Librarian for Italian 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

• Italian Department at New York University
• Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò
  
  
• Italian Language-Learning Tapes Via the Web
  
  
• Collection Development Policy for Italian Literature

Related Subject Guides

• Literary Theory
• Literary Criticism
• Doctoral Dissertations
• Bibliography and Footnote Style Guide
  

Internet Links

• Library Catalogs and Websites
  • The European Library
  • Libweb: Library Servers via WWW
    Links to over 7500 home pages from libraries in over 135 countries
    
    
• Archives and Manuscripts
  • Archives USA
    A directory of over 5480 repositories and over 132,300 collections of primary source material across the United States.
    
  • Repositories of Primary Sources
    A listing of over 5000 websites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources worldwide.
    
  • National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
    A catalog of archival and manuscript collections for archives, libraries, historical societies, and repositories in the United States and its territories.

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 vocabulary the computer "understands." For example:

• To find a biography of Natalia Ginzburg use the subject terms: "biography" and "ginzburg"
• To find criticism on Eugenio Montale's writing use the subject terms: "montale" and "criticism"
• To find a bibliography on futurism, use the terms: "bibliography" and "futurism"

Italian books, before 1601
Italian books, 1601-1700

Call no: Film 707

Arrangement: By group (pre-1601 and 1601-1700) and assigned reel number.

Contents: Comprehensive collection of books printed in any language in Italy (mainly Italian and Latin) and books in Italian printed outside of Italy.

Based on:

• British Museum. Department of Printed Books. Short-title Catalogue of Books Printed in Italy and of Italian Books Printed in Other Countries from 1465-1600 Now in the British Museum. Bobst Ref1 Z2342.B8
• Michel, Susan P. and Michel, Paul Henri. Repertoire des Ouvrages Imprimes en Langue Italienne au XVIIe Siecle. Bobst Z2342.M52

Access:
1. A Guide to Italian Books Before 1601. (PDF, 2MB).
2. A Guide to Italian Books, 1601-1700. (PDF, 153K).
Both guides include Author index and Title index.

Language Dictionaries and Grammar Guides

Browsing location in Bobst: PC1020-PC1977, 1st floor reference and 8th floor stacks. (Includes dialect dictionaries).

• Grande Dizionario della Lingua Italiana. ed. Salvatore Battaglia. Torino: UTET, 1961-2002.
  Bobst REF1 PC1625.B3
  This replacement for the century-old standard Dizionario della Lingua Italiana (Tommaseo/Bellini) is a collaborative work of many specialists. Planned on historical principles; gives full definitions and examples of meanings and usages in chronological order.
• LEI: Lessico Etimologico Italiano. Max Pfister. Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert, 1984-.
  Bobst REF1 PC1580.P38
  An ambitious and scholarly work on the etymology of the Italian language and its dialects. Provides sources and datings of usage, cites other dictionaries, linguistic atlases etc., and provides references to linguistic studies. As of Fall 2005, covers A-CALCA.
• Grande Grammatica Italiana di Consultazione.3 vols. Lorenzo Renzi, ed.Bologna : Mulino, c1988.
  Bobst REF1 PC1105 .G735 1988
  3-volume guide to contemporary grammar; chapters written by specialists. Extensive treatment of points of grammar with many examples. Vol. 3 has a general index for the set.

An Introduction to Italian Literature

Browsing location in Bobst: PQ4000-PQ4150, 1st floor reference and 8th floor stacks.

• Letteratura italiana. Antonio Asor Rosa, ed. Torino: Einaudi, 1982-1992.
  Bobst REF1 PQ4037. L457 1982 (8 vol.) and Bobst REF1 PQ4037.L465 1992 (5 vol.)
  An excellent resource. In-depth chapters by specialists. Covers not only the whole of Italian literature but also concentrates on the social and cultural background. The last two volumes of the 1982 set constitute a very helpful dictionary of literary biobibliography.
• Cambridge History of Italian Literature. Brand, Peter and Pertile, Lino, eds. New York: Cambridge UP, 1999. Rev. ed.
  Bobst REF PQ4038.C35 1999
  Concise history of Italian literature with chapters arranged by century. Each chapter is authored by a scholar specializing in that particular period.
• Dizionario Critico della Letteratura Italiana. ed. Vittore Branca. Torino: UTET, 1986. 2nd ed.
  Bobst REF1 PQ4057.D59 1986
  Long signed articles, quite often biocritical in nature. Also includes entries for literary terms, movements, etc. Contains substantial bibliographies.
• Dictionary of Italian Literature. P. Bondanella and J. C. Bondanella. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979.
  Bobst REF1 PQ4006.D45 1996
  Entries for authors constitute the bulk of the book, literary movements are also included. Relationships with other national literatures, cultures, and art forms are given. Bibliographies at end of entries include English translations of primary texts as well as critical studies (books and articles) in various languages.

