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.
Journals, but not journal articles or tables of contents, are included in the catalog. To search for citations to articles and chapters in books, see 3. Finding Journal Articles.
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: borges, jorge
luis and criticism will lead to records with official subject
headings such as:
Borges, Jorge Luis, 1899- --Criticism and interpretation
or to broader headings, such as:
Argentine fiction--20th century--History and criticism, or
Postmodernism (Literature)
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:
Borges, Jorge Luis, 1899- --Bibliography
--Characters
--Correspondence
--Influence
--Literary style
--Women, etc.
Vega, Garcilaso de la, 1503-1536-- Criticism and interpretation
--in fiction
--in drama
--in poetry, etc.
Interspersed in the index will be works devoted primarily to one particular title, such as:
Borges, Jorge Luis, 1899- Ficciones.
Carpentier, Alejo, 1904- Reino de este mundo.
Vega, Garcilaso de la, 1503-1536. Eglogas.
Other Search Strategies
Searching for Author-related 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: borges
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: cervantes as Subject
and
Limit type to: serial publications
Finding Material 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, maps, manuscripts, etc.), language, library location and/or date range.
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, use Interlibrary Loan.
