INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH & FRANCOPHONE STUDIES

A BRIEF GUIDE TO PRINT AND ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Compiled by
Marjorie A. Benedict, Associate Librarian
Bibliographer for French Studies
The University at Albany, State University of New York

This guide was compiled to acquaint undergraduate students with some representative and useful library materials in the field of French and francophone studies. The resources described below are available in the Main Library on the Uptown Campus of the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Reference materials, identified by the locational prefix REF, are found in the first floor Reference Area which occupies the south wing west of the reference desk. The locational prefix PER before a call number indicates that the title is a periodical. Periodicals are housed on the lower level of the Main Library. Call numbers without locational prefixes refer to books shelved in the stacks on the upper floors.

Additional books of this kind are found in the following Library of Congress classifications: Encyclopedias AE 25, Encyclopedic Dictionaries AG 25.

• Francoscopie; pour comprendre les Français 2005. Gérard Mermet. Paris: Larousse, 2005. Biennial.
  DC 415 M46 2005. Latest in Reference. Library has 1985+.
            Presents a picture of the contemporary French, their attitudes, behavior, opinions, and values. An introductory overview of French society, Synthèse, is followed by six major sections covering individuals, family, society, work, money, and leisure. Statistical information and results of opinion polls are used frequently. Includes an index.
• Internet Resources in French and Francophone Studies.
            Click on France and Francophone Regions - General Information and Statistics or Diverse Subject Collections for various electronic sources of general information.
• Le Petit Larousse illustré. Paris: Larousse, 2000.
  REF AG 25 N75 2000
            Language and encyclopedic dictionary with a section of proper nouns, foreign expressions, illustrations, and more. Monolingual in French. Library also has earlier editions.
• Quid. Paris: R. Laffont, 1963-.
  REF AE 25 F75 [yr] Latest in Reference. Library has 1980, 1987+.  
           A source of statistical information and more.

For a more extensive compilation of bibliographies pertaining to French and francophone literature held by the University Libraries, go to the French Studies subject page on the University Libraries Web site. Click on French Literary Studies: A Guide to Bibliographies.

Additional electronic bibliographies are found on the French Studies subject page. Click on Internet Resources in French and Francophone Studies. Select French and Francophone Literature - Biography, History, and Criticism.

• Bibliographie annuelle de l'histoire de France du cinquième siècle à 1958. Paris: Éditions du Centre National de la recherche scientifique, 1975-. Annual. Library has 1975+.
  DC 38 Z999 B53 BldgOnly [yr.] Latest issue is shelved in Reference.
            Use the Plan de Classement at the beginning of the volume for information on the arrangement of the entries. Includes author and subject indexes. Continues Bibliographie annuelle de l'histoire de France du cinquième siècle à 1939, (1953/54 - 1963) and Bibliographie annuelle de l'histoire de France du cinquième siècle à 1945, (1964-74). Library has 1953/54-1974.
• A Critical Bibliography of French Literature. Gen. ed., David Cabeen. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1947-1994. 6 Vols.
  REF Z 2171 C3 [v.] [pt.]
             Contents: V. 1. The Medieval Period, Ed.Urban T. Holmes, Jr. (rev. 1952) -- V. 2. The Sixteenth Century, Ed. Alexander H. Schutz (rev. 1985) -- V. 3. The Seventeenth Century, Ed. Nathan Edelman -- V. 3A suppl. The Seventeenth Century, Ed. H. Gaston Hall -- V. 4. The Eighteenth Century, Eds. George R. Havens and Donald F. Bond -- V. 4, suppl. The Eighteenth Century, Ed. Richard A. Brooks -- V. 5. The Nineteenth Century, Ed. David Baguley (2 pts.) -- V. 6. The Twentieth Century, Eds. Douglas W. Alden and Richard A. Brooks (3 Vols.).
• French Literature: An Annotated Guide to Selected Bibliographies. Comp. Richard Kempton. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1981.
  REF PQ 103 Z999 K45x
             A well done and still useful compilation of important bibliographies published before 1982.

