[PW] Reference Resource: Library of Congress for Finding Lost Literature

[Dianne]

This was posted on the very helpful Internet Scout Project mailing list 
(http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/) -- you all may be familiar with 
this resource but it was new to me so perhaps there are others on this list 
that don't know about it.  If this is a repeat, my apologies.

Dianne Parham
Currently working for
the Liberal Studies Program
San Diego State University
mutts at cox.net
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Lost Titles, Forgotten Rhymes: How to Find a Novel, Short Story, or Poem 
Without Knowing its Title or Author
http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/lost/
What if you wanted to locate Robert Burton's masterful 17th century opus, 
The Anatomy of Melancholy? But wait: You can't remember his name or the name 
of the book. That's where you should know to click on over to this 
delightful and helpful reference guide created by Peter Armenti, Digital 
Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress. The intent of this guide is 
to "help readers identify a literary work when they know only its plot or 
subject, or other textual information such as a character's name, a line of 
poetry, or a unique word or phrase". The guide is divided into three 
separate sections: "Finding Novels", "Finding Short Stories", and "Finding 
Poems". Each section offers a host of resources that include general search 
engines, online book databases, library catalogs, listservs, message boards, 
and physical print resources available in many public libraries. This guide 
is rounded out by a selection of related resources, including a primer on 
how to find poems in the Library of Congress.