Using the Internet for Literary Research

An Introduction to What is Available and How to Use It
(in plain English)

Getting from here . . . to there

A Page of Resources for UConn English Department Faculty and Graduate Students

Prepared for a Fall 1997 Department Colloquium by David A. Salomon
(This page is intentionally low-tech in design and easy on the eyes.)

Contents of This Page

  • Some Basic Terminology
  • Basic Starting Points
  • Search Engines and How to Use Them
  • How to Find and Use Online Library Catalogues
  • Limited Mainframe Searching
  • Finding and Participating in Online Discussions
  • Reference Links
  • General Literature Resources
  • Literature Resources by Period
  • Online Research Tools
  • Electronic Texts
  • Electronic Publication Possibilties
  • Interested in Teaching with Technology?
  • Credits

    • Some Basic Terminology


    There are several basic terms and concepts which are essential to understanding how all of this works. Many software packages can be downloaded from the UConn FTP site, as noted below, free-of-charge. The UConn Software Distribution Server page can give you a great deal of information about which software is available in addition to instructions for downloading.

  • Internet: refers to the worldwide network of computers connected through telephone data lines. No one "runs" the Internet, making it either completely democratic or completely anarchic, depending upon your point of view. Internet locations are designated by the ends of their addresses (.com .edu .org and .gov are most often used).

  • LAN: or Local Area Network, refers to a network of computers operating in a somewhat- closed environment such as a classroom, library, or other fixed space.

  • World Wide Web (WWW): refers to the "universe of network-accessible information, the embodiment of human knowledge" (W3C, The World Wide Web Consortium).

  • Hypertext: refers to a special type of database system, invented by Ted Nelson in the 1960s, in which objects (text, pictures, music, programs, and so on) can be creatively linked to each other. When you select an object, you can see all the other objects that are linked to it (from PC Webpedia). In web browsers, hyperlinks are coded in a color (usually blue) that change to another color (usually red) to indicate that you have already visited that link.

  • Web Browsers: the two most popular graphical browsers are Netscape and Internet Explorer (from Microsoft). Explorer has always been free, and Netscape may be downloaded free from the UConn ftp site. Both programs are currently on version 4 with one or two updates per year. Additionally, there are text-only browsers such as Charlotte, which is the text browser on the UConn Mainframe system.

  • HTTP: stands for "hypertext transfer protocol" and is the "method" used to transfer files using a graphical web browser.

  • FTP: stands for "file transfer protocol," a way of transfering files over the Internet. Download a FTP software from the UConn ftp site.

  • Telnet: a program which allows remote connection to a site. When you go to the Yale library on your mainframe account, you are using a telnet program. Download Telnet software from the UConn ftp site.

  • Eudora, Pegasus: two e-mail programs which may be used through a PPP connection or the university's backbone. Both can be downloaded from the UConn ftp site.

  • Backbone: the UConn backbone is an on-campus system allowing connection to the Internet and local networks. Connection to the backbone is only available through use of an Ethernet card and a special hookup. Most office computers are connected to the backbone as are the computers in the department's computer lab.

  • Usenet or Newsgroups: "a public place where messages are posted for public consumption and response. The most available distribution of newsgroups is USENET which contains over ten thousand unique newsgroups covering practically every human proclivity. The names of newsgroups are comprised of a string of words separated by periods, such as "rec.humor.funny" or "misc.jobs.offered". The first word (i.e. "rec" or "misc") represents the top level category of newsgroups. The second word (in these examples "humor" and "jobs") represents a subcategory of the first level, and the third word a subcategory of the second" (from NetDictionary).

  • PPP Connection: a PPP or Point-to-Point Protocol connection is the way one accesses the Internet through a modem. You may acquire a PPP account through the University's Computer Center for a nominal fee, or you can get a PPP account through an outside vendor (such as AOL or NECA); remember, however, that connection through an outside vendor may hinder your access to certain UConn-subscribed sites such as the MLA Bibliography. PPP connections are available for both the PC and the Mac, but you must have a modem with a speed of at least 9600 bps (14.4 or 28.8 recommended).

