St. Olaf College Libraries | Northfield, Minnesota, USA

Film Resources and Research at St. Olaf

A Guide to Library Resources

See also Matt Bailey's Research Guide for more ideas. Matt is a media librarian at Carleton.

Getting Started: Reference Collection

Catalogs: Gateway to Books and Movies

Indexes and Databases: Articles from Journals, Magazines & Newspapers

Getting Started: Reference Collection

A few selected titles for background readings on film, film history, film industry, directors, actors, screenwriters, and more. You'll find them all in the Reference Annex.

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers 4v. [RR PN1997.8 .I58 2000]

A history of early film 3v. [RR PN1993.5.A1 H547 2000]

The Encyclopedia of Hollywood [RR PN1993.5.U6 S494 1990]

The New Historical Dictionary of the American Film Industry [RR PN1993.5.U6 S539 1998]

The Oxford History of World Cinema [RR PN1993.5.A1 O96 1996]

The Film Encyclopedia [RR PN1993.45 .K34 2001]

100 Years of American Film [RR PN1993.5.U6 A59 2000]

The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures Produced in the United States 6v. [RR PN1998 .A57 1988]

The Encyclopedia of Hollywood [RR PN1993.5.U6 S494 1990]

Film reviews and plot summaries (see also electronic databases below for locating reviews).

Film Review Index [RR P.N1995 .F513 1986] A collection of reviews of films released in the United States. v. 1. 1882-1949 -- v. 2. 1950-1985.

International Index to Film Periodicals 1979- [RR PN1993 .I5] An index with abstracts to journal articles in film periodicals. Includes indexes by subject, film title, director, and author.

Magill's Survey of Cinema [PN 1993.45 .M3-] and Magill's Cinema Annual [ PN1993.45 .M33] Both series include extensive essays, cast, character listings, ratings, and reviews.

Catalogs: Gateway to Books and Movies

Bridge, the library catalog, lists resources available at St. Olaf and Carleton libraries. You may search it by title, author, keyword, or subject. You may limit your search to Videos/DVDs if you wish.

The general area which houses books on film spans the call numbers between PN1993 and PN1998, on level 2 in Rolvaag.

You may request materials housed at Carleton directly from Bridge by clicking on the button. Please remember that St. Olaf students may not request movies from Carleton, although they are welcome to view them at the Gould Library.

WorldCat is a union catalog for libraries around the world, including most libraries in the United States. You may request materials from WorldCat through Interlibrary Loan, just remember to plan ahead!

Indexes and Databases:Articles from Journals, Magazines & Newspapers

Unlike our on-line catalog, which searches for journal titles and book titles, indexes and databases allow you to search for articles within journals, essays within books, or conference papers within proceedings. Some indexes and databases are interdisciplinary, i.e. they include sources from many different disciplines or fields, some are disciplinary, i.e. specialized in a particular discipline. I Information on all of the indexes is available from the Libraries' Home Page, under " Electronic Research Tools: Articles, Indexes, Encyclopedias & More... "

Interdisciplinary:

Academic Search Premier -- This database provides access to over 8040 multi-disciplinary publications, both scholarly and popular, many in full-text. Good source for reviews. Covers 1975 to present.

MasterFILE Premier -- A general multidisciplinary database to mostly popular publications. Includes biographies, reference books, primary source documents, maps and photos. Covers 1975 to present.

JSTOR --An index to and full text of select, academic journals.

Project Muse -- An index to and full text of journals published by Johns Hopkins University Press and other scholarly publishers. Disciplines include folklore, history, and literature.

Film/Literary Studies:

Film Literature Index -- Provides the most comprehensive survey available of the entire spectrum of current periodical writing on film.

Film and Television Literature Index in Full Text -- Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text is the definitive online tool for film and television research. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.

International Index to the Performing Arts Indexes approximately 140 periodicals in the field of performing arts.

Art Index Indexes English-language art periodicals, museum bulletins, bibliographies, film reviews, and conference reports. Covers 1984 to the present.