• French XX Bibliography: Critical and Bibliographical References for the Study of French Literature Since 1885. New York: French Institute-Alliance Française, 1969-. Annual. Library has 1969+.
  REF PQ 1 Z999 F74 [vol.][no.]
            An essential resource for the scholar of twentieth century French literature. Following the pattern set by its predecessor, French VII, the bibliography is divided into three parts. Part 1, General Subjects, which is sub-divided into various categories, including literary genre. Part 2, Author/Subjects in alphabetical order. Part 3, Cinema. Continues French VII Bibliography: Critical and Biographical References for the Study of Contemporary French Literature, REF PQ 1 Z999 F74 [vol.][no.].
• MLA International Bibliography of Books and Articles on the Modern Languages and Literatures. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1921/25-. Library has 1921/25+.
  REF PB 1 Z999 M53
  Also available electronically MLA International Bibliography
           A selective bibliography, it offers bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, cinema, and folklore. It draws on scholarly research in more than 3,000 journals and series, covering relevant monographs, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies, and other formats. Published in two complementary parts. Part 1 includes a classified list arranged by language and subjects, a master list of periodicals searched, and a guide for users. Part 2 is a subject index to Part 1.

For access to a selection of electronic dictionaries, go to the French Studies page on the University Libraries Web site. Click on Internet Resources in French and Francophone Studies. Select Dictionaries and Glossaries .

Print dictionaries are found in Library of Congress classifications PC 2120 - PC 3744.
Literary dictionaries are found in Library of Congress classification PQ 41.

• Business French Dictionary. Peter Collin Publishing, 1995. Available online xreferplus
           
Includes definitions of words, expressions, and acronyms. Select "English" to find the French equivalent of an English word, or "French" for the English equivalent of a French word.
• Collins French Dictionary. Harper Collins Publishers, 2000. Available online xreferplus
           
Select "English" to find French equivalent of an English word, or "French" for the English equivalent of a French word. Includes words, expressions, abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms.
• Dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française. Paul Robert; edited by A. Rey et J. Rey-Debove. Paris: Société du Nouveau Littré, 2001. 6 Vols.
  REF PC 2625 R553 2001    Library also has earlier editions.
           
Regarded by many as the best of the monolingual French dictionaries. Includes phonetic transcriptions of each word entered. See also: Le Nouveau petit Robert: dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française, entered below.
• Dictionnaire du français branché. Pierre Merle; avant-propos de Claude Duneton; ouvrage édité par Nicole Vimard. Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1986.
  REF PC 2580 M47X 1986
           Source of definitions and explanations of popular and slang vocabulary.
• Dictionnaire du français classique. Jean Dubois, René Lagane, and Alain Lerond. (Références Larousse) Paris: Références Larousse, 1988.
  PC 2650 D83X 1988 BldgOnly
           
Definitions of vocabulary and expressions of the seventeenth century.
• Dictionnaire du français non conventionnel. Jacques Cellard and Alain Rey. 2nd ed. Paris: Hachette, 1991.
  REF PC 2689 C44 1991
           
Includes popular and familiar words and expressions.
• Dictionnaire du français québécois: description et histoire des régionalismes en usage au Québec depuis l'époque de la Nouvelle-France jusqu'à nos jours incluant un aperçu de leur extension dans les provinces canadiennes limitrophes. Eds. Claude Poirier, et al. Sainte-Foy, Québec: Presses de l'Université Laval, 1985.
  PC 3645 Q4 D52 1985
           
Covers regional French of Quebec. Provides historical and etymological explanations, synonyms, pronunciations, orthography, and numerous examples drawn from diverse sources.
• Dictionnaire du moyen français: la Renaissance. Julien Greimas Algirdas and Teresa Mary Keane. Paris: Larousse, 1992.
  REF PC 2650 G74 1992
           
A dictionary of the evolving French language of the sixteenth century.
• Dictionnaire Quillet de la langue française. Paris: Librairie A. Quillet, 1975. 4 Vols.
  REF PC 2625 D5 1975 [vol.]
           
