Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (DNB) Solid biographies; entries about authors often include the location of manuscripts along with brief bibliographies at the end of the article.
American National Biography Online Like the DNB, the end of the entry includes a bibliography and an indication of important archives.
ArchiveGrid (UCB only) Draws together information from thousands of libraries, museums and archives.
National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC) The NUCMC began in 1959 as a cooperative cataloging program for manuscript repositories. To access the records for 1959-1985, you must use the printed catalogs. Doe Reference Z106.4.U52.N24
National Register of Archives The National Archives covers England, Wales, and the United Kingdom, and was formed by bringing together the Public Record Office and the Historical Manuscripts Commission. The National Register of Archives contains information on British manuscripts and historical records.
Location Register of Twentieth-Century English Literary Manuscripts and Letters: A Union List of Papers of Modern English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh Authors in the British Isles. 2 vols. Boston, MA : G.K. Hall, 1988. Doe Reference PR471.A12.L63 1988
Location Register of English Literary Manuscripts and Letters, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, edited by David C. Sutton. London : British Library, 1995. Doe Reference PR441.A12.L63 1995
Library of Congress Manuscript Reading Room Use the catalogs and finding aids located at this site.
Archive Finder (UCB only) Another listing of manuscripts in libraries and other repositories.
Catalogue of Digitized Medieval Manuscripts A work in progress from UCLA whose aim is to form a centralized listing of those medieval manuscripts that have been put online.
Digital Scriptorium Hosted by The Bancroft Library, the Scriptorium is an image database (visual catalog) of medieval and renaissance manuscripts.
Medieval Manuscripts on the Web Lists digitization projects as a way of finding the manuscripts.
Index of English Literary Manuscripts (work in progress). v. 1. 1450-1625 / compiled by Peter Beal (2 v.) -- v. 2. 1625-1700. pt. 1. Behn-King / compiled by Peter Beal. pt. 2. Lee-Wycherley / compiled by Peter Beal -- v. 3. 1700-1800 / compiled by Margaret M. Smith (4 v.) pt.3 by M.M. Smith and Alexander Lindsay. pt. 4. Laurence Sterne -Edward Young, with a first-line index to parts 1-4 /A. Lindsay -- v. 4 1800-1900 / compiled by Barbara Rosenbaum and Pamela White (pt. 1). pt. 2. Hardy-Lamb / compiled by Barbara Rosenbaum. pt. 3. Landor-Patmore / editor, Barbara Rosenbaum ; assistant director, Richard Pearson. Doe Reference PR83.A12.I5
Foster, Janet and Julia Sheppard, eds. British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United Kingdom. 4th ed. Houndmills; New York: Palgrave, 2002. Doe Reference CD1040.F67 2002
Robbins, J. Albert (John Albert). American Literary Manuscripts: A Checklist of Holdings Academic, Historical, and Public... 2d ed. Athens : University of Georgia Press, c1977. Doe Reference PS88.R6 1977
Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts A growing database with over 100,000 manuscripts written before 1600, the database aims to become a comprehensive "resource for the study, identification, ownership, and transmission of medieval and early Renaissance manuscripts."
Dictionary of Literary Biography
A series of volumes on many aspects of literature; entries about literary figures include a Papers section. Volumes of DLB are located in the Reference Room under the call number PS 129.D5. Look in the index of the most recent volume to find which volumes of the DLB cover your author. Many of the DLB articles can also be found in the Literature Resource Center. While you cannot limit your search to the DLB, you can somewhat limit the number of results by typing in the name of the author, limiting the search only to Literature Criticism, and searching the results for the word dictionary.