Creative Writing

To search for books on the craft of creative writing, it may help to perform a search by using subject headings. To do this, start at the library's main page catalog search and change the drop-down box from "All Fields" to "Subject." You can construct a simple subject heading search by using just a genre term, but often this will provide a long list of results. Try to be as specific as possible about the kind of literature you wish to access. If you find you want to narrow your search, use a qualifier to help make your search results more relevant. Some examples of searches one might perform on topics related to creative writing are:

Creative writing

Authorship

Translating and interpreting

Fiction -- Editing

Fantasy fiction -- Technique

The library holds vast quantities of books across all literary genres. The best way to search for works of literature is often by searching a known title or author. If you are not searching for a specific title or author, you can search the library catalog for works in specific literary formats by searching genre terms. It is important to note, however, that for many years most literary works were not assigned subject headings: this means that many titles held by the library will not show up in catalog search results despite falling within a specific literary genre. 

Another useful way to search for literature is to search using the Library of Congress Classification System's classification outline for literature. For example:

American literature is classified under PS

English literature is classified under PR

French literature is classified under PQ

and so on and so forth. One can get to the area of the library's collections, in the catalog or in person, by searching within these classification areas. Use the Regenstein Call Number and Collections Guide to help locate the general call number range you seek. Note that most recent acquisitions in literature will be located in Mansueto and will require a request for pickup, since that collection is not open to browsing. 

If you require further assistance, feel free to contact me or library staff for help.