Literary Theory

• The Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism
  Groden & Kreisworth, eds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins U. Press, 2005.
  http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
  An important resource on literary theory and criticism. Includes extensive bibliography for further reading.

Finding Criticism: Books and Journal Articles

• 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 Italian literature. An excellent way to keep current on publishing in your area.
• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures.
  New York: MLA. 1963-present. Electronic version updated quarterly (can lag up to two years).
  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 annually.
• International Medieval Bibliography. Leeds: University of Leeds Press, 1967- present. 2 no/year.
  http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
  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 electronically (e.g. annotations).
• Letteratura Italiana: Aggiornamento Bibliografico [LIAB]. Trieste: Alcione, 1991- .
  Bobst REF1 PQ4001.L46
  Yearly index to over 150 Italian periodicals.
• Bibliografia generale della lingua e della letteratura italiana [BiGLI]. Roma: Salerno, 1991- .
  Bobst REF1 PC1071.B519 (1991- )
  Yearly index to over 1500 international journals.
• Italian books and periodicals. Ufficio della proprietà, artistica e scientifica. Roma: Istituto Poligrafo e Zecca dello Stato, 1958-.
  Bobst REF1 Z2345.I89 22- (1979-)
  The English edition of the monthly Libri e Riviste d'Italia. Lengthy book reviews and the equivalent of Current Contents for periodicals in all fields, with occasional annotations.
• Editoria Italiana Online (EIO).
  http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
  Italian research publications online offers the full text of over 600 scholarly monographs and periodicals, mainly in the humanities, produced by some of the most important publishers in Italy.
  

Finding Dissertations

• Dissertation Abstracts . Ann Arbor, MI: UMI.
  http://library.nyu.edu/collections/databases.html
  Indexes U.S. and some foreign dissertations. Non-NYU dissertations can be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan or purchased via UMI.
• Bibliografia nazionale italiana. Tesi di dottorato. Firenze: Istituto centrale per il catalogo unico delle biblioteche italiane e per le informazioni bibliografiche.
  Bobst REF1 Z2341 .B53 (1987-present)
  Yearly publication listing Italian dissertations. Starting in 1996, arranged by subject.

Archives and Manuscripts

• National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections.
  Print Catalog: BREF1 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 below), for archival and manuscript collections in research libraries, museums, state archives, and historical societies located throughout North America.
• Repositories of Primary Sources.
  A listing of over 3400 web sites describing holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and other primary sources for the research scholar. Includes links for Europe. Plus, a useful 'Additional Links' page: http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/other.html
• Guide to Italian Libraries and Archives. New York: Council for European Studies, 1979.
  Bobst REF1 Z809.A1 L48
  While out of date, Lewanski provides useful descriptions of strengths, special collections, and some historical information for archives and libraries included.

Primary Sources

• Letteratura Italiani Zanichelli.
  Over 360 canonical Italian literary texts (by over 100 authors) dating from the 1200's to 1964. CD-ROM available in the The Digital Studio.
  
  
• Opera del Vocabolario Italiano (ARTFL & ItalNet)
  Contains over 1500 vernacular texts dated prior to 1375, the year of Boccaccio's death. Includes texts by early masters of Italian literature like Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio, plus lesser-known poets, merchants, and medieval chroniclers.
  
  

News Sources

• For electronic access via NYU Libraries, check the e-journals page.
• For non-current newspapers and news magazines at NYU Libraries, check BobCat.
• For current newspapers and news magazines within New York Metropolitan area libraries, check the Union List of Selected West European Newspapers & News Magazines.
• For newspapers held at the Center for Research Libraries, check CRL Foreign Newspaper Collection catalog. These can be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

Other Libraries' Catalogs

• New York Public Library
  Electronic Access (http://catnyp.nypl.org/)
  Collections dating back to 1972 can be accessed through the Research Libraries Online Catalogue. For older and special collections, use the print catalog located in 6th Floor reference collection.
• RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network)
  Electronic Access
  (Select from list of 'Frequently Used Catalogs' on library's web page at http://library.nyu.edu/collections/other_catalogs.html).
  An online catalog of over 150 U.S. research libraries. Also provides information about publications in many European countries, including Italy.
• OCLC WorldCat
  Electronic Access
  (Select from list of 'Frequently Used Catalogs' on library's web page at http://library.nyu.edu/collections/other_catalogs.html).
  Online 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.
• Bibliografia Nazionale Italiana [BNI]. Firenze: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, 1958-1999.
  Bobst REF1 Z2345.F62n
  National bibliography, published yearly, lists current record of books and pamphlets received by legal deposit.Starting in Fall 1999, listings are duplicated in RLIN (see above).