How to find old books: identifying and locating older editions tracing the publication history of a writer or a work researching the printed output of a time period

Can't find it in WorldCat?

The following resources help you identify older material, verify or correct a citation, and sometimes locate obscure material. A more complete listing of resources is available in the Guide to Primary Literature.

The NUC Catalogue indexes books printed before 1956. Includes books printed in Europe and Latin America.
B Level  (North end) Z881.A1C28 QUARTO

 The British Library (Museum) Catalogue indexes books before 1955. Also available online
General Reference on M Level Z921.B86 1959 QUARTO

Catalogue général des livres imprimés de la Bibliothèque Nationale.  French books up until 1959.
D Level  Z 927 .P2.
 

Individual Catalogues:
 

• Short-title catalogue of books printed in France and of French books printed in other countries from 1470 to 1600. from the British Museum.
  Special Collections Reference (A Level): Z 2162 .B86 1924
  
• La France littéraire au XV. siècle; ou, Catalogue raisonné des ouvrages en tout genre imprimés en langue
  française jusqu'à l'an 1500. D Level: Z 240 .B89 1865
  
• Répertoire bibliographique des livres imprimés en France au XVIè siècle.
  Special Collections Reference (A Level): Z2162.R4
  
• L'Ere Baroque: répertoire chronologique des éditions de textes littéraires. 1585-1643.
  General Reference (M Level): Z 2162.A72 1977
  
• Répertoire bibliographique des livres imprimés en France au XVIIè siècle.
  Special Collections Reference (A Level): Z 2162.A3 R45 1978
  
• Manuel de l'amateur de livres du XIXè siècle, 1801-1893. Details on 19th c. French editions. Special Collections Reference (A Level): Z 2161.V62 1974
  
• Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres. J.-C.Brunet. D Level: Z 1011 .B9 M5 French books up until 1860.
  
• Catalogue général de la librairie française. a subject guide to books printed in France, year-by-year, 1840-1945. D Level: Z 2161 .L86
  
• La France Littéraire. 12 volumes set that details writers (of all kinds), mostly 18th century. Includes some
  biographical information, and many obscure writers. General Reference (M Level): Z 2161 .Q4
  
• La France Révolutionnaire et Impériale. 7 volumes. A chronological index of publications from 1789-1815; very detailed. D Level: PH 2035 .M53
  
• Catalogue of books printed on the continent of Europe, 1501-1600, in Cambridge libraries. Herbert Adams.
  Special Collections Reference (A Level) : Z 1014 .A38 1967

Need to find the text online?

• Google Books now has the complete page images from thousands of books, most of them "old". Use the Advanced Search for more precision.
  Try searching on a phrase from the book you're looking for. Or keywords that will easily identify it.
  
• Many texts are online in various e-text archives, like Gallica. See the page on E-Texts in French Literature for more.
  

Special Collections on A Level ican be your best resource for help with rare books.