Some of the best known of these are listed below. Look up each title listed, and if you have it, write the call number next to the entry. Covers world literature of all time periods. Biographies are in a separate listing. Each article is signed with the contributors listed in the front of the books.
Articles vary in length from a few lines to several pages and are generally scholarly.
A handbook for the general reader, providing short definitions of terms, allusions and identifications of authors and titles. These two are examples of more specialized handbooks. While they cover some general terms used in literature, they concentrate on particular areas. There are many sets of literary dictionaries and encyclopedias devoted to author biographies, and we will discuss two of the most common of these. First though, we should review other sources of general biographical information where authors, as well as people in other fields, can be found.