On-line Resources

Guide to online resources

Introduction

Nowadays, it is impossible to approach research without being familiar with online resources, which have been increasing since the advent of the internet. Some of them have an open access, while others are exclusively for students and teachers of our university. Since digital technologies are always becoming more important, online resources are no more just a possibility, but they are something necessary, even to save us days and days of bibliographical research.

Open access resources

GOOGLE BOOKS

The most powerful open access resource is without any doubt Google Books. It is an enormous database containing the majority of existing books, in every language. If the books have been published in the last seventy years, they are subject to copyright, so it is not possible to read them entirely: Google Books allows you to read small parts (snippet view) or some sections (overview). In the case the book you are looking for is not subject to copyright and it is not too old, Google Books not only allows you to read it all, but it also gives you the possibility to download a pdf version. Most of the books that are entirely available to read date back to the XIX century.

Even if the books are subject to copyright, like critical, theory, historical books, etc., Google Books is an essential research tool: it gives you the chance to understand what the books are about and if they are what we are looking for. This reduces drastically the time of our research. By inserting a keyword (it is best to try more than one) in the search engine, Google Books creates a list of texts, and surely some of them will be useful. Once you find a useful book, you have different options. If you are looking for a precise piece of information, the overview offered by the system might be enough; otherwise, if you need the full book, you need to find it in a library: first , look at the University Marco Polo Library and then search through OPAC SBN.

If your research is very specific, like a precise sentence, Google books will look through its text for that exact words. Do not stop at the first result. Look at the search results thoroughly and try to change your keywords, using different combinations and synonyms. Among the numerous titles and texts, always make sure to check those that are more relevant to your research.

OPAC SBN

Not all libraries in Italy are rich in texts, especially not for foreign literature and English and Anglo-American books. One library might have something that another has not. Using the OPAC SBN, the search engine that contains all the titles present in all Italian libraries, is a good solution. Once you visit the page www.sbn.it, you can insert the title you need in the search box. OPAC will tell you whether and where you can find the book. If the book is in a library near you in Rome, you can go there and borrow it. If the book is just available in a library in another city you can ask for an interlibrary loan, at the Biblioteca Alessandrina, Biblioteca Nazionale or in another communal library.

Not all libraries make their catalogues consultable through OPAC: among these there is the library of the University Roma Tre, that has many English and Anglo-American texts. Here is the link to search in their catalogue: https://www.sba.uniroma3.it/it/

E-TEXTS

There are also many databases, that like Google Books, have several digital versions of old texts not subject to copyright. The most popular is Project Gutenberg, (https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page), an online and always expanding library. Resources like this are quite useful when you need to read a text that at that moment is unavailable or when you need to focus on lexical research. Another similar resource is Archive.org, which contains old texts that have been scanned and it allows to research in a digital archive.

There are also online forums, like Academia.edu, that allow to share scientific articles. You can register and access the works shared by researchers.

UNIVERSITY RESOURCES ( https://www.uniroma1.it/en/pagina/ebook-and-e-resources-research-study-and-teaching - Check the page regularly since new resources might be available and uploaded on this list)

To access the university database, you need to access the university library website and go to the online resources page, (https://web.uniroma1.it/sbs/banchedati), where all the accessible resources are listed in alphabetical order. The access is possible only through the Sapienza server, so if you are not at university and you still need to access the website you can do it remotely through here:

(https://login.ezproxy.uniroma1.it/login)

Among the resources you can find:

EBSCO HOST> LITERARY REFERENCE CENTRE: it is an online database that mainly contains secondary texts, like articles and reviews. By inserting keywords you can browse texts by topic, which can downloaded and printed, or you can directly look for a precise title.

JSTOR: it contains articles that have been published in the last fifty years on many periodicals, especially in the humanities field. Even in this case you can look directly for a title or search through keywords and narrowing the research gradually.

MLA INTERNATIONAL BIBLIOGRAPHY: it is a bibliographical catalogue, that collects all the articles published in English and in the humanities field. By inserting keywords in the search box you can browse by title, author or topic. It is advisable to always check this resource when writing a thesis or an academic paper, to make an idea of all the material published related to your topic.

PROJECTMUSE: it is another fundamental database for the humanities field. In the last years many monographs have been added to the database.

For the complete list of the databases : https://web.uniroma1.it/sbs/area-umanistica.

For the list of the e-books: https://web.uniroma1.it/sbs/e-books/e-books.