--Intellectual life--20th century
City and town life
Urban development—Caribbean Area
Urban policy
Urbanization
Sociology, Urban
Culture—Social aspects
City planning
Searching for Journal Titles in HOLLIS
Use the subset, "Journals," in the catalog to find the location of journal titles in the libraries. Only a relatively small number of journals have links to full-text of articles. Resources listed in the following section (Finding Journal Articles) will lead you to the citations for articles, and in some cases, full-text of articles, in a variety of online databases licensed by Harvard.
Finding Materials by Form, Date or Language: Expanded Search
Use Expanded Search when you wish to combine more than two search terms and/or you wish to limit the search by format (visual for videos, audio for recordings, maps, manuscripts, etc.), language, library location and/or date range. This is a good way to find materials at Houghton, Music and Fine Arts Libraries, for example.
Widener Library Guides and Forms
For a quick guide to the call number system, the stack layout and other notes on finding books at Widener, see: Finding Materials in Widener.
It's always advisable to check the Call Number Location Chart before looking for items in the stacks. The charts are also available in the Circulation area and Reading Rooms.
Occasionally you'll find that we do not own a book or journal that is pertinent to your research. To request the title via Interlibrary Loan (ILL), use the online Form (Harvard ID number and PIN required).
