BU Libraries Search - video tutorials
View our tutorials on using BU Libraries search:
BU Libraries Search
You can use the BU Libraries Search box to look for print and electronic resources available thru the Boston University Libraries. These resources include print books and journals available in the library stacks, as well as e-books and full-text journal articles.
For search tips or questions regarding the search function: see the Search Help page.
For physical items, you will need the call number and library location to locate the books or journals in the stacks. See the location chart (available by the elevators and at the research center) to help you find the floor by call number range.
What are peer-reviewed articles?
Many of the articles you find by searching BULS, Google Scholar, and the article databases, e.g., MLA Bibliography, are peer-reviewed. Some articles are designated as "peer-reviewed" but they are actually "scholarly/academic." What is the difference?
Peer-reviewed (sometimes called "Refereed"). Before articles are accepted for publication, they are closely read and critiqued by several scholars who study and do research in the same or a similar subject area.
Scholarly/academic. These articles might be written by researchers but are accepted for publication by the journal's editor (or editorial staff) without peer review.
Evaluating Sources (YouTube)
Peer Review in 3 Minutes (NCSU Libraries)
Search Ulrichsweb for detailed information on more than 300,000 journals and other serial publications.
Article Databases
Theater Databases:
- Performing Arts Database This link opens in a new window Performing Arts Database locates citations for writings spanning the disciplines of theatre, dance, and music. These writings chiefly originate in subject-specific trade journals, magazines, and more established scholarly journals. Some full-text is included. Content is international in scope with the majority of the original content having been produced in the United States and Europe. Date coverage: Generally 1990s - present.
- Theatre in Context Collection This link opens in a new window Works by American, European, Asian, and other worldwide dramatists from the past several centuries. In addition to performances, includes documentaries and interviews about theatre, discussing the history of theatre, acting methods, pioneering dramatists and actors, and more.
- Black Drama: African, African American, and Diaspora 1850 to Present. This link opens in a new window Black Drama: Second Edition contains plays, including previously unpublished or unperformed ones, by more than 200 playwrights from North America, English-speaking Africa, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries. Date coverage: Mid-1800s -present.
- Asian American Drama This link opens in a new window Asian American Drama contains plays by writers of Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Chinese descent; and of Hawaiian, Indian, Thai, Korean, Persian, and Malaysian ancestry. Also includes selected playbills, production photographs and other ephemera related to the plays. Date coverage: late 19th century - present.
- North American Women's Drama This link opens in a new window North American Women's Drama includes the texts of plays, and information on productions, theaters, and production companies. Date coverage: 1700s - present.
Shakespeare Databases:
- Shakespeare Survey Online This link opens in a new window Shakespeare Survey is a yearbook of Shakespeare studies and production. Each volume is devoted to a theme, or play, or group of plays; each also contains a section of reviews of that year's textual and critical studies, and of the year's major British performances. Date coverage: 1948 - present
- Treasures in Full: Shakespeare in Quarto This link opens in a new window Online versions of the British Library's copies of the 21 plays by Shakespeare printed in quarto before the theatres were closed in 1642. These pamphlet editions are thought to be working drafts of the plays, and considered to be the versions of the plays closest to the way they were actually performed.
- World Shakespeare Bibliography This link opens in a new window Provides annotated entries for books, articles, book reviews, dissertations, theatrical productions, reviews of productions, audiovisual materials, electronic media, and other scholarly and popular materials related to Shakespeare. Date coverage: 1960 - present.
Humanities Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window This database provides full text access to the back issues of core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Book reviews are included as well as journal articles. Abstracts are available for some of the articles. Date coverage: earliest issues of each journal up to the most current five years for most publications and to the present for some.
- Project Muse This link opens in a new window Project Muse provides digital access to scholarly journals and books in the humanities and social sciences. The scholarly content comes from non-profit scholarly publishers, including university presses and societies. The full text resources include journal articles, book reviews and book chapters.
- Literature Online (LION) This link opens in a new window LION includes texts, criticism, and reference material, including thousands of literary articles, essays, biographies and encyclopedia entries on over 350,000 works of poetry, prose, and drama from the 8th to the 21st century.
- Humanities Full Text / Humanities & Social Sciences Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window These combined databases provide access to journal articles, book reviews, performance reviews, interviews, bibliographies and more from a broad range of humanities and social sciences journals. Date coverage: 1907 - present.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window Indexes critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Includes citations from worldwide publications: periodicals, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations and bibliographies. Date coverage: 1920s - present.
Historical Databases
- American Periodicals This link opens in a new window This database contains periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines and many other historically-significant periodicals.
- British Periodicals This link opens in a new window British Periodicals provides access to the searchable full text of British periodicals from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth century. It includes millions of high-resolution facsimile page images. Subject areas covered include literature, philosophy, history, science, the fine arts and the social sciences.
- Periodicals Archive Online This link opens in a new window A full text archive of millions of articles published in more 700 magazines, and journals in the humanities and social sciences, in English and other Western European languages. Date coverage: 1802 to 2001. (Varies by publication)
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new window Full-page images and article images (PDF) with searchable full text from the following newspapers: Boston Globe; New York Times; Washington Post; Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Defender. See listing for each individual newspaper for date coverage and to search that publication separately.
- New York Times (1851- 2016) (ProQuest Historical Newspapers) This link opens in a new window Date coverage: 1851-2016. Full-page images and article images (PDF) with searchable full text of the New York Times back issues. Additions each year keep it within 3 years of the current year. NOTE: For 2016+ use Nexis Uni.
- Times Digital Archive, 1785-2019 (London) This link opens in a new window Date coverage: 1785 - 2019. An online archive of every headline, article, editorial, announcement, image and advertisement published in The Times (London) to 2019. Full page images and article images (PDF) with searchable full text. NOTE: For 2019+ use Nexis Uni.