Monolingual dictionary of the French language.
• Le Nouveau petit Robert: dictionnaire alphabétique et analogique de la langue française [...]. Paul Robert. texte remanié et amplifié sous la direction de Josette Rey-Debove et Alain Rey. Paris: Dictionnaires Le Robert, 2002.
  REF PC 2625 R646X 2002
           An excellent all around desktop dictionary. Library also has the 1993 and 1995 eds.

• The Oxford-Hachette French Dictionary: French-English, English-French. Eds. Marie-Hélène Corréard and Valerie Grundy. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
  REF PC 2640 O94X 1994
           A useful bilingual non-specialzed dictionary.
• your Dictionary.com; The Global Language Resource
            An extensive selection of dictionaries, both general and specialized. To go directly to French dictionaries, select "French" from the "Dictionaries" menu. Provides links to related French language resources: French morphology, French grammars, and more.

• Electronic Resources for French and Francophone Studies: How to Find Journal Articles . Comp. Marjorie A. Benedict. Albany, NY: The University at Albany, State University of New York, 2005.
           Provides descriptive material and links to the most useful electronic indexes and databases for research in French and francophone studies offered by the UA Libraries. These indexes and databases can provide relevant citations to journal articles and other kinds of material such as conference papers. Many of these databases either provide full text of selected material or are linked via the FIND IT button to another source that provides full text. FIND IT buttons are found in some databases. After you click on the FIND IT button, a menu of service options will appear from which you may choose your preferred service.
• Film Literature Index. Albany, NY: Filmdex, 1973-. Quarterly, with annual cumulations.
  REF PN 1993 Z999 F55 [yr.]    Library has 1973+.
            Subject and author index to the international film and television/video literature appearing in over 300 periodicals.
• French Periodical Index; Répertoriex. Westwood, MA: F.W. Faxon Co., 1973/74 - 1978; Morgantown, WV: Ponchie & Co., 1979 - 1996.
  REF AI 7 F7 [yr.]   Library has 1973/74 - 1996.
           Indexing for approximately 50 French language periodicals. Arranged alphabetically by subject headings. Useful for retrospective research.
• Humanities Index. New York: H.W. Wilson Co. 1974-.
  REF AI 3 H86X [yr.] Library has 1974 - 2000.  
            Author and subject entries in one alphabet. Formerly part of Social Sciences & Humanities Index, REF AI 3 S62X [vol.], April 1965 - 1973, and International Index to Periodicals, REF AI 3 R49 [vol.], 1907 - Mar.1965.
• Le Monde. Index. Paris: Le Monde, 1986-.
  REF AI 21 M58 [yr.]  Library has 1944/45 - 1951, 1958, 1965 -1968, 1979 - 81, 1986+.
           Index for the daily newspaper from Paris, Le Monde. Continues Index analytique. Le Monde, 1944/45 -1968. Indexing is incomplete for some intervals between 1945 and 1985. (Library owns this newspaper on microfilm, 1944+.)
• Repère. Montréal: Services documentaires Multimedia : Bibliothéque nationale du Quèbec, 1994-
  REF AI 7 P48X [yr.]  Library has 1994+ and predecessors from 1966 - 1993.
            An alphabetically arranged subject index of references to articles in French language periodicals from Canada and other regions of the world. Includes separate indexing for book reviews. Provides a list of periodical titles indexed. Continues Point de Repère, 1984 - 1993; Périodex: index analytique de périodiques de langue française, 1972/73 - 1983; and Index analytique, 1966 - 1972.
  

UNCLASSIFIED NEWSPAPERS (daily)

Electronic versions of selected newspapers and news magazines can be accessed through the French Studies page on the University Libraries Web site. Click on Internet Resources in French and Francophone Studies. Select Electronic Texts - Newspapers and News Magazines.

