OneSearch is the Library's discovery system, allowing you to search all library databases for information on your topic using a single search platform. This is ideal when you're not sure which databases would be best for your topic or you want to gather as much information as you can through a broad search of your topic.
You can check our Databases by Subject page for suitable databases by discipline or subject. A couple of our more popular databases for literature are listed below.
JSTOR is one of our most popular databases for literature research although it is a multidisciplinary database, covering a breadth of subjects. An advantage of JSTOR is that it includes scholarly content exclusively, a common requirement for sources you use to support your research assignments.
This is a specialized database focusing on scholarly journal articles about language, literature, linguistics, rhetoric, writing studies, folklore, film, theater and other dramatic arts. This is a great database for literature research.
MLA International Bibliography
Access articles and electronic books from the Library's subscription databases from off-campus! When you click on a database, you will be prompted for your user name (your student ID) and PIN (the two-digit month and day of your birth in MMDD format). You can also go directly to https://library.wlac.edu.
Example for student with ID number 88-123-4567 born February 25th:
User name: 881234567
PIN: 0225
Search tips:
Filter sources to limit your search to reviews or literary criticism
Use AND to narrow your results
Ex: Humbert AND jealousy
Use OR to broaden your results
Ex: women OR girls
Use " " to search for an exact phrase
"Reading Lolita in Tehran"
Use * to retrieve forms of the word beginning with the letters before the *
Ex: adolescen* retrives adolescent, adolescence
The 9th edition (current edition) of the MLA handbook is kept at the Library behind the Reference Desk. Use it for the most definitive guidelines for formatting your paper and citations in proper MLA format.
OWL at Purdue maintains a citation site that shows you how to format your work in proper MLA citation. It includes a sample paper and examples of in-text citations and full citations from a Works Cited page for a variety of resources, including websites, webpages, journal articles, books, personal interviews and other common sources.
This is an invaluable source for many students...and professors!
See the Library's homepage for upcoming MLA citation workshops.
YouTube has plenty of tutorials for formatting your paper in MLA style, including how to format your header (last name, page number) and hanging indentations for your works cited page. This brief video tutorial shows you how to create hanging indentations in both Word and Google Docs.
This Fall 2022 Semester, the library is offering a new online OneSearch Library Catalog Tutorial. The tutorial is available in our library catalog, in many of our library research guides, and on our library website.
Upon completion of the OneSearch Library Catalog Tutorial, library patrons should be able to:
1. Find the OneSearch online library catalog.
2. Search for and locate books and e-books, videos, articles, digital media, and more in the library's collection.
3. Request items from other LACCD libraries.
At the end of the tutorial, there is a short online quiz, which provides users feedback.
Spring 2024 In-Person Hours (Feb 6 - Jun 2)
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Friday: Closed
Saturday: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Sunday and Holidays: Closed
