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English & Comparative Literature

This guide will help you find articles, books, and websites on literature and criticism.

Finding Books at the King Library

Use OneSearch to find a specific title.  Search by title or the author's name. 

To find literary criticism, search by the subject, using the name of the author or a topic. These are some examples of Library of Congress subject headings:

  • Harjo, Joy
  • Beat Generation --Poetry
  • American literature--African American authors

If you don't know the Library of Congress subject heading, search by keyword using a variety of terms that are relevant to your topic.

SJSU's literature collections are located:

7th floor

English literature, Library of Congress call number range: PR (British, Irish, Canadian, Australian, and postcolonial writers)

American literature, Library of Congress call number range, PS

5th floor

Ethnic American literature may be located in the AACNA collections in the PS range. 

SJSU Special Collections has many first editions and rare books which an be viewed in the Special Collections reading room only. 

3rd FloorSan Jose Public Library: Search the 800 Dewey call number range/ 

 

Finding Books at Other Libraries

CSU+  When you can't find a title in the SJSU library, check the CSU+ catalog to see if you can borrow it from another CSU campus.  It's free and fast!

Interlibrary Services Request books from libraries all over the world. Use Interlibrary Services when material is not owned by the King Library or SJPL Branches. Requests can be made by filling out an ILLiad online request form. This service is free to all card holders -- late fees still apply -- and may take 7 to 10 days for the request to be filled.   

Local Libraries  Link to catalogs of local libraries and libraries in the CSU system.  

WorldCat    A catalog containing over 34 million records from libraries worldwide, useful for identifying items not available at King Library.