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French Language and Literature

Librarian for French Language and Literature

Jennifer Vinopal
Librarian for French and Italian Languages and Literature
The Digital Studio
New York University
Bobst Library, 2nd floor
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
(212) 998-2522
E-mail: jennifer.vinopal@nyu.edu

NYU Links

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NYU Department Website

Collection Development Policy for French Literature

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Internet Links

Other Libraries' Catalogues

    New York Public Library
    Online catalog contains records for all materials acquired since 1972 and for many, but not all, materials acquired before 1972. For older items and special collections, use the print catalog (Dictionary catalog of the Research Libraries of the New York Public Library 1911-1971) located in Bobst Library, 6th floor, north-east corner.

    RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network)
    Union catalog of over 150 U.S. research libraries and some foreign libraries.

    OCLC WorldCat
    Union catalog with items in various formats from over 14,000 participating institutions in 44 countries and territories, including academic, public, federal, medical, and corporate libraries.

    Bibliothèque Nationale de France
    Opale-Plus, the web catalog of the Bibliothèque Nationale, represents nearly the entire collection of materials at the BN, with some exceptions (see the web page for details).

    Catalogue Collectif de France

    1. des fonds imprimés et numérisés de la Bibliothèque nationale de France
    2. des bibliothèques universitaires et de grands établissements (systéme universitaire de documentation - SUDOC)
    3. des fonds anciens et/ou locaux informatisés des bibliothèques municipales et spécialisées

    The European Library, Gateway to Europe's National Libraries

    Libweb
    Library Servers via WWW Links to over 7500 home pages from libraries in over 135 countries

Using BobCat

Use BobCat to find books and journals in Bobst Library, the Courant Math & Science Library, the Real Estate Library, as well as the libraries of the New School, Cooper Union, and Parsons School of Design.

You can combine search terms in BobCat. For subject terms, you must use controlled vocabulary. For example:

  • To find a biography of Madame de Sévigné use the subject terms: "biography" and "Sevigne."
  • To find criticism on Georges Bataille's writing use the subject terms: "bataille" and "criticism"
  • To find a dictionary of a creole dialect of French, use the terms: "dictionaries" and "creole"
If you are looking for Use this Search term in BobCat
Biographical information
Bibliographical information
Dictionary
Catalogs
Journals
Theater/play information
Critical or secondary material
Archival or Manuscript information
 biography
bibliography
dictionary
catalogs
periodicals
drama
criticism
manuscripts

Language Dictionaries and Grammar Guides

    Browsing location in Bobst: PC2000 to PC3800, 1st floor reference and 8th floor stacks.
    Note: French dictionaries covering business and science terminology are located in the 6th and 9th floor reference rooms respectively.

    Trésor de la Langue Française: Dictionanaire de la Langue Française du XIXe et du XXe siecle (1789-1960). 16 vols. Imbs, Paul, ed. Paris: Editions du CNRS, 1971.
    Bobst REF1 PC2625.I4
    A dictionary of the French language of the 19th and 20th centuries. Extensive coverage includes etymology, history, pronunciation, statistical usage, and more.

    Le Grand Robert de la Langue française. 9 vol. Robert, Paul, ed. Paris: Le Robert, 1985.
    Bobst REF1 PC2625.R63 1985
    An excellent tool for researching pronunciation, etymology, history, and usage of French words.

    Collins Robert Comprehensive French English Dictionary. 2 vol. Glasgow: Harper Collins, 1995.
    Bobst REF1 PC2640.C69 1995a
    One of the best French-English dictionaries on the market today. Provides detailed definitions and many examples of current usage.

    Le Bon Usage: Grammaire Française avec des Remarques sur la Langue Française d'Aujourd'hui. Grevisse, Maurice. Paris: Duculot, 1980.
    Bobst REF1 PC2112 .G84 1980
    An authoritative guide to current grammar and usage.

An Introduction to French-Language Literature

    Browsing location in Bobst: PQ1 to PQ3999, 1st floor reference and 8th floor stacks.
    Note: in this call number range you will also find guides to French-language literature based on geographical region, such as Belgium, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Switzerland, etc.

    Guide to French Literature. 2 vol. Levi, Anthony. Chicago: St. James Press, 1992.
    Bobst REF1 PQ41.L48 1992
    Arrangement is alphabetical by author or literary movement. Long articles focus on the canonical writers of French literary history; little coverage of Francophone writers, although a few of the more prominent figures from the Negritude movement are included.

    Dictionnaire des Oeuvres Littéraires de Langue Française. Beaumarchais & Couty, ed. Paris: Bordas, 1994.
    Bobst REF1 PQ41.B439 1994
    This is a dictionary of works, rather than authors, so arrangement is alphabetical by title of work. Long signed essays focus mostly on French national writers but includes some other European French-language writers as well.

