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*Literature*

This research guide includes catalogs, databases, and other print and online sources for the study of American, British, and world literature and culture.

Call Numbers for print books at The Valley Library

The literatures and languages collection is on the 4th floor of Valley Library.

PA 1-8595 Classical languages and literature
PL 1-8844 Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania
(Japanese language and literature PL501-889)
(Chinese language and literature PL1001-3207)
PN 1-6720 Literary history and collections (General)
esp. PN 1600-3300   Drama
PN 1600-3300 Drama
PQ 1-9999 Romance literatures
(French literature PQl-3999)
(Spanish literature PQ6001-8929)
PR 1-9680 English literature
PS 1-3565 American literature
PT 1-9999 Germanic literature

See the Library of Congress Classification Outline for a more detailed list of call numbers.

Ebooks at OSU

Find electronic books (ebooks) at OSU Libraries in four easy steps. 

  1. Start in 1Search from the OSU Libraries home page. Search for your topic or book title.
  2. Use the facets on the right-hand side of the page to choose eBooks and Apply Filters. You may need to go to "show more" under content type.
  3. Click Online Access by the desired ebook.
  4. Click Red Online tab to access the ebook.

Most ebooks can be "borrowed" for 1 or 7 days. In some cases, you can download the ebook and read it for the given loan period. For more information, check out OSU's ebook guide.

Finding Books on the Web

Project Gutenberg.  Project Gutenberg is a repository of more than 33,000 texts on a variety of subjects.  Most of the books are in the public domain because their copyright has expired; the number of current texts in this repository is relatively small.

Google Books. Working in partnership with several libraries, Google has created a huge database of electronic books.  Your access to these books will vary: some are available in full, some provide substantial preview views, and some provide only snippet (sentence-length) views.  You can find the books in libraries, purchase them, or view the available portions online.

WorldCat - a database of books and articles held by libraries around the United States and some international libraries. Search Worldcat to find out what's been published in your area and request the items through your public library's interlibrary loan service.