Quotations
A-Z How to Find Information
Where
do those words come from? You can remember a word or two here, a phrase there.....
are they from a poem you learned long ago? Maybe
they are actually from a song? Or from a novel, a film or a play? Or are they part of
a speech by a real person? Here are some tips:
Online
As a library member you can access a range of e-resources by logging in with your library card number and PIN.
- Credo Reference has a selection of books within the Quotations, Language and Literature sections
- Britannica Library has over 4000 quotations within their Notable Quotations section
- The Quotations page on WebLinks gives several good web sites where you can search for quotations
- The Books, Literature and Poetry page on WebLinks includes several sites at which you can enter keywords to search for poems, such as 'Bartleby Verse', 'Poet's corner' and 'Representative Poetry Online'. 'The Poetry Library' has an enquiry service that can be helpful when all other means have been tried
- The Music and Sounds page on WebLinks has a Lyrics and Track Finder which can help you find the words of songs
Search Engines
- Search for a phrase by enclosing the words in quotation marks. For example, enter "I wandered lonely"
- Enter several phrases at once. For example: "I wandered lonely" "saw a crowd" "host of golden daffodils"
- Enter a mixture of phrases and single words. For example: wandered crowd "host of golden daffodils"
- Use an asterisk in place of an unknown word. For example: "host of * daffodils".
Use two asterisks in place of two unknown words and so on. - If your first attempt doesn't give the desired result, try searching with fewer words or phrases in case you have remembered them incorrectly
- For further tips, see Making the most of search engines
In the Library
- Bedford Borough and Central Befordshire libraries hold many books that may help you track down a quotations, poem, proverb, saying or song. For example there are
dictionaries opf poems, proverbs and quotations, plus indexes of songs and poetry and concordances
Search the Library Catalogue for these books and their location - Contact us - for help to find information, from your local librarians
Page last updated: 31st March 2017