Ovid Technologies Field Guide

MLA International Bibliography (MLAB)

Table of Contents:
Scope | General Information | Searching the Fields | Advanced Searching
Stopwords | Limits | Tools | Changing to MLAB From Another Database
Sample Documents | Copyright Information | Updated

Read about the MLA International Bibliography database in the Release News!

Scope

Produced by the Modern Language Association of America, the MLA International Bibliography provides a classified listing and subject index for books and articles published on modern languages, literatures, folklore, and linguistics. It is compiled by the staff of the MLA Office of Bibliographic Information Services with the cooperation of more than 100 contributing bibliographers in the United States and abroad. Available in print and in several electronic versions, the MLA International Bibliography annually indexes over 50,000 books and articles.

The MLA International Bibliography provides a thesaurus to help users broaden or refine searches. Ovid features include a menu-driven thesaurus tool, a permuted index, on-screen search tips and database specific limits.

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General Information

Producer
     

Modern Language Association
26 Broadway, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10004-1789 USA
Telephone: 646-576-5053
Facsimile: 646-835-4008
Web: http://www.mla.org
Years of Coverage
  1963 - present
Default Fields for Unqualified Searches
Book Citation (BT) Heading Words (HW) Title (TI)
All Display/Print Fields
Accession Number (AN) JStor SICI Link (JS) Series Information (SI)
Author (AU) Language (LG) Series ISSN (SS)
Book Citation (BT) Local Holdings (LH) Series Place of Publication (SL)
Collection Editors (ED) Local Messages (LM) Source (SO)
Dissertation Information (DD) Notes (NT) Subject Headings (SH)
Electronic Comment (EC) Publication Type (PT) Title (TI)
ISBN (IB) Sequence Number (SQ) Title Page Additional (TP)
ISSN (IS) Serial Item and Contribution Identifier (CS) Update Code (UP)
Journal Abbreviation (JA) Series Abbreviation (SA) Year of Publication (YR)
Default Fields for Display/Print
Accession Number (AN) Journal Abbreviation (JA) Subject Headings (SH)
Author (AU) Publication Type (PT) Title (TI)
Book Citation (BT) Publisher (PU) Update Code (UP)
Dissertation Information (DD) Series Information (SI)
ISBN (IB) Series ISSN (SS)
ISSN (IS) Source (SO)
Elements of the Source (SO) Field
BY
Book Citation (BT) Issue / Part (IP) Publisher (PU)
Book Year of Publication (BY) Journal Location (JL) Volume (VO)
Date of Publication (DP) Journal Name (JN) Year of Publication (YR)
Degree Granting Institute (DI) Pagination (PG)  
Dissertation Abstract Number (DN) Place of Publication (BL)  
Online Update Frequency
  Ten Times Per Year
Local Update Frequency
  Ten Times Per Year

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Searching the MLA International Bibliography Fields

The following list is sorted alphabetical by field alias. Click a field name to see the description and search information.

Field Name Label   Field Name Label
Accession Number AN   Notes NT
Author AU   Pagination PG
Book Citation BT   Peer Reviewed PR
Book Pages BP   Publisher PU
Book Pagination PC   Publication Type PT
Book Place of Publication BL   Sequence Number SQ
Book Year of Publication BY   Serial Item and Contribution Identifier CS
Collection Editors ED   Series Abbreviation SA
Date of Publication DP   Series Information SI
Degree Granting Institute DI   Series ISSN SS
Degree Year DY   Series Number SN
Dissertation Abstract Number DN   Series Place of Publication SL
Dissertation Information DD   Series Title ST
Electronic Comment EC   Source SO
Heading Words HW   Subject Headings SH
ISBN IB   Table of Contents TC
ISSN IS   Title TI
Issue/Part IP   Title Page Additional TP
Journal Abbreviation JA   Uniform Author UA
Journal Location JL   Uniform Title UT
Journal Name JN   Update Code UP
Journal Word JX   Volume VO
JStor SICI Link JS   Year of Publication YR
Language LG    

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The following list is sorted alphabetically by the two-letter label, and includes the relevant alias, at least one example for all searchable MLA International Bibliography fields, and a description of the field.

