A reference book, such as an encyclopedia or dictionary, provides:

• A brief overview of the topic
• Significant names and dates associated with the topic
• Terminology specific to the topic
• Related subjects and terms which might be used when searching for books and articles
• Other sources where more information might be found

• Bio-bibliographies & Handbooks

• The ALS guide to Australian writers : a bibliography 1963-1995
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9604.3 .A4 1997
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• Australian literature, 1788-1914
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .D54 v. 230
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• Australian literature to 1900 : a guide to information sources / Andrews, B. G.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9604.3 .A5
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• Australian writers, 1915-1950
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .D54 v. 260
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• Australian writers, 1950-1975
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .D54 v. 289
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• Australian writers, 1975-2000
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PN451 .D54 v. 325
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• A bibliography of Australian children's books / Muir, Marcie.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9604.5 .M83
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• Dictionary of children's fiction from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, and selected African countries : books of recognized merit / Helbig, Alethea.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9084 .H45 1992
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• Modern Australian poetry, 1920-1970 : a guide to information sources / Jaffa, Herbert C.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9610.5 .J34
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• Modern Australian prose, 1901-1975 : a guide to information sources / Day, A. Grove (Arthur Grove), 1904-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9604.3 .D3
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• The Oxford companion to Australian children's literature / Lees, Stella.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9613.9 .L44 1993
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• The Oxford companion to Australian literature / Wilde, W. H. (William Henry)
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9600.2 .W55 1985
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• The Oxford companion to Australian literature [electronic resource]
  • Location: Online
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  "Written in clear, accessible language, The Oxford Companion to Australian Literature contains more than 3000 entries on writers, plays, novels, poems, newspapers, journals, anthologies, literary prizes, movements and professional organisations. The plot summaries will be invaluable for students of our literature, and detailed biographies examine the careers and contributions of notable Australian writers. In addition, there are a number of essay-length articles on key aspects of the literature, from Aboriginal writing and convicts to science fiction and war literature." "Fully revised and updated, the second edition has been prepared by Joy Hooton and Bill Wilde, Barry Andrews, co-author of the first edition, having died soon after its publication. Two hundred thousand words longer than the first edition, this one contains 500 new entries. Every entry has been re-examined and, where necessary, revised and expanded. The achievements of all those writers captured in mid-career in 1985 have been thoroughly updated, and a new generation of writers has been added. The unprecedented growth of Australian writing throughout the 1980s and 1990s is now reflected in the Companion, which also recognises the greater influence and volume of women's and multicultural writing. The second edition also features major new articles on crime fiction and the immigrant experience."--BOOK JACKET

• The Oxford literary guide to Australia
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PR9607 .O94 1987
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• Language Dictionaries, Glossaries & Vocabularies
  

• Austral English;;a dictionary of Australasian words, phrases, and usages, with those aboriginal-Australian and Maori words which have become incorporated in the language and the commoner scientific words that have had their origin in Australasia / Morris, Edward Ellis, 1843-1901.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE3601 .M8 1968
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• NOTE:
  Originally published in 1898, this Australasian dictionary demonstrates the influence of Maori and other Australasian languages and provincialisms on the English language.

• The Australian national dictionary : a dictionary of Australianisms on historical principles
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE3601 .A97 1988
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• The Cambridge Australian English style guide / Peters, Pam.
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE3601 .P48 1995
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• A dictionary of Australian colloquialisms / Wilkes, G. A. (Gerald Alfred), 1927-
  • Location: Haggard 2 -Reference PE3601.Z5 W5 1985
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For more information, see the How to Use the Library Catalog Guide.

• Find books
• Find journals and magazines
• Find Dissertations & Thesis
• Find Newspapers
• Find Videos

• Books
  Books are the most comprehensive and easiest to obtain sources of information. In the WWU Library Catalog, look up any books cited in your overview. To find additional materials, search by clicking on the subject headings listed in the record. Also, browse on the bookshelves in relevant call number areas.

• Keyword searching
  Select Keyword search from the Online Catalog. Break down your search by key concepts. For example, the Keyword search Australia and poetry will retrieve the following book:

  Leonard, John, ed. Australian verse : an Oxford anthology. Melbourne : Oxford University Press, 1998.
  Call # PR9615.25 .A88 1998

  Use broader terms to expand your search. For example, the keyword search Commonwealth and literature will find books on English language literatures in countries that were part of the British Empire, including Australia. Try narrower terms to focus your search, depending on your topic. For example, try the keyword search Australia and women and authors.

• Subject searching
  Western Libraries Catalog uses Library of Congress Subject Headings. The library assigns subject headings to all materials listed in the online catalog. The following are selected subject headings relating to topics on Australian literature in English:

• Australian literature
  Use Australian literature as the main subject heading for works by Australian authors originally written in English.

• Some subheading examples:
  Australian Literature -- 20th century | Australian Literature -- Australian Aboriginal Authors | Australian Literature -- Bibliography | Australian Literature -- Bio Bibliography | Australian Literature -- Dictionaries | Australian Literature -- History and Criticism | Australian Literature -- Women Authors

• Examples of related subjects:
  Australasian literature (English) | Australian drama | Australian essays | Australian fiction | Australian poetry | Authors, Australian | Children's Literature, Australian | Commonwealth literature (English)| English language -- Australia | Short stories, Australian | Women authors, Australian

Here is one journal providing articles on topics about Australian literature; the June issue of each year contains an annual bibliography of studies in Australian literature:

• Australian literary studies
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• Literary History & Criticism

• Collections, with Introductory Essays

• Australian Literature and Culture Resources
  A University of Adelaide Library Guide to recommended web resources and print materials created and maintained by Alan Keig, the Research Librarian for English.

• Contemporary Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English: Australia
  A part of Contemporary Postcolonial and Postimperial Literature in English, "a collection of materials on recent postcolonial and postimperial literature in English," compiled by George P. Landow, Professor of English and Art History, Brown University. This section is an overview, with parts under construction, of recent literature in English from Australian authors.

• Electronic Australiana
  The National Library of Australia in Canberra presents Electronic Australiana, a collection of Internet resources on Australia. The collection offers access to guides, directories, publishers, and literature. Electronic Australiana includes information on Australian studies, culture and cultural heritage, the environment, geography, and law.

• Portals to the World - Australia: Language and Literature
  The U.S. Library of Congress presents a collection of Internet resources on the language and literature Australia. The sites were selected by Library of Congress subject experts.

• Voice of the Shuttle: English Literature: Other Literatures in English: Australia and New Zealand
  Extensive site created and maintained by Alan Liu and a development team at the University of California, Santa Barbara English Department. Might be the most comprehensive Humanities resource. Presents links to general resources in literatures of Australia and New Zealand. Also presents collections of sites on important individual authors. Offers access to sites on other literatures written in English.

• World Literatures in English: Resources at Western Libraries

• Summit
  Summit is the combined library catalog of Pacific Northwest academic libraries. Use Summit to locate and request materials like books and videos which are not available from Western Libraries. To access Summit, search our library catalog first, then choose the option to “Repeat search in Summit”.

• Interlibrary Loan
  Use Interlibrary Loan to request items not held in our collection. To learn more or to access Interlibrary Loan, go to http://www.library.wwu.edu/access/ill/index.shtml. First time users will need to set up an account at http://www.illiad.library.wwu.edu/ILLiad/firsttime.asp.
  • How to set up an Interlibrary Loan account
  • Retrieving an article you requested