Library

Key Resources

Keyword searching

The catalogue is the key to the collection; use it to find primary resources such as books, exam papers, journals and audiovisual items. Be ready to use a wide range of terms, both general and precise.

For example:

• Geographical names - Australia, United States, Europe, etc.
• Time elements - Contemporary, Modern, 18th century etc.
• Genre or Style - fantasy, realism, adventure etc
• Audience - young adult, juvenile, younger readers etc.
• Additional concepts - family, racism, gender etc

Use quotation marks around two or more words to search as a phrase e.g. "suspension of disbelief" or "Greek mythology"
Truncate words to pick up different forms or endings. e.g. archetyp* will search for archetype, archetypical, archetypes etc.

Finding items in the library catalogue will help you refine your searching

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

The Library reference collection contains a broad range of useful printed resources such as encyclopaedias and dictionaries. Search the catalogue adding dictionary or encyclopedia to your keyword search, to find definitions of unfamiliar terms, summaries of topics or as a starting point for information.
Online dictionaries include:

• Thesaurus.com
• YourDictionary.com - including specialty subject dictionaries

Databases

The main databases to search for information and articles on Children's Literature include:

Australia: Australian Education Index, Austguide, ALISA, APA-FT, AustLit

International: ERIC, Project Muse, MLA International Bibliography, Proquest

As many of these are multi-disciplinary, you will need to include the term "Children's Literature" as part of your search.

Internet Resources

Associations

• ACTF - Australian Children's Television Foundation
• ACYL - Australian Centre for Youth Literature
• CBC - Children's Book Council (Australia)
• ChLA - Children's Literature Association, the peak US body
• IBBY - International Board on Books for Young
• National Centre for Research in Children's Literature - at University of Surrey , Roehampton (UK) 

Authors and Illustrators

• ACHUKA - includes interviews of featured authors and illustrators (UK)
• AuthorLinks - includes many major world and historical names, with a focus on those who feature in our Bendigo courses and Conference
• Authors & Illustrators on the Web - has a good world coverage (Canada)
• CBC (USA) - interviews and links for US authors and illustrators
• Learning about the author and illustrator - huge list from Kay Vandergrift's site (USA)

Awards

• Australian Children's and Young Adult Awards - criteria and winners for the various Australian awards
• Database of Award-winning Children's Literature - searchable database of major US, UK , Australian and Canadian awards (USA)

Book Reviews

• Mrs Mad's Book-a-rama - enthusiastic site of child-friendly reviews (UK)
• Notes from the Windowsill - ongoing journal of personal reviews (US)
• Reading Matters - includes extension suggestions (UK)
• Reviews - by staff and students of La Trobe University, Bendigo

Gateways and General Links

• Children's and Young Adult Literature at Bendigo - our local gateway, based in our courses (Aust)
• Children's Literature Web Guide - excellent site with wide coverage (Canada)
• Fairrosa's Cyber Library - analyses of many current issues and discussions (USA)
• Focus on Fiction - teaching ideas, awards, lists and recommendations (Aust)
• Kay Vandergrift's Special Pages - critical analysis (including feminist analysis), history, genres, authors (USA)
• Lu Rees Archive - research centre and collection at the University of Canberra (Aust)
• Reading Zone - at the Internet Public Library (USA)

Genres and Themes

• Virtual World of Girls - on girl power, girls' school stories and the future of reading in an electronic age (UK)

History of Children's Literature

• CHILDE - searchable database of pre-20th century illustrations from European children's books (UK)
• Children's Literature, chiefly from the 19th century - online exhibition of rare and key books, with notes (USA)
• Children's Literature Research Collection - at the State Library of South Australia (Aust)
• Elizabeth Nesbitt Room - library collections and research on major 19th century figures, particularly illustrators (USA)
• International Children's Digital Library- rapidly growing collection of historical and recent texts from around the world, able to be downloaded.
• Landmarks in the History of Children's Literature - chronology with links, including e-texts (USA)
• Literature for Children - historical collections from Florida universities (USA)
• Picturing Childhood - on-line catalogue from an exhibition of book illustration 1500-1990 (USA)
• ReadPrint - collection of online classic texts (USA)
• Social History of Children's Literature - from Kay Vandergrift's excellent site (USA)

Literary Criticism, Theory and Research

• The ALAN Review - on-line journal on literature for adolescents (USA)
• Children's Literature: a guide to the criticism - an on-line book listing major criticism of the 20th century (USA)
• Introduction to Modern Literary Theory - clear definitions of the major "-isms" (USA)
• Literary Theory links - from the Voice of the Shuttle subject gateway 
• The Looking Glass - online journal on children's literature (Canada)
• Reading about Children's Literature - annotated bibliography of academic studies (Canada)

Myths and Legends, Folk and Fairy Tales, Traditional Literature

• Arthuriana - survey site of current research, with essays and links (UK)
• Bulfinch's Mythology - online, searchable edition of the 19th century classic text
• Camelot Project - extensive database of images, essays and links (USA)
• Europe of Tales - multimedia collection of tales from various European cultures
• Folk and fairy tales - DL Ashliman's detailed collection on Germanic and other European tales (USA)
• Folklore, myth and legend - extensive list from the Children's Literature Web Guide (Canada)
• The German Fairy-Tale Road - very detailed Primary School site on the tales of the Grimm brothers (Aust)
• Irish Literature, Mythology, Folklore and Drama  - wide collection of Irish and Celtic texts and links (USA)
• Jones Celtic Encyclopedia
• Legends - analytical site on British and European tales and traditions (USA)
• Missgien - essays on Arthurian, Celtic and megalithic topics (Netherlands)
• Mything Links - complex site of research-focussed material on myths and fairy tales (USA)
• Myths and legends - stories and links from all over the world (USA)
• ORB - Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies (USA)
• Perseus Digital Library - major research and resource site for Greek and Roman civilizations (USA)
• The Robin Hood Project - scholarly database of information about the Robin Hood stories (USA)
• Stories of the Dreaming - from the Australian Museum 's Indigenous Australia site (Aust)
• SurLaLune - annotated studies of the major traditional tales (USA)

Post-Colonial Literature

• African Children's Literature - introduction and starting point for study (USA)
• Children's Literature Research Unit - covering literatures in African languages and cultures, including English (South Africa)
• PoCo Web - Post-colonial and post-imperial literatures - wide-ranging analyses and links (Singapore)
• Post-Colonial Studies - many links to authors and issues (USA)
• Some issues in Post-Colonial Theory - course notes giving clear introduction (USA)
• The Victorian Web - 19th century society and thought