Label Name / Example
AN Accession Number [Phrase Indexed]
1995079058.an.
The Accession Number (AN) field contains a unique ten-digit number assigned to each document. The first four digits refer to the year of the printed bibliography.
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AU

Author [Word/Phrase Indexed]
irving john.au.
The Author (AU) field contains the Author(s) as they appear in the original document. The format for author names is last name followed by first name and middle names and/or initials. Editors are specified with (ED) following their name. Any other non-author role, such as illustrator, is also indicated in this field.
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BL

Book Place of Publication [Word Indexed]
los angeles.bl.
The Book Place of Publication (BL) field contains the city and state for US publications and city and country for foreign publications. It displays as part of the Source (SO) field.
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BP

Book Pages [Display Only]

The Book Pages (BP) field contains the number of pages in the book.
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BT

Book Citation [Word Indexed]
india.bt.
The Book Citation (BT) field contains the Title (TI) of the work in which the book article appears, the Collection Editors (CE) of the collection, and the Book Pages (BP) of the book article.
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BY

Book Year of Publication [Phrase Indexed]
2002.by.
The Book Year of Publication (BY) field contains the year(s) in which a book was published. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field.
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CS

Serial Item and Contribution Identifier [Display Only]

The Serial Item and Contribution Identifier (CS) field contains the identifier created by the Serial Item and Contribution Identifier (SICI) standard. The SICI standard provides an extensible mechanism for the unique identification of either an issue of a serial title or a contribution (for example, article) contained within a serial, regardless of the distribution medium (paper, electronic, microform, etc.).
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DD

Dissertation Information [Display Only]
The Dissertation Information (DD) field contains the Dissertation Abstract Number (DN) field, the Degree Granting Institute (DI), and the Degree Year (DY) when the degree was granted.
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DI

Degree Granting Institute [Word Indexed]
columbia.di.
The Degree Granting Institution (DI) field contains the name of the institution that granted the degree. This field is present for dissertations. This field displays in the Dissertation Information (DD) field.
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DN

Dissertation Abstract Number [Phrase Indexed]
DA9423953.dn.
The Dissertation Abstract Number (DN) field contains the Dissertation Abstract Number assigned by UMI.
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DP

Date of Publication [Word Indexed]
2002.dp.
The Date of Publication (DP) field contains the date of publication for journal articles.
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DY

Degree Year [Phrase Indexed]
2002.dy.
The Degree Year (DY) field contains the date that the dissertation was published. This field displays in the Dissertation Information (DD) field.
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EC

Electronic Comment [Display Only]
The Electronic Comment field contains data on how articles should be submitted.
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ED

Collection Editors [Phrase Indexed]
snow catherine.ed.
The Collection Editors (ED) field contains the name(s) of the editor(s) of a collection of book articles. Collection Editors appear in the Book Citation (BT) field.
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HW

Heading Words [Word Indexed]
utopia$.hw.

Sometimes you may want to retrieve every subject heading that includes a particular word; this is done by searching the single word in the subject Heading Word (HW) field.

You can also view every subject heading which contains a particular word by using the Tools/Permuted Index menu.
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IB ISBN [Phrase Indexed]
2271061148.ib.

The ISBN (IB) field contains the International Standard Book Number (ISBN). The ISBN appears as a number without hyphens or spaces.

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IS ISSN [Phrase Indexed]
0824-7714.is.

The ISSN (IS) field contains the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the journal in which an article was published. The ISSN displays as an eight-digit number, separated by a hyphen (0824-7714).

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IP Issue/Part [Word Indexed]
25.ip.

The Issue/Part field (IP) contains the issue and/or part for a particular volume of a journal. The IP field usually displays as part of the Source (SO) field.