  • Virus Software: you can download McAfee Virus Protection Software free of charge as long as you are affiliated with UConn (faculty, staff, students). The software is available at the McAfee page of the UConn Software Distribution Page.

    I also have written another page, Information on the Internet and How-tos, which you might find helpful (N.B. this page has not been updated). Still confused? Don't know your Java from your Pegasus? Check the PC Webopedia, a site devoted to definitions of popular and obscure computer-related terminology. The NetDictionary is a similar resource.

    Basic Starting Points
  • UConn's Main Site
  • The Homer Babbidge Library Main Site
  • The UConn English Department HomePage
  • The UConn English Department HomePage's Links Page
    Search Engines

    How to Use Search Engines

  • Understanding and Comparing Web Search Tools

    Selected Engines

  • Search.com
  • Yahoo
  • AltaVista
  • Lycos
  • Webcrawler
  • Hotbot
  • Excite
  • Infoseek
  • A fee-based search service--if you are completely lost and are prone to saying "I can't find anything on the net."
    How to Find People
  • InfoSpace
  • Four11
    The Online Sources for Everything
  • Cnet.com
  • Also check MSNBC's The Site
    Finding and Using Online Library Catalogues

    • Almost every university library now has its library catalogue available online. This can be one of your most useful online tools.
    1) If you are planning to visit a library, you can do your catalogue searches ahead of time.
    2) You can search other library catalogues for new titles in your research interest. Then the item can either be requested on Interlibrary Loan, or you can ask Homer Babbidge to purchase it (Richard Bleiler is the liason for English).

    Finding these catalogues is one issue, and using them is another. If you can find the university's home page, you can probably find a link to its library from there. There are several online lists of university home pages:

  • American Universities
  • International Universities
  • Colleges and Universities by Country

    Once you've found the link to the library's home page, you have to figure out how to connect to it. Some libraries (not many at this point) allow searching directly from the web, so no other software will be necessary. Most, however, require that you "telnet" to the library's catalogue. This is accomplished by using Telnet software (described in "Some Basic Terminology" above). In order to configure your web browser so that you can link to the library catalogue directly from the web page, go to "Options" in your web browser. In Netscape, click on the tab for "Apps," and in the "Telnet Applicaton" and "TN3270 Application" boxes, you will put the commands for your Telnet software. Most often that command will be c:\tcp3270\programs telnet.exe for the Telnet application, and c:\tcp3270\programs\ tn3270.exe for the TN3270 application. If you are using the Telnet software package to connect to the UConn mainframe system, you must use the TN3270 executable part of the program, not the Telnet part. The Telnet software can be downloaded directly from the UConn FTP Site.

    One place that might be of particular interest is the new COPAC system in Britain. COPAC is an internationally accessible catalogue giving unified free access to some of the largest university research library collections in the UK and Ireland. In the recent past there has been a time restriction on this system, i.e., it was only available at certain hours; that restriction appears to have been lifted. Access is available two ways:

  • World Wide Web COPAC
  • Telnet Access via copac.ac.uk

    Limited Searching through the UConn Mainframe

    It is possible to do some searches from your mainframe account. The following databases are accessible \ via your mainframe account. Remember, this is done through your mainframe account, not the World Wide Web. Use the instructions below, and follow them exactly:

    9002 WorldCat/OCLC Database
    9003 A&H Search/Arts & Humanities Search. A citation index.
    9004 BookRevDigst/Reviews of fiction and nonfiction books.
    9005 BooksInPrint/R. R. Bowker's Books In Print.
    9006 Diss/Dissertation Abstracts Online.
    9009 RILM/RILM Abstracts of Music Literature.

    From your mainframe prompt, type:

    tnvt100 kugebunko.lib.uconn.edu 900X where the X is the last number of the database you wish to search. Hit enter and wait for instructions.

