This Web page was compiled to accompany a Yale University Library Research workshop for Joseph Roach's seminar on English Comedy (Theater Studies 346).

Tobin Nellhaus
Librarian for Drama, Film and Theater Studies,
Research Services & Collections, Sterling Memorial Library
October 13th, 1997

Table of Contents:

1. Locating Secondary Sources (catalogs, bibliographies, indexes and other reference sources)
2. Locating Primary Source Material
3. People and Places to know about in the Yale Library

Yale University Library Research Workstation
The Yale University Library Research Workstation is the primary gateway to all of the Library's electronic resources, as well as information about the rich print and manuscript collections. Connect to Orbis (Yale's online catalog), as well as many databases, subject guides and online library services.

• Catalogs
  • Orbis
    Connect to Orbis
    Orbis Searching Guide
    Orbis Tutorial
    Yale Library Orbis Workshops
    Choose Standard Orbis for the Orbis which formerly appeared on the Research Workstation. The Orbis options page provides access to several different interfaces for Orbis, including Standard Orbis, Orbis Telnet, Orbis for Windows (public PC workstations in many libraries), and Orbis on the Web.
    
    Together, Orbis and Morris (the Law Library catalog) constitute the Yale University Library online catalog. In Orbis, OPAC contains materials from 1977 to the present. Use OPAC to determine what materials Yale owns (books, journals, etc.) and where they are located. For materials published prior to 1977 that do not appear in OPAC, check in the card catalog in Sterling Memorial Library. More than half of the Library collection is represented ONLY in the card catalog.
    
    Periodical indexes: Orbis also includes the Expanded Academic Index (ACAD) -- a general index to articles in journals and magazines.
    
    
  • Eureka
    Connect to Eureka (via telnet)
    Connect to Eureka on the Web
    Eureka Search Guide
    EUREKA offers easy-to-use online access to the Research Libraries Group's RLIN bibliographic database of more than 22 million titles. Use EUREKA to uncover a wealth of resources in almost any area of study, or to locate items in specific libraries and research collections. EUREKA provides catalog records for books, journals, maps, sound recordings, musical scores, films, archives, and computer files held in research, corporate, and public libraries, as well as museums, archives and historical societies. All searches may be easily printed, downloaded or e-mailed directly to you. Use Eureka to locate materials outside of Yale.
    
    
  • ESTC (English Short Title Catalogue)
    Connect to ESTC telnet (via Eureka, type CHO ESTC to connect)
    Connect to ESTC on the Web
    Guide to Searching ESTC on the Web
    Contains records for works printed in any language in England or its dependencies from 1473 through 1800, as well as works printed in English anywhere else in the world during that period. Subject headings appear in records for items published in 1700 or earlier.
    
    Continues: Pollard, Alfred W. and Redgrave, G.W. Short Title Catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and of English books printed abroad, 1475-1640. (London: Bibliographical Society, 1976-1991) - SML, Reference Z2002 +P65 (LC), also located at Beinecke Reference, British Art Center Reference, and Divinity, Trowbridge Reading Room.
    
    Wing, Donald. Short Title Catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and British America, and of English books printed in other countries, 1641-1700 (New York: Index Committee of the Modern Language Association of America, 1972-1988) - SML, Reference Z2002 +W55 (LC), also located at Beinecke Reference, British Art Center Reference, Divinity Stack Reference, and Medical/Historical Reference.
    
    
  • Libraries, Archives and Special Collections in Theater
    This list includes connections to Yale Library online catalogs, information about card catalogs, connections to library catalogs from around the world, and guides to important Theater and Drama archives and libraries.
    

• Bibliographies
  • In Orbis, search: K=[subject] and bibliography
  • Notice the Library of Congress Subject Heading
  • Search the Subject heading in Eureka
    
    
• Indexes
  • MLA Bibliography (New York: Modern Language Association of American, 1921- )
    SML, Subject Bibliography (L&B) Z7006 M63 (LC)
    SML, CD-ROM Reference Center
    Connect to MLA Bibliography online (via FirstSearch)
    The MLA Bibliography indexes critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore.The database (online and CD-ROM) provides access to citations from over 4,000 journals and series published worldwide, as well as books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations, and bibliographies. The print volumes go back to 1921 and the database covers from 1963 to the present. The   MLA Bibliography continues the Modern Language Association Annual Bibliography. For earlier volumes, check the SML Card Catalog under "Modern Language Association."
    