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JA Journal Abbreviation [Phrase Indexed]
aarml.ja.

The Journal Abbreviation (JA) field contains the abbreviation of the journal name that is used in the printed bibliography.

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JL Journal Location [Word Indexed]
new york.jl.

The Journal Location (JL) field contains the place of publication for journals. This field is included only when necessary to distinguish the journal from other journals, and displays as part of the Source (SO) field.

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JN Journal Name [Phrase Indexed]
texto critico.jn.

The Journal Name (JN) field contains the full name of the journal in which an article was published. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field.

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JS JStor SICI Link [Display Only]

The JStor SICI Link (JS) field contains a URL for linking directly to JStor articles.

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JX Journal Word [Word Indexed]
bloomsbury.jx.

The Journal Word (JX) field contains individual words from every journal name in MLA International Bibliography. This field is used to retrieve every occurrence of a journal which includes a particular word, such as "poetry."

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LG Language [Word Indexed]
spanish.lg.

The Language (LG) field contains the language(s) of a publication.

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NT Notes [Word Indexed]
poems.nt.

The Notes (NT) field contains an annotation or short abstract, giving more information about the item.

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PC Book Pagination [Word Indexed]
"99".pc.
27$.pc.

The Book Pagination (PC) field contains page numbers of an article from a book.

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PG Pagination [Word Indexed]
21-29.pg.

The Pagination (PG) field consists of the inclusive pagination of a journal article. This field usually displays as part of the Source (SO) field.

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PR

Peer Reviewed [Phrase Indexed]
yes.pr.

The Peer Reviewed (PR) field indicates whether the journal article is published in a peer-reviewed journal. The field contains "yes" if the article is published in a peer-reviewed journal; the field contains "no" if the article is published in a journal that is not peer-reviewed. This field is not available in records for which the peer-reviewed status is unknown or in records of documents other than journal articles.
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PT Publication Type [Phrase Indexed]
book article.pt.

The Publication Type (PT) field contains terms assigned to each document to describe its publication type. Standard publication types include:

  • Journal Articles
  • Book Article
  • Book Collection
  • Book
  • Dissertation
  • Dissertation Abstract
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PU Publisher [Word Indexed]
harpers.pu.

The Publisher (PU) field contains the publisher information for non-journal documents. This field displays as part of the Source (SO) field.

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SA Series Abbreviation [Phrase Indexed]
LSLSer.sa.

The Series Abbreviation (SA) field contains the abbreviation of the series name that is used in the printed bibliography.

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SH Subject Headings [Phrase Indexed]
mock heroic poetry.sh.

The Subject Headings (SH) field contains the subject headings used by indexers at the Modern Language Association to describe the content of a document. You can retrieve documents with Subject Headings either by performing a command line search or by using the options under "Tools." The following roles can be applied to terms for more precise searching:
against
and
application in
application of
applied to
as
at
between
by
especially
for (audience)
for
from
includes
into
in
influence of
influence on
 compared to
discusses
during
of
on
relationship to
role in
role of
sources in		 study example
to and from
theories of
treatment in
treatment of
to
use in
use of
with

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SI Series Information [Word Indexed]
Language in Social Life Series.si.

The Series Information (SI) field contains the Series Title (ST) and other series information.

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SL Series Place of Publication [Word Indexed]
belgium.sl.

The Series Place of Publication (SL) field contains the place of publication for books in series.

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SN Series Number [Phrase Indexed]
"203".sn.

The Series Number (SN) field contains the series volume number. It displays in the Series Information field.

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SO Source (BL, BT, BY, DI, DN, DP, IP, JL, JN, PU, PG, VO, YR)
harpers.so.

The Source (SO) field contains all of the basic information needed to locate a citation, including the full Journal Name (JN), Book Citation (BT), Publisher (PU), Volume (VO), Issue/Part (IP), Pagination (PG), the Date of Publication (DP), the Journal Location (JL), Book Place of Publication (BL), Book Year of Publication (BY) Dissertation Abstract Number (DN), Degree Granting Institution (DI) and Year of Publication (YR) depending upon the type of material and the information available from the producer.