    Francophone Literatures: An Introductory Survey. Jack, Belinda. New York: Oxford, 1996.
    Bobst REF1 PQ3809.J33 1996
    Arranged by geographical region, and then by country. Essays place literary history into its historical/colonial context. Each section includes a guide for further reading.

Literary Theory

    These two works are general guides to terminology and concepts in literary criticism and theory.

    The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism. Groden & Kreisworth, eds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U. Press, 1994.
    Online Access: http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
    Print: Bobst REF1 PN81.J554 1994
    An important resource on literary theory and criticism. Includes extensive bibliography for further reading.

    Dictionnaire de Critique Littéraire. Tamine-gardes, Joelle, ed. A. Colin: Paris, 1996.
    Bobst REF1 PQ41.T3 1996
    This dictionary has a wide range of terms, from abstraction to zeugme.

Finding Criticism: Books and Journal Articles

    Browing location in Bobst: Z2615 to Z2710, 1st floor reference and 8th floor stacks.

    French Language and Literature. An Annotated Bibliography. Bassan, Fernande, et al. New York: Garland, 1989.
    Bobst REF1 Z2175.A2 B39 1989
    While somewhat out of date, this work lists basic book resources for starting research in French literature.

    Year's Work in Modern Language Studies. London: Modern Humanities Research Association. Published annually.
    Bobst REF1 PB1.Y45
    Yearly publication offering long essays summarizing the year's scholarship in each modern language. There is a substantial section on French literature. An excellent way to keep current on publishing in your area.

    MLA International Bibliography. New York: MLA. Published anually.
    Online Access: http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
    Indexes journal articles (except book reviews), books, collections and festschriften, conference papers, etc. on literature, language, linguistics, folklore and film. Updated quarterly (can lag up to two years).

    Bibliographie der Französischen Literaturwissenschaft: Bibliographie d'Histoire Littéraire Française. Klapp, Otto, ed. Frankfurt: Klostermann, 1956- present. Annual.
    Bobst REF1 Z2171.K55
    Extensive coverage of mostly European journals; serves as a complement to the MLA Bibliography. Printed annually; arranged by century. Good coverage of criticism on Francophone literature; arranged by region.

    International Medieval Bibliography. Leeds: University of Leeds Press, 1967- present. 2 no/year.
    Online Access: http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
    Print Bibliography: Bobst REF1 Z6203.I63
    Covers European Middle Ages (ca. 450-1500), includes over 4,000 periodicals and 5,000 miscellaneous volumes (conference proceedings, essay collections and Festschriften.). Does not cover monographs or short reviews. The print IMB contains some information that will not appear on disk (e.g. annotations).

    French 17. Colorado State U: Seventeenth Century French Division of the MLA. 1978-present.
    Bobst REF1 Z2172.M6
    An annual descriptive bibliography of French 17th-century studies

    French XX bibliography. New York, French Institute-Alliance Francaise, 1969- present. Annual.
    Bobst REF1 Z2171.A45
    Index of secondary material on French literature since 1885.

Finding Dissertations

    Dissertation Abstracts. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI.
    Online Access: http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
    Indexes U.S. and some foreign dissertations. Online abstracts 1861-. Full text coverage varies. If full text unavailable for non-NYU dissertations, they can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan or purchased via UMI.

    Inventaire des Thèses de Doctorat soutenues devant les Universités Françaises, 1981- .
    Bobst REF1 Z5055.F69I59
    Organized by subject. Indexes "doctorat d'Etat, nouveau doctorat, doctorat de 3e cycle, doctorat d'université, docteur-ingénieur." Includes author and university indices.

Archives and Manuscripts

    National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.
    Print Catalog: Bobst REF1 Z6620.U5 N3 (1959/60-1991/93)
    Online catalog contains close to 500,000 records available in the Research Libraries Information Network bibliographic database (see above), for archival and manuscript collections in research libraries, museums, state archives, and historical societies located throughout North America.

    Archives USA
    A directory of over 5480 repositories and over 132,300 collections of primary source material across the United States.

    ArchiveGrid
    Index to archival finding aids derived from major archival libraries and sources in the United States and the United Kingdom. Contains over 500,000 records (largely summary descriptions) of archives, manuscripts, and special collections and more than 5,000 collection guides (detailed lists describing the content of collections, often referred to as finding aids or inventories). The records duplicate those for archives and manuscripts found in RLG's Union catalog.

    Archives and Libraries in France. Welsch, Ervin. New York: Council for European Studies, 1991.
    Bobst REF1 Z797.A1 W44 1991
    Though somewhat out of date, still a useful source of information on French archives. Focus is mainly on Paris and environs. For each archive, provides address, hours, description of holdings, access procedures, etc. Entries also indicate whether or not the archive has a catalog.

    Repositories of Primary Sources.
    A listing of over 5000 web sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. Includes links for Europe, Africa, the Caribbean. Plus, a useful "Additional Links" page.

Microform Sets

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