2. Using HOLLIS for Literary Research
The HOLLIS catalog contains records for books, journals, sound recordings, manuscripts, visual materials, maps, government documents, CD-ROMs and other electronic resources, etc. 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 4. Finding Journal Articles.
HOLLIS and literary research
If searching for the works of a prolific author [via Search type: 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 keyword or subject searching.
Keyword searching
Using Search type: keywords anywhere: benjamin, walter and criticism will lead to records with official subject headings such as:
Benjamin, Walter, 1892-1940 --Criticism and interpretation
Or to broader headings, such as:
Literature, Modern--20th century--History and criticism
Aesthetics, Modern -- 20th century
etc.
Click on the underlined subject headings in the HOLLIS record to narrow your search and/or explore the nuances of your topic.
***Note that the Keywords anywhere will search the selected terms anywhere in the HOLLIS record, including contents notes and subject headings. Keyword search may lead to "false drops," results that do not match the intent of the search. If this occurs, try adding or modifying terms for more precision.
Searching Authors as Subjects
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.
To do so, use Search type: "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:
Derrida, Jacques--Bibliography
--Contributions in Criticism
--Correspondence
--Influence
--Philosophy
Fellini, Federico--Criticism and interpretation
--Exhibitions
--Interviews
--Pictorial works
Interspersed in the index will be works devoted primarily to one particular
title, such as:
Fellini, Federico. Amarcord.
Derrida, Jacques. De la grammatologie.
Browsing for other subject terms (literary concepts/movements, genres, genres/periods):
If you do not know the official subject terms, begin with a keyword search.
Some examples:
Keywords anywhere: latin america and postmodernism
You'll find the search leads to official headings such as:
Postmodernism -- Latin America
Keywords anywhere: barthes and theory leads to subject headings such as:
Literature--History and Criticism--Theory
Literature--Philosophy
Authorship--Philosophy
Knowledge, Theory of
Other official subject headings and heading patterns (if you have questions about how to determine or use these, please ask) are listed below. [Note: When doing a Browse search for Subject beginning with…, insert two hyphens for subdivisions, as indicated]
French (English, German, etc. literature (fiction, poetry, drama) subdivide by period, then topic.
e.g. French literature--20th century--History and criticism
English drama--17th century--Bibliography
Literature, Modern--20th century--History and criticism
Literature--History and criticism--Theory, etc.
Historical criticism--Literature
Criticism (subdivides by country)
Criticism--Textual (subdivides by country, period, genre)
Reader-response criticism (subdivides by country)
Discourse analysis--Literary
Literature and society
Literature--Philosophy
France (or other countries)--Intellectual life (subdivided by period)
German (or other) literature--History and criticism
Motion pictures (subdivides by country and topic)
Motion pictures--Philosophy
Motion pictures--Reviews (for collections of reviews)
Film criticism (subdivides by country and topic)
Motion picture producers and directors
Motion pictures--Production and direction
Silent films
Cinematography
Film festivals
Other Search Strategies
Finding Translations in HOLLIS
To find translations, use Expanded Search in HOLLIS, selecting one or more languages from the drop-down menu, Limit Search to: Languages (instructions to the right of the screen).
Searching for Author Journals
To search for author journals in HOLLIS, use Expanded Search, enter Keywords from: Subject use author's name (last, first) and Subject: periodicals.
Example: Keywords from Subject: lacan
and
Keywords from Subject: periodicals
In WorldCat,
select Advanced Search and enter author's name (last, first) as a Subject
term and Limit type to: Serial Publications.
Example:
Search for: benjamin, walter as Subject
and
Limit type to: serial publications
Searching for Journal Titles in HOLLIS
Use the subset, "Journals," in the catalog to find the location of journal titles in the libraries.
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.
To locate materials at Houghton, use Expanded Search, begin with keywords from: author words: e.g. proust, marcel, and from Locations: select Houghton. You will find first editions, limited and special editions (illustrated, etc.), correspondence and other materials held by Houghton, and in some cases, other libraries at Harvard.
Widener Library Guides & 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 and PIN required).