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SQ Sequence Number [Phrase Indexed]
2003-1-10023.sq.

The MLA Sequence Number (SQ) field contains a number that shows the position of the record in the printed bibliography. 2000-1-10023 means that the item appears in the MLA 2000 Bibliography, volume 1, item 10023.

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SS Series ISSN [Display Only]
The Series ISSN (SS) field contains the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) for the series. This field is indexed in the ISSN (IS) index.
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ST Series Title [Phrase Indexed]
Perspectives in Vernacular Architecture.st.

The Series Title (ST) field contains the series title for books and book articles. This field displays in the Series Information (SI) field.

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TC

Table of Contents [Word Indexed]
The Table of Contents (TC) field contains the table of contents from the original document. This field is available for records of books only.
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TI Title [Word Indexed]
all that jazz.ti.

The Title (TI) field contains the title of the document.

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TP Title Page Additional [Display Only]

The Title Page Additional (TP) field contains additional information from the title page.

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UA Uniform Author [Phrase Indexed]
shakespeare william.ua.

The Uniform Author (UA) field contains all the authors listed in the Subject Headings (SH) field. This index is the best place to search for articles focusing on specific authors, such as William Shakespeare or Harriet Beecher Stowe.

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UP Update Code [Phrase Indexed]
200201.up.

The Update Code (UP) field contains a six-digit number in the format YYYYNN where YYYY is the bibliography year and NN is the number of the update.

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UT Uniform Title [Word Indexed]
the handmaid's tale.ut.

The Uniform Title (UT) field contains all Titles listed in the Subject Headings (SH) field. This index is the best place to search for articles on specific works, such as The Handmaid's Tale.

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VO Volume [Word Indexed]
54.vo.
The Volume (VO) field contains the volume number of a serial publication. It displays as part of the Source (SO) field.
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YR Year of Publication [Phrase Indexed]
2002.yr.
The Year of Publication (YR) field contains the year in which a document was published.
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Advanced Searching

You can use special words and symbols to combine search terms and refine a search. For efficient searching, use the most appropriate operator from the list below to combine search terms. For more information on these and other searching techniques, including command line syntax searching, refer to the Ovid Gateway Help.

Operator Syntax Example Results
OR OR literature or fiction Retrieves records that contain either term or both terms.
AND AND literature and fiction Retrieves records that contain both terms.
NOT NOT literature not fiction Retrieves records that contain the first term but not the second term.
ADJ ADJ acience adj fiction Retrieves records that contain both terms, in order, and adjacent in the same sentence.
  ADJn literature adj3 fiction Retrieves records that contain both terms, in either order, with n number of words between. The example retrieves records containing the phrase, "The Convergence of Science-Fiction Literature and Science-Fiction."
FREQ x.fd./FREQ=n literature.hw./freq=5 Retrieves records that contain n occurrences of the term in the specified field. The example retrieves records containing the word literature," at least five times in the Heading Word (HW) field.
$ x$ rat$ Retrieves records that contain the search term and all possible suffix variations of a root word. The example, rat$, also known as limited truncation, retrieves records containing words such as rat, rats, rate, rationalize, ratify, etc.
  x$n dog$1 Retrieves records that contain the search term and all possible suffix variations of a root word with the maximum number of characters that may follow the root word or phrase, specified by n. The example, $n also known as the unlimited truncation symbol, retrieves records containing words such as dog and dogs, but not dogma.
 #  # wom#n Retrieves records that contain the search term with substituted character(s) in the specified locations. The example mandated wildcard symbol, #, retrieves records containing woman and women.
?  ? colo?r Retrieves records that contain the search term with either no characters substituted, or with substituted character(s) in the specified locations. The optional wildcard symbol, ?, example retrieves records containing color and colour.