    Finding and Participating in Online Discussions

     Online discussions lists are one of the most useful resources on the Internet. These lists operate almost as mini-conferences on a particular subject. It is true--much of the time the discussions can be banal, and finding the right list for your interest is often difficult. These discussions are sometimes misnamed "listservs." Actually, "listserv" refers to one of the software programs which run an online discussion; others include "majordomo" and "listproc." Sometimes finding the discussion is the most laborious part. Here are a few places at which you might search for discussion lists on a particular subject of interest.

  • Liszt
  • Search the Online Catalog
    Reference Links
  • WWWebster Dictionary
  • OneLook Dicitonaries
  • Foreign Languages for Travelers
  • Bartlett's Familiar Quotations
  • The Quotation Pages
  • Roget's Thesaurus
  • Old Farmer's Almanac
  • Britannica Online
  • The Oxford English Dictionary Online--not yet available

    General Literature Resources
  • The Voice of the Shuttle English Page
  • The Voice of the Shuttle Humanities Page
  • The Voice of the Shuttle's Literature Other Than English
    Literature Resources by Period

    [N.B. These links are only representative and are in no way comprehensive.]

    English Literature

  • Medieval: The Labyrinth
  • Sixteenth-Century Renaissance English Literature
  • The Centre for Reformation and Renaissance Studies (UToronto)
  • Eighteenth-Century Resources
  • Romantic Literature
  • The Victorian Web
  • Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
  • Contemporary British Literature

    American Literature

  • Colonial American Literature
  • Nineteenth-Century American Literature
  • Modern American Literature
  • Contemporary American Literature

    Literature Other Than British and American

  • Native American Literature Page
  • Asian-American Studies
  • Latina/o Literature and Literature of the Americas
  • Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature
  • Voice of the Shuttle Minority Studies Links

    Rhetoric and Composition

  • Rhet/Comp Page
  • The Alliance for Computers and Writing
    Online Research Tools
  • UConn Resources By Title
  • The MLA Bibliography--UConn Access Only (BROKEN LINK REPAIRED)
  • WorldCat/OCLC--UConn Access Only
  • JSTOR: Electronic Journals--UConn Access Only
  • UConn InterLibrary Loan--UConn Access Only
  • Richard Bleiler's English Links Page
  • Limited Dissertation Searches through UMI
  • A Literary Index--impressive
  • Project Muse--UConn Access Only
  • Project Bartleby
  • Famous English Majors?
  • Carl UnCover
  • The British Library
  • Introduction to E-text
  • Library of Congress
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • Literary Resources on the Internet, Jack Lynch
  • Scholarly Societies, Literature
  • The Web Concordance
  • Chronicle of Higher Education
  • Directory of International Universities
  • Yahoo Directory of American Universities
  • Calls for Papers--the archive for the online mailing list
    Electronic Texts--A Sampling
  • Bibliomania--The Network Library
  • British Poetry 1780-1910, A Hypertext Archive
  • The Electronic Labyrinth
  • Electronic Texts, Jack Lynch--Great Links
  • Hypertext Classics
  • Poetry Online
  • Master Works of Western Civilization
  • Online Book Initiative (OBI)
  • Online Books Page
  • Project Gutenberg Index
  • The Western Canon
    Electronic Publication Possibilites
  • Primary Source Media
  • The Great American Publishing Society (GRAMPS)
    Interested in Teaching with Technology?
  • English Department Seminar on Using Multimedia and the Internet in Humanities Courses--Summer and Fall 1997

    If you have questions about the teaching seminar, please use the following form.
    Enter your full name:

    Enter your e-mail address:

    Please check only one box:
    I'm interested in more information
    I'd like to sign up for the Winter Break 98 Seminar

    Any comments or questions?:

    Please note: if you would like the teaching seminar to be offered again over Winter Break 1998, please send a brief note to Kevin Barker, Director of the UConn Institute for Teaching and Learning. The Institute funded the seminar the first time. Thanks. DAS.

    Questions? Suggestions? Broken Links? Problems?
    Send e-mail to das93006@uconnvm.uconn.edu/David A. Salomon.
    You are visitor # since September 24, 1997. Thanks for coming by.
    Thanks to Veronica Makowsky for requesting and arranging this presentation.
    This page last updated September 26, 1997, in the wee-hours of the morn'.