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Libraries & online resources available during COVID-19
The UMN Libraries spaces are different due to COVID-19 AND we are here to help with your research online!
Studying at the Libraries during Covid-19
Four of our largest libraries are open - Wilson Library (west bank), Walter Library Health Sciences Library (east bank), and Magrath Library (St. Paul). These spaces are open for current U of M students with U Cards. Per University guidelines, masks are required. We have reconfigured furniture and are requiring physical distancing with one student per table. You can reserve a study room - one person per room. The coffee shops in Wilson and Walter are closed. Read through our FAQs for more details on visiting.
Getting physical materials from the Libraries
If you know the item you are looking for, search by title or author or search by your keywords in Libraries search. You can go to our open libraries to find your items or browse the stacks. Or sign in to Libraries search and place a “get it” request. You can pick up items at one of our four open buildings — Wilson Library, Walter Library, Health Science Libraries, and Magrath Library — or have them delivered to your office, home, or residence hall. You can also request to have part of a book or physical item scanned and we will send it electronically with our Digital Delivery service. Read through our FAQs including details on checking out and returning materials.
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Online library resources and services for students during COVID-19You can connect virtually to our libraries, librarians and staff and get millions of online books and many services and resources online.
Get research help online! Schedule an online consultation!
Help isn’t available in our spaces this semester, instead use Chat with a librarian 24/7, schedule an online consultation with a librarian or schedule a 30 minute virtual appointment with a Peer Research Consultant (a.k.a. peer tutor for library research).
Reference and Background Information
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Oxford English Dictionary OnlineFull-text of the 2nd ed. The OED covers words from across the English-speaking world. It also offers etymological analysis, listings of variant spellings, and shows pronunciation using the International Phonetic Alphabet.
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Oxford Reference OnlineContains 100 language and subject dictionaries and other reference works, and searches across these resources. Limited to 5 simultaneous users.
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Gale Literature CriticismExtensive compilation of literary commentary. Imagine centuries of analysis - the scholarly and popular commentary from broadsheets, pamphlets, encyclopedias, books and periodicals - delivered in format that matches the exact look and feel of the print originals. The net result is tens of thousands of hard-to-find essays at your fingertips.
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Dictionary of Literary Biography CompleteProvides biographical and critical essays on the lives, works, and careers of the world's most influential literary figures from all eras and genres. Includes the DLB main series, the DLB Documentary Series, and the DLB Yearbook Series. Search by full-text keyword, author, topic, volume title, publication date, or DLB series.
Scholarly Articles on Literature and Literary Criticism
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MLA International BibliographyUse the MLA International Bibliography to find scholarly books and articles on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. This index has been compiled by the Modern Language Association of America since 1926.
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Literature OnlineFind literary criticism and scholarly articles on literature included in the Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature and The MLA International Bibliography. It also includes an online full text library of literary reference resources and searchable full-text of over 300,000 works of English and American poetry, drama, and prose.
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JSTORFind full text articles in academic journals or books on the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. JSTOR provides articles from the journal's first issue. In some cases the most recent 2-5 years may not be available.
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Project MuseSearch for full-text journals in literary theory, classics, history and cultural studies, philosophy, film, theater and performing arts, political science, and mathematics.
Scholarly Articles on Film and Media
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Film and Television Literature Index with Full-TextSearch articles on film and television studies' topics including theory, preservation, restoration, writing, production, cinematography, reviews from "Variety" back to 1914 and more.
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Film Indexes OnlineThis web portal combines three research databases in the film studies area: FIAF International Film Database Plus, AFI Film Catalog, and Film Index International.
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FIAF International Index to Film Periodicals DatabaseInternational Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) inlcudes coverage of hundreds of the world's foremost academic and popular film journals right up to the present day. Many of these key titles are available here in full text including complete runs.
Google Scholar and Google Books
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Google Scholar (Setup connection to get to PDFs)Use Google Scholar to find articles from academic publishers, professional societies, research institutes, and scholarly repositories from colleges and universities. If you are using from off-campus access, change the "Library Settings" to University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Look for the "FindIt@U of M Twin Cities" links in your Google Scholar search results to access full text and PDFs.
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Google BooksGoogle Books allows you to search within the text of books it has scanned, so it can be very helpful for identifying relevant essays or chapters within books. If you find titles that look useful, search "catalog only" (in Libraries Search advanced search) for the title of the book to find it in the library.
