Comparative Literature
This guide provides a general introduction to Library resources relating to Comparative Literature.
Collections
Main collections
The Main Library in George Square holds the majority of physical collections for literatures.
Books are classified in the Library of Congrress scheme (e.g. PR5464 Ste.). Books relating to languages and literatures are classified under P whic are located on the 2rd floor (P-PB) and 3rd floor (PC-PZ). Older lending collections (acquired before 1999) that are classified in the Dewey decimal scheme (e.g. .82389 Ste.) are located on the 4th floor.
Bound, printed journals are located on the 4th floor. Back runs of some journals are stored in the University Collections Facility (UCF). Information on how to request material from UCF can be found in the list of useful links below.
Reference works (such as dictionaries, encyclopaedias and bibliographies) and DVDs are classified in the LC scheme and interfiled with the general LC lending stock on the 2nd and 3rd floors.
Manuscripts, rare books and archives are held in the Centre for Research Collections (CRC). See information about CRC below.
Printed exam papers up to academic year 2004/2005 are stored in the University Collections Facility and can be requested from there. Information on how to request material from UCF can be found in the list of useful links below. However, the majority of degree examination papers from the following academic years are available online:
- Exam papers for academic sessions 2004/05 - 2019/20
- Exam papers for academic sessions 1996/97 - 2003/04
Other useful links:
- Main Library
- Main Library opening hours
- Main Library Guide 2020-21
- Brief guide to Locations of collections in Main Library
- University Collections Facility (UCF)
- How to request material from UCF
HUB Collection
The High Use Books (HUB) collection, located on the ground floor of the Main Library, consists of HUB Reserve (3 hour loan) and HUB Short Loan (7 day loan) books. Course books on Reserve and Short Loan for literary studies are located in this collection.
Centre for Research Collections
The Centre for Research Collections (CRC) houses the University Library’s Special Collections which include historical books, manuscripts, archives and microfilms that English Literature researchers and students may find useful. The main CRC facilities are on the 6th floor of the Main Library.
Subject headings for Comparative Literature
You can search by subject terms in DiscoverEd "ADVANCED SEARCH" as this screenshop shows :
The best way to search by subject is to make use of the "SUBJECTS" in the bibliographic details of the record that you have found highly relevant to your topic, and follow the links. This process is sometimes called 'snowballing' - you use one resource to retrieve more resources on the same subject topic.
DiscoverEd uses "controlled vacabulary" for subject search. If you do want to search by subject words, try the following terms or simply click on the embedded link of each term :
Shelfmark sequences for Comparative Literature and literature in general
Most books in the current lending stock are classified by subject in the Library of Congress scheme. This means all the items (books, reference works, DVDs, etc.) on the same subject topic are shelved together for easier browsing. The following shelfmark sequences are relevant to Comparative Literature. You can use them for shelf browsing or search by shelfmark in DiscoverEd "ADVANCED SEARCH" :
| Shelfmark | Subject |
| PN1-6790 | Literature (General) |
| PN80-99 | Literary criticism |
| PN441-1009.5 | Literary history |
| PN801-820 | Romance literature |
| PN821-840 | Germanic literature |
| PN841 | Black literature (General) |
| PN851-884 | Comparative literature |
| PG2900-3698 | Russian literature |
| PJ [use PJ* for shelfmark search] | Oriental languages and literatures [including Islamic, Arabic literatures] |
| PK [use PK* for shelfmark search] | Indo-Iranian languages and literature [including Iranian literature] |
| PL700-889 | Japanese literature |
| PL950-998 | Korean literature |
| PL2250-3208 | Chinese literature |
| PQ1-3999 | French literature |
| PQ4001-5999 | Italian literature |
| PQ6001-8929 | Spanish literature |
| PQ9000-9999 | Portuguese literature |
| PR1-9680 | English literature |
| PS1-3626 | American literature |
| PT1-4897 | German literature |
| PT7001-7099 | Scandinavian literature |
| PT7601-8260 | Danish literature |
| PT8301-9155 | Norwegian literature |
| PT9201-9999 | Swedish literature |
See also :