MLA International Bibliography Major index to literature journals and related fields (folklore, languages, linguistics). Covers 1963-present. Print index also available in Rolvaag Reference Room RR P1 .A1 M6; 1921-1993.

Biography:
Biography and Genealogy Master Index -- An index to biographical encyclopedias and dictionaries.

Contermporary Authors-- A bio-bibliographic guide to current writers in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, journalism, drama, motion pictures, television, and other fields.

Dictionary of Literary Biography-- Biographical essays and critical commentary.

Dictionary of National Biography -- The Oxford DNB contains 56,000 biographies of people who shaped the history of the British Isles and beyond, from the 4th century BC to the year 2004.

Newspapers:
LexisNexis Academic -- Excellent source for full-text articles, including reviews, in national and international newspapers.

Historical New York Times (1851 - 2003) -- Offers "full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue."

Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature [RR AI3 .R48] 1890- -- Index to magazines and reviews arranged in one alphabet that includes both authors and subjects.

On the Web

A few interesting sites to try:

Internet Movie Database
Good resource for finding plot summaries, photos, credits, and comments on films.

Blackflix.com
"Entertainment news, movie reviews, biographies, interviews, film-festival calendars, commentary, and more about "Black stars, film makers, directors, writers and other Black film professionals."

All Movie Guide
"Ratings and descriptions of over 220,000 feature movies and documentaries. Entries give plot synopsis, review, cast, director, producer, availability on video or DVD, and more. The cross-referenced indexing allows searching by such factors as films with two actors in common, author or title of original works made into films, location or setting, and other criteria. Quick Browse lets you look by genre or country. The site also has a film glossary and essays on films."

Turner Classic Movies Database
Good source for general information on major films, including biographical essays on directors and cast.

A few good journals on the Web:

Bright Lights Film Journal
"Originally a print publication, this online journal 'is a popular-academic hybrid of movie analysis, history, and commentary, looking at classic and commercial, independent, exploitation, and international film from a wide range of vantage points from the aesthetic to the political.' Includes interviews, actor profiles, and film, film festival, and book reviews. Searchable archives.

Journal of Religion and Film
This online journal "examines the description, critique, and embodiment of religion in film." Features scholarly articles (such as "Fargo: A Biblical Morality Play" and "Scripture on the Silver Screen") and reviews about a wide range of popular movies from the U.S. and other countries. Browsable by journal issue, film, director, or author. From the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Department of Philosophy and Religion.

Senses of Cinema
"Contents of the film journal Senses of Cinema, devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema."

Film reviews on the Web:

Rotten Tomatoes

Metacritic Film

RogerEbert.com

The New York Times: Movies

CineFiles

MRQE

Interlibrary Loan

Any item not owned by St. Olaf may be ordered through Interlibrary Loan (ILL) provided you allow enough time. The average waiting period for ILL material is a week.

Citation Guides

The two on-line citation guides below give simple and clear instructions of how to cite your sources.

Assembling a List of Works Cited in Your Paper . Includes thorough examples from Turabian, Chicago, MLA, and APA style manuals. Provided by Duke University Libraries.

Citation Guide from Purdue University by Jennifer Liethen Kunka and Joe Barbato. Provides examples and explanations of in-text citations and works cited in MLA format.

And if you prefer paper:

MLA handbook for writers of research papers. [LB2369 .G53 2003]

A manual for writers of research papers, theses, and dissertations: Chicago style for students and researchers. [ LB2369 .T8 2007]

The Chicago manual of style. [Z253 .C5 2003] Also available online: The Chicago manual of style.

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. [BF76.7 .P83 2001]

Your Librarians

Reference Desk Hours:

Monday - Thursday	9 a.m. - 5 p.m. 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Friday	9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday	11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday	1:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Kasia Gonnerman is the official liaison to Film, but all reference librarians are happy to help you with your film queries and research.

Contact Information:	Page Information:
Kasia Gonnerman Rolvaag Library 301 507-646-3501 gonnermk@stolaf.edu	Created by: Kasia Gonnerman \| 01/19/08 Created for: Any Film Fans! Updated by: Kasia Gonnerman \| 02/11/08