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Creative Writing & Publishing

Key Subject Resources

The tabs in this box provide links to the key resources available via the Library for Creative Writing & Publishing which you will be expected to become familiar with during your studies. 

Many of the resources are searched by Library Search but you can also search each site individually if you wish.  You can find more information about Library Search from the Finding Articles tab to the left and you can access the individual databases from the databases link on the library homepage

You need to have logged into UDo to use the databases and can access them both in the University and off campus.  Where there are special conditions for off-campus use which may require a different log in, information will be provided in the NOTES section of each entry

There are two excellent multi-disciplinary collections which are worth exploring independently as the eBooks are not all available on the catalogue or Library Plus- Ebook Central and Sage Knowledge

As well as multi-disciplinary collections of eBooks, we also purchase subject specific collections.  Although many of these are included in Library Plus and the Library catalogue, sometimes, it's good to be able to browse through a smaller, subject specific database

Please note that not all texts are available in eBook format.

The Library cannot digitise or create eBooks in-house; they must be purchased via academic suppliers. E-books can only be purchased for institutional multi-user access if the publishers have made them available. Many publishers (particularly those of texts aimed at practitioners, as opposed to students) have not made their titles available as eBooks.

Some titles will be available for individual eBook purchase (i.e. via Amazon for Kindle) but not for institutional purchase. The availability of an eBook via Amazon or a similar online eBook seller is no guarantee that the title in question will be available for the Library to buy.

For Creative Writing & Publishing specific material have a look at the following eBook databases

and don't forget Project Gutenberg which can be a useful source although sometimes the versions loaded are not always what you are being asked to read so always check with your academic

Sometimes searching a database individually, rather than through Library Plus, can give you extra functionality - different ways of accessing the information and sometimes you simply want to restrict your searching to a more specific format/subject field. All these databases can be searched separately through our Indexes and databases link

You will be able to read many of the articles you find from these databases, in full text online, or download a PDF copy to keep.  On some sites you may see just the 'Abstract' or description of the article; in these cases, if we do not have a subscription to the relevant journal, you may be able to get the full article through our Inter Library loan service.

Step 1 - What's your assignment title/ research topic and what keywords can you immediately identify from that title that you can search for?

e.g.Discuss how the publishers' role has changed in the move from a predominantly print to multimedia environment.

Step 2- Don't stop there! These are not the only terms you should think to search for. Look at the words. What other keywords could you use that convey the same concepts? 

eg Discuss/Compare/Contrast/Explain - these are instructions to you, they are not particularly helpful as search terms

Publisher/Publishing/Editor/"book publishing"/"book trade"

Change/developed/progress/development/evolved

Print/written/book/magazine/"written word"

multimedia/"multi-media"/"mobile first"/technology/"social media"/media/"new media"/digital media/digital publishing

 Dates can be really difficult to use as search terms. Think carefully before trying to use them and remember to try different versions eg 20th Century/twentieth century

 If you want to search for a phrase use "..." around the words. eg "social media" "book publisher". This tip will really help you refine your results

Multimedia/Multi-media  is an example of  a word that can be written as one word or hyphenated so bear that in mind when you're searching because each spelling will give you different results

For lots of general hints and tips about finding and using images, video or audio clips in your work please have a look at the Finding Images and Video guide in the left hand navigation bar. Image/media collections which are specifically helpful for Creative Writing & Publishing include