• Limit by date range.
• Include keywords such as: anecdotes, correspondence, diaries, fiction, newspapers, pamphlets, personal narratives, poetry, sources.
• The official subject heading for the Civil War is "Civil War 1861-1865", but remember also the popular terms "war of rebellion", "war between the states", "secession".

• LION: Literature Online. Choose "Search texts" and define the body of literature you wish to search by nationality, dates, etc.
• North American Women's Letters and Diaries
• The Nineteenth Century in Print  Several collections of digital editions of books and periodicals.
• Making of America  A collection of 8500 books and 50,000 articles from the 19th century.
• Documenting the American South  A collection of sources on Southern history, literature, and culture.
• Wright American Fiction 1851-1875  A collection of 19th century American fiction online.

• 19th Century Masterfile (1802-1906)  Also known as Poole'sPlus.
• The American Periodicals Series Online (1740-1900)  Note that this is a work in progress. Titles not yet available online may be available as part of the American Periodicals Series microfilm set in Special Collections.  This set is indexed by Early American Periodicals Index to 1850 (Special Collections, MICPT 016.05) and has a guide, American Periodicals 1741-1900 (Special Collections Ref. Z6951.H65)
• Wellesley Index to Victorian Periodicals Available only in the Reference area, this database indexes 45 periodicals 1824-1900.   

• Civil War Novels: An Annotated Bibliography Z 1231.F4 M46 1986  Identifies and describes novels from 1865-1985. Includes a subject index.
• Civil War Eyewitnesses: An Annotated Bibliography of Books and Articles, 1955-1986 Z1242.C78 1988
• Civil War Eyewitnesses: An Annotated Bibliography of Books and Articles, 1986-1996 Z1242.C79 2000  These both list first-hand accounts reprinted in books and periodicals.

Use the MERLIN and MOBIUS catalogs to locate books of criticism about an author or topic. 
Do a subject search on the author's name and scroll to an appropriate subheading. 
For example: Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900--Criticism and Interpretation.
Do a table of contents search to locate relevant chapters in books with a broader focus.
Note that tables of contents are not included in the catalog records for all books. Another way to find essays in collections is to use The Essay and General Literature Index (Ref. Alcove 9 AI3.E752 )
The keyword search searches for words in author, title, subject headings, tables of contents and notes all at once.  You can use various search options to make your search more precise and to sort the results in various ways.
You may expand your search to include all MOBIUS libraries. Materials requested through MOBIUS are usually delivered in about 48 hours.
If you haven't found enough, use WorldCat to search libraries throughout North America. You may request books from WorldCat by clicking on the button at the top left of each record.

Finding criticism in journal articles is usually a two step process. 
1) Use the following databases and indexes to see what articles have been published and where.  If you're looking for articles from a specific time period, be sure to use an index or database that covers publications from that time. 
2) If the full text of the article is not provided in the database, use the MERLIN catalog to see if we have the journal or newspaper and where we keep it. You may also check Find it @ MU to see if the journal's available electronically. 
If a journal isn't available locally, use the journal request form to tell us what you need. We'll order a photocopy from another source. This is a free service with delivery usually within one to two weeks. Feel free to ask a librarian for help.

 The major literary databases are: 
MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures
1963-present online, 1921-1962 in print in Ref. Alcove 9.  See QuickTips:MLA for tips on searching.
ABELL: Annual Bibliography of English Language and Literature
1920-1999 online.

America: History and Life
 

To locate older critical materials, use the following databases and reference tools.
19th Century Masterfile (1802-1906)
The American Periodicals Series Online (1740-1900)
The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature (1890-) (Ref. Index Table 12)
International Index to Periodicals (1907-1965) (Ref. Alcove 2 AI3.R49)
American Literary and Drama Reviews: An Index to Late 19th Century Periodicals PN256.M37 1984
Literary Index to American Magazines 1850-1900 Ref. PS 214.W38 1996
Literary Index to American Magazines, 1815-1865 Ref. Z6513.W44

The Literary Index indexes the many Gale literature criticism sets. These books excerpt literary criticism from all periods on individual authors.
Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism (Ref. PN761.N5)
Literature Criticism, from 1400-1800 (Ref. PN80.L57) 
Poetry Criticism (Ref. Alcove 9 PN1010 .P499)
Short Story Criticism (Ref. Alcove 9 PN3373 .S386)

Alternative and minority publications are not always well represented in the major databases. Use these indexes to hear these voices.
Alt-Press Watch
Alternative Press Index
GenderWatch
Index to Black Periodicals (Ref. AI3 .I552 -- Earlier volumes, including title changes, are in the circulating stacks.)
Women Studies Abstracts (Ref. Alcove 2 Z7962 .W65)

A Guide to Serial Bibliographies for Modern Literature (Ref. PN695.W67 1995) lists many additional specialized bibliographies.