MLA

MLA International Bibliography (EBSCO)

MLA International Bibliography offers a detailed bibliography of journal articles, books and dissertations. Produced by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the electronic version of the bibliography dates back to the 1920s and contains over 1.8 million citations from more than 4,400 journals & series, and 1,000 book publishers. The indexed materials coverage is international and includes almost 60 titles from J-STOR's language and literature collection as well as links to full text. This database includes journal abbreviations and acronyms for almost 3,500 titles, with full journal names standardized and ISSNs attached. MLA International Bibliography also contains nearly 11,000 subject names and terms. Subjects consist of literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory & criticism, dramatic arts, as well as the historical aspects of printing and publishing. Listings on rhetoric and composition and the history, theory and practice of teaching language and literature are also included. In addition to the bibliography, the database includes the MLA Directory of Periodicals; the association's proprietary thesaurus used to assign descriptors to each record in the bibliography; and a proprietary, searchable directory of noted authors' names, with links to brief descriptive notes.
EBSCO Publishing recently added retrospective content from 1926 to 1962 to the MLA International Bibliography database. This supplementary material comes directly from 38 print volumes which the Modern Language Association spent more than two years converting for online availability. Journal abbreviations and acronyms for almost 3,500 titles have been expanded, full journal names standardized and ISSNs attached. Almost 11,000 subject names and terms have also been standardized according to current practices. EBSCOhost customers will be pleased to know this additional content - a total of 160,000 records - is currently available and comes at no extra charge.

To get help in EBSCO:

• General Topics: The help link in the top right hand corner of the search screen contains general topics
• MLA Topics: for MLA specific help, use the question mark next to the box containing the name: MLA International Bibliography 
  

What are you trying to find?

Start with some awareness that what you are trying to find determines your strategy:

• Information on a particular author, work, or genre?
• Information on literature from one country?
• Information on a particular theme in literature?
• Are you interested in articles about a particular century or period?
• Information about books and articles by a particular scholar?
• Do you want information from a particular kind of publication (dissertation, book, articles)
• Do you want to limit your search to one journal title (“Yale French Studies”)?
• Do you want to retrieve results in French … only?

A Few Examples of Specialized Searching: Use Your Research Topic for Searching and Share Results:

1. To find articles about a particular century
   0-99A.D.
   100-199A.D.
   200-299 A.D.
   300-399 A.D.
   1600-1699 A.D. etc.
   Note that authors are associated with one century only: if an author published in major works in1881 and 1904, you would choose 1800 - 1899 for searches about the author and his/her times
2. To find articles about concepts in a particular periods, limit as follows
   400-1499 for the Middle Ages (highlight all centuries that apply)
   1100-1699 for the Middle Ages/Renaissance
   1500-1699 for Early Modern
   Example, do the following searches and compare results:
   
   • vraisemblance and 1600 - 1699
   • vraisemblance and 1600 - 1699 and 1700 - 1799
   • "Refine Search" limit results to English language articles
   • vraisemblence or verisimilitude and 1600 - 1699
     
3. Articles about National Literature
   Example, do the following searches and compare results:
   
   • LT French
   • "Refine Search" limit to 1600 - 1699 and English
4. Role indicators between two descriptors/subject terms, add as keywords:
   influence on [Montaigne/influence on/novel]
   theories of
   relationship to [Montaigne/relationship to/Rabelais]
   role in/of
   treatment of
   compared to
   application in/of
   applied to
   compared to
   discusses
   use of
   theories of
   sources in/for
   for audience
   treatment in/of etc
5. Use the “Find More Like This” button
   
   • Find in MLA: "Sexual Scripting in Montaigne and Sterne"
     use  “Find More Like This” button
6. Combine basic search string with one or two Field Abbreviations, most popular:
   Au Author
   ED Editor
   SO Journal Title
   PY Publication Year
   SU Subject
   TI Title
   Enter> [Au schachter and SU montaigne]
   More Examples: look in the MLA help guide for a complete list of codes.
7. Use Thesaurus –
   
   • Browse for “grotesque” >check the box of terms that apply > > choose operator from drop down menu >click ADD>>All the terms you checked are now in the FIND box above – click search
   • Use the terms that appear to the left of your result list under
     Narrow Results by Subject
     >> you can also add descriptors or keywords as needed in the find box
8. Use Indexes Link to search within pre-defined category- note that the defined indexes start with Z – don’t confuse this search with a search that uses two letter abbreviations for field searching, where AU stands for Author
   Literary Topic>>witchcraft/women writers etc.
   ZC     Accession Number
   ZA     Author
   ZK     Book Source
   ZG     Dissertation Source
   ZH     Editors
   ZY     Folklore Topic
   ZN     ISBN
   ZI       ISSN
   ZJ      Journal Title
   ZL     Language
   ZX     Linguistics Topic
   ZP      Literary Influence
   ZZ     Literary Source
   ZV     Literary Technique
   ZF      Literature Topic
   ZM     Location
   ZQ     Primary Subject Author
   ZO     Primary Subject Work
   ZT      Publication Type
   ZR      Publication Year
   ZB      Publisher
   ZS       Subject Language
   ZD     Subject Literature
   ZU     Subjects-All
   
9. Search for Names as Subject
   Look up by last name:
   • Théophile de Viau (1590 - 1626)
     René Descartes (1596 - 1650)
     Tristan l'Hermite (= François l'Hermite, Seigneur du Solier)
     Valentin Conrart, (1603-1675)
     François Hédelin, (1604 - 1676)
     Pierre Corneille (1606 - 1684)
     Madeleine de Scudéry (1607 - 1701)
     Paul Scarron (1610 - 1660)
     Gautier de Costes de La Calprenède (um 1610 - 1663)
     François de la Rochefoucauld (1613 - 1680)
     Antoine Furetière (1619-1688),
     Jean de La Fontaine (1621 - 1695)
     Molière (1622 - 1673)
     Blaise Pascal (1623 - 1662)
     Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné (1626 - 1696)
     Jacques Bénigne Bossuet (1627 - 1704)
     Charles Perrault (1628 - 1703)
     Esprit Fléchier (1632 - 1710)
     Madame de Lafayette (1634 - 1693)
     Nicolas Boileau (1636 - 1711)
     Jean Racine (1639 - 1699)
     Jean de La Bruyère (1645 - 1696)
     Pierre Bayle (1647 - 1706)
     François Fénelon (1651 - 1715)
     Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657 - 1757)
     Alain Lesage (1668 - 1747)
     Antoine Galland (1646-1715)
     Jean Chardin (1643-1713
     Gabriel-Joseph de Guilleragues (1628-1685)