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Stopwords

Words of little intrinsic meaning that occur too frequently to be useful in searching text are known as stopwords. You cannot search for the following stopwords by themselves, but you can include them within phrases by placing the entire phrase within quotation marks.

a by having neither same this
about can how no seem those
after could however nor seen through
again did if not several thus
all do in obtain should to
almost does into obtained show under
also done is of showed up
although during it often shown upon
always each its on shows use
among either itself only significant used
an enough just or significantly using
and especially kg other since various
another etc km our so very
any followed largely out some was
approximately following like over such we
are for made overall suggest were
as found mainly per than what
at from make perhaps that when
be further may possible the whereas
because give might previously their which
been given min quite theirs while
before giving mm rather them with
being had most really then within
between hardly mostly regarding there would
both has must resulted these  
but have nearly resulting they  

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MLA International Bibliography Limits

The following limits are available from the Limit menu on the Main Search Screen.

Popular Command and Sentence Syntax for Limits:

Electronic Comment
Sentence Syntax:
limit 1 to electronic comment


Electronic Journal Available
Sentence Syntax:
limit to limit 1 to electronic journal available


Notes
Sentence Syntax:
limit to Notes


Descriptor Subfields
Sentence Syntax:
limit to limit 1 to Folklore Topic


Publication Year
Sentence Syntax:
limit 1 to yr=1996
Command Syntax:
..l/1 yr=1996


Publication Type
Sentence Syntax:
limit 1 to dissertation abstract


Journal Article
Sentence Syntax:
limit 1 to journal article

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MLA International Bibliography Tools

The following tools are available for MLA International Bibliography. For specific information on using these tools, refer to the Ovid Gateway Help.

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Change to MLA International Bibliography from Another Database

Command Syntax:
..c/mlab
Sentence Syntax:
use mlab

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Sample MLA International Bibliography Documents

<Sample 1>
Accession Number
   2003971076
Authors
   Jeungel, Scott J.
Title
   Bare-Knuckle Boxing and the Pedagogy of National Manhood 
Source
   Studies in Popular Culture. 25 (3): 91-109. 2003 Apr.
Journal Abbreviation
   SiPC
Subject Headings
   English literature -- 1800-1899 -- Cobbett, William 
   [1762-1835] -- "In Defense of Boxing" -- prose -- essay 
   -- and Hazlitt, William [1778-1830] -- "The Fight" -- 
   Egan, Pierce, the elder [1772-1849] -- Boxiana --  
   treatment of boxing -- relationship to masculinity
ISSN
   0888-5753
Language
   English
Publication Type
   journal article
Peer Reviewed
   Yes
Sequence Number
   2003-1-3404
Update Code
   200305

<Sample 2>
Accession Number
   2003872843
Author
   Boland, Mel
Title
   'Orienting' the Text: Eastern Influences in the Fiction of Isabel Allende
Dissertation Abstract Number
   DA9612582. Adelphi U. 1996.
Book Citation
   Cross-Cultural Travel: Papers from the Royal Irish Academy
   Symposium on Literature and Travel. Conroy, Jane (ed. and introd.).
   xxii, 549 pp.
Title Page Additional
   National University of Ireland, Galway, November 2002
Series Information
   Travel Writing Across the Disciplines: Theory and Pedagogy., Volume 7.
Source
   Publisher: Peter Lang. Place of Publication: New York, NY; Book Pagination: 477-83, 
   Year of Publication: 2003.
Subject Headings
   Chilean literature -- 1900-1999 -- Allende, Isabel [1942- ] -- Hija de la 
   fortuna -- Retrato en sepia -- novel -- treatment of travel -- identity -- 
   relationship to Asia
ISBN
   0820469300
Language
   English
Publication Type
   book article
Series Abbreviation
   TravelW
Sequence Number
   2003-1-99999
Series ISSN
   1525-9722
Update Code
   200305

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MLA International Bibliography Producer Copyright Information

© 2004 Modern Language Association.

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Field Guide Revised May 31, 2005

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