Remote Research
What to do when you don't have full access to Harvard's print collections
STAY IN TOUCH
- English, Comp Lit, and RLL affiliates: contact Odile if you need something and can't find access. I'm here to help you troubleshoot!
- Sign up to receive Harvard Library update emails (every 2-4 weeks) and be the first to learn about new services or changes to existing services.
- The yellow banner alert at the top of library.harvard.edu links to the latest information on Harvard's library services.
LOOK IN MULTIPLE PLACES
Remember that HOLLIS's "Everything" is NOT everything
- Some items may lack an "ONLINE ACCESS" link, or not exist in HOLLIS at all, and yet still be available to you via another Harvard-licensed platform
- Ebook access is often listed separately from print holdings: in HOLLIS, use the "book" and "online" filters to check for additional listings
Don't forget your public library!
Public Libraries - Online Access & Book Pickup
- Harvard students are eligible for an ecard to the Boston Public Library
- You must register from a US-based ip address if using your @harvard.edu email address, or from a Massachusetts-based ip address if using a personal email address
- If you are located outside of Massachusetts, check your local public library and/or ask the librarians there about additional online access options (or just Google: [town name] [state] public library ebooks)
Public Universities
- Many public universities offer some kind of borrowing privileges to all residents of the state. Search for "library privileges" plus the name of the public university or college closest to you.
CAN'T ACCESS SOMETHING? LEARN *ABOUT* IT
Book reviews:
- In HOLLIS, put the book title (subtitle optional) in quotes to search it as an exact phrase: "the well-wrought urn" or "the well-wrought urn: studies in the structure of poetry". The "reviews" filter sometimes helps.
- Additional book reviews might be available via LION (Literature Online) Criticism
Mentions:
- Performing a cited reference search is a good way to find these. Start with Google Books and Google Scholar.
Encyclopedia entries and scholarly companions:
- The Find Background page of this guide lists the major online platforms.
DON'T FORGET TO BROWSE!
Most experts recommend browsing (walking the library shelves, flipping through an entire volume) as the best method to gain a sense of the "landscape" and to find overlooked or unexpected material
- Starts with/browse option in HOLLIS - call number is especially helpful. (See the HOLLIS User Guide for tips.)
- Most platforms offer ways to explore serendipitously. Look for:
- "collections"
- "browse"
- "publications"
- "about"
- When you find good content, look at the top of the web page and on side menus for links back to the larger container so you can explore that---the specific issue an article appeared in, the journal, the book or book series, the themed collection, etc.
NEED PRIMARY SOURCES? TRY THESE:
- digitalcollections.harvard.edu - items digitized from Harvard's collections
- dp.la and europeana.eu - major digital collection aggregators
- Harvard-licensed databases of archives OR manuscripts
- Harvard-licensed databases of magazine OR newspapers
- Harvard-licensed databases of diaries OR letters OR correspondence OR maps, etc.
Searchable Full Text Scholarship
Top picks for literary studies, reproduced from https://guides.library.harvard.edu/litgrads/databases
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JSTORFull-text of the full runs of scholarly journals from a range of disciplines. Harvard's subscription includes all journal titles in the JSTOR collection. N.b. there is often a "moving wall" excluding recent issues.
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Project MuseComplete, full-text versions of scholarly journals and books from many of the world's leading university presses and scholarly societies. Primarily humanities and social sciences. No restrictions on recent issues (unlike JSTOR).
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Google BooksA full-text database of books, part of which comes from scans Google made of out-of-copyright library materials, and part of which are supplied directly to Google by publishers. Great for previewing a book you're interested in, for finding just-published books, for exploring a topic when you don't know the library subject headings, etc.
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UPSO: University Press Scholarship OnlineWith Project Muse, UPSO is the other major platform the library licenses for e-books from university presses. They each offer a different selection of presses.
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Arts & Humanities Full TextA high-quality collection of about 500 journals and magazines in humanities disciplines. Great for a highly curated interdisciplinary search.
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Cambridge University PressAll of Cambridge University Press's online content. Harvard licenses all of the Companions and Histories as well as some of the journals and books. The uber-interface can be a bit bewildering: to search within specific collections such as journals, books, etc., start from "what we publish" (an option in the top nav bar). If you hit a paywall, search for the title in HOLLIS; it's likely that Harvard has licensed the item via a different platform.
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Google ScholarMake sure to install the Harvard Library Bookmarklet and/or add Harvard to your "library links" under Google Scholar's Settings so that you can access articles that Harvard has licensed for you. Google Scholar is an algorithmically harvested database of articles and other material that is *probably* scholarly. Mostly full-text.