    
  • Arts & Humanities Citation Index (Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1975- .)
    SML, Subject Bibliography (L&B) Z5937 +A795 (LC)
    Connect to Arts & Humanities Search online (via FirstSearch)
    Guide to Searching Arts & Humanities Index
    An international interdisciplinary index to the literature of the arts and humanities, indexing the contents of about 6,100 journals, covering about 1,000 fully and about 5,100 selectively. Those selectively covered are titles in the sciences and social sciences indexed by Science Citation Index and Social Sciences Citation Index, from which articles of possible interest in the arts and humanities are drawn.
    Published in three parts:
    * Citation Index (through which you can find what later articles have cited earlier books or articles)
    * Source Index (an author index)
    * Permuterm Subject Index (which offers keyword access to the titles of articles)
    The database covers 1980 to the present, and the print volumes go back to 1975.
    
    
  • Historical Abstracts (Santa Monica: ABC-Clio, 1955- )
    SML, Reference D1 +H48 (LC) / D1 +H482 (LC)
    SML CD-ROM Reference Center
    Abstracts of articles from over 2,000 U.S. and foreign periodicals, and Festschriften, covering world history and culture (not U.S. and Canada). It also includes citations of dissertations and selected book, film, and video reviews. The CD-ROM covers 1975 to the present. The print volumes go back to 1955. In 1971, Historical Abstracts split into two sections: Historical Abstracts. Part A: Modern History Abstracts, 1450-1914 and Historical Abstracts. Part B: Twentieth Century Abstracts, 1914- .
    
    
  • Periodicals Contents Index (PCI)
    Connect to Periodicals Contents Index (PCI)
    Guide to searching PCI
    PCI Web is an electronic index to the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences, from their first issues to 1990/1991. Every article is indexed. The scope is international, including journals in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and other Western languages. PCI Web currently indexes over six million articles in 1,595 journals. Every year, it adds records for more than two million more articles. It will grow to encompass 3,500 journals and fifteen million individual articles.
    
    
• Other Reference Sources
  • Arnott, James Fullarton. English Theatrical Literature, 1559-1900: a bibliography; incorporating Robert W. Lowe's 'A bibliographical account of English theatrical literature' published in 1888. (London, Society for Theatre Research, 1970.)
    SML Reference Z2014 D7 A75 (LC)
    Excellent source for contemporary historical writings about the British Theater, including: government regulation, costuming, staging, and general history about the London stage, and outside of London.  It contains pre-1901 imprints, and is continued by Cavanaugh's British Theater: A Bibliography (SML Reference Z2014 D4 +C38 1989 (LC)).
    
    
  • Burling, William  J.  A checklist of new plays and entertainments on the London stage, 1700-1737. (Rutherford, N.J. : Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ;   London ; Cranbury, NJ : Associated University Presses, 1992.)
    SML Stacks PN2596 L6 B84X 1992
    
    
  • Hazlitt, William Carew, 1834-1913. A Manual for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays. (London, Pickering & Chatto, 1892.)
    SML Reference Z2014 D7 H39 (LC)
    Edited from the material formed by Kirkman, Langbaine, Downes, Oldys, and Halliwell-Phillipps, with extensive additions and corrections, by W. Carew Hazlitt. Lists of English plays, indexed by author and title. It includes plays in collections.
    
    
  • Highfill, Philip H. A Biographical Dictionary of Actors, Actresses, Musicians, Dancers, Managers & Other Stage Personnel in London, 1660- 1800. (Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press: 1973-1993.)
    SML Reference PN2597 H55
    As the title implies, this is quite a comprehensive dictionary of information about people involved with the London Stage between 1660 and 1800.  The 16 volume set has detailed, yet concise biographical essays.
    