Current issues of the following daily newspapers are available in paper format. Issues from the latest month are on display in the Periodicals Room. For online access, click on the title below.

• Le Devoir (Canada)
Libération (France)
Le Monde (France) Also available on microfilm, 1944+.

CLASSIFIED PERIODICALS

Relevant periodicals in traditional print format may be found in the following call number areas: AP 20 - General Interest; DC - French History; PC 2001-3761 - Language, Linguistics, Philology; PN 1993 - Cinema; PQ 1-3999 - French [and francophone] Literature; and Z 2165 - General Bibliography. Some useful periodicals are listed below (n.b. the library has many more titles):

• L'Avant-scène du cinéma. PER PN 1993 A82x
• Cahiers du cinéma. PER PN 1993 C25
• Cinéaste. PER PN 1993 C483x
            English language; international scope.
• Contemporary French Civilization. PER DC 33.9 C66
           Articles in French and English.
• L'Express. PER AP 20 E926

          Weekly news magazine.
• French Historical Studies. PER DC 1 F69 (1958+)
  Also available electronically:
  
French Historical Studies via Project Muse (1999+)
French Historical Studies via JSTOR (1958+) Choose "Search This Journal" or "Browse This Journal."
• The French Review. PER PC 2001 F75

         Journal of the American Association of Teachers of French
• Le Nouvel observateur. PER AP 20 N74
            Weekly news magazine.


• Le Point. PER AP 20 P65x

         Weekly news magazine.

ELECTRONIC JOURNALS & PERIODICALS

The following collections of electronic periodical publications include full text articles, some of which are relevant to French and Francophone Studies. For additional information, suggestions, and links, see Electronic Resources for French and Francophone Studies; How to Find Journal Articles.

• Directory of Open Access Journals
  Provides information and links to free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals on all subjects and in all languages. There are now 3543 journals in the directory.
• EBSCO Academic Search Premier (1990+)  
  Multidisciplinary database covering Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities with selected articles available in full text. Choose Basic Search or Advanced Search. Click on Full Text to limit results to full text articles only. Among the other options for limiting are year (or span of years) of publication and peer review.
  IMPORTANT! The information provided in the "Notes" field is not always reliable, particularly if the citation is for a book. If the record includes this note, "The library does not own this publication," it is possible that the library owns the book. To verify, check the title of the book in the online catalog, MINERVA.
  For a list of journals indexed and dates of coverage click on Choose Databases, then click on Title List.
  To retrieve pictures, select "Images." Example: a search of the word "France" produced the following results: "Photos of people" (941), "Photos of places" (118), "Historical photos" (1161), and "Maps" (16).
• JSTOR; The Scholarly Journal Archive   
  Full text of articles from journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Mathematics. Includes several journals that are relevant to French Studies such as The French Review (1927 - 1999). JSTOR does not include recent issues of the journals, but through a cooperative agreement with Project Muse (entered below), links to recent content of a selected group of journals indexed by both services are available from JSTOR. To display a list of those titles, click on "About JSTOR" then click on "Links to recent content."
• Project Muse; Scholarly Journals Online   (Dates vary)  
  Offers access to full text articles from current and retrospective issues of selected scholarly journals in the Humanities, Social Sciences, and other disciplines, including several journals related to French Studies. Browse the journal list or perform a keyword search (basic or advanced) in all fields or in specific fields.
• Science Direct   (1997+)  
  Contains selected full-text articles from several journals that cover subjects related to French Studies. Offers a keyword searching option (Quick Search). To display a list of journals related to Language and Linguistics, select Subject from the Sort By menu, click on Arts and Humanities, then on Language and Linguistics. Click on the journal title to display the table of contents. Select "subscribed" from the display menu to limit the display to articles available free to UA students and faculty in full text.

Links to a selection of electronic periodicals can be found on the French Studies page on the University Libraries Web site. Click on Internet Resources in French and Francophone Studies. Select Electronic Texts - Journals and Magazines.

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Updated August 2008