    
  • Langhans, Edward A.  Eighteenth Century British and Irish Promptbooks: A Descriptive Bibliography (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987)
    SML Stacks PN2593 L36 1987
    An annotated bibliography of over 380 promptbooks and related documents from the 18th century.  The list is not exhaustive, but for the included promptbooks, the information is quite detailed.  Prompt books are texts, or works on texts, of plays marked for cues, cuts, stage movement, etc. by prompter, stage manager, actor or director for use in  a theatrical production.
    
    
  • Link, Frederick M. English drama, 1660-1800 : a guide to information sources (Detroit : Gale Research Co., c1976.)
    SML Reference Z2014 D7 L55 (LC)
    Drama Reference Z2014 D7 L55 (LC)
    This book is a introduction to sources for scholarship on English Drama from 1660-1800.  It includes reference materials on the stage, theatrical biography, dramatic history, and general criticism.  It also includes bibliographies on  hundreds of individual dramatists.
    
    
  • Oulton, Walley Chamberlain, 1770?-1820? Barker's continuation of Egerton's Theatrical remembrancer, Baker's Biographia dramatica, &c. : Containing a complete list of all the dramatic performances their several editions, dates and sizes, together with those which are unpublished, and the theatres where they were originally performed; from MDCCLXXXVII to MDCCCI. Including several omissions, additions and corrections, also a continuation  the Notitia dramatica, with considerable improvements. To which is added a complete list of plays, the earliest date size, and author's name, (where known.) From the commencement to 1801. ( London : Printed and published by Barker & son ..., [1801?])
    SML Reference Z2014 D7 O84 (LC)
    
    
  • Samples, Gordon. How to locate reviews of plays and films : a bibliography of criticism from the beginnings to the present. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press, 1976.
    SML Reference Z5781 S19 (LC)
    
    
  • Stratman, Carl Joseph, 1917-1972. Restoration and eighteenth century theatre research; a bibliographical guide, 1900-1968. ( Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press [1971])
    SML Reference Z2014 D7 S87 (LC)
    
    
  • Research Guide in Theater Studies (Yale)
    • Lists of Plays
    • Production Information
    • Theater History
  • Research Guide in English Literature (Yale)
  • Research Workstation: Subject Guides

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2. Locating Primary Source Material

• Eureka
  Connect to Eureka (via telnet)
  Connect to Eureka on the Web
  Eureka Search Guide
  EUREKA offers easy-to-use online access to the Research Libraries Group's RLIN bibliographic database of more than 22 million titles. Use EUREKA to uncover a wealth of resources in almost any area of study, or to locate items in specific libraries and research collections. EUREKA provides catalog records for books, journals, maps, sound recordings, musical scores, films, archives, and computer files held in research, corporate, and public libraries, as well as museums, archives and historical societies. All searches may be easily printed, downloaded or e-mailed directly to you. Use Eureka to locate materials outside of Yale.
  *USE LIMIT Command to locate Videos and Archival collections in Eureka
  
  
• ArchivesUSA
  Connect to ArchivesUSA
  Guide to Searching ArchivesUSA
  ArchivesUSA integrates three resources: The National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMUC), The Directory of Archives and Manuscript Repositories in the US (DARMUS), and The National Inventory of Documentary Sources in the United States (NIDS). Researchers can search descriptions of manuscript collections in the United States, link to information about the repositories, and locate the finding aids in NIDS, a microfiche collection in the Microtext Center of SML.
  
  
• Libraries, Archives and Special Collections in Theater
  This list includes connections to Yale Library online catalogs, information about card catalogs, connections to library catalogs from around the world, and guides to important Theater and Drama archives and libraries

3. People and Places to know about in the Yale Library

• Reference Questions - Research Services & Collections
• Yale University Library Research Guide in Theater Studies
• Drama Library
• Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
• Manuscripts and Archives Department
• Newspaper and Microtext Room
• InterLibrary Loan

Comments to Sarah Prown (sarah.prown@yale.edu), Librarian for Film Studies, Theater Studies and Networked Information.  URL is http://www.library.yale.edu/humanities/theater/comedy.html