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Online Catalog

Use the Online Catalog to locate books, microforms, films, and other materials in the Reynolds Library. Use the Basic search tab to search by Author or Title. You can also use the Subject Heading search with an artists name (i.e., Matisse, Henri). Combine keywords or phrases in the Guided Keyword search.

Art materials have N call numbers and are concentrated on Reynolds 6. This section is divided by medium:

These broad categories are broken down further by time period, movement, subject or artist:

Each book record in the online catalog also contains Library of Congress Subject Headings, which can help you locate books on a similar topic. Click on the subject heading in the online catalog to go to a list of books that share that subject heading. Subject Headings can include artist names, buildings, museums, works of art, art movements, time periods, among others. Some examples are:

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Reference Resources

Use Reference Resources to get background information on an artist, work of art or concept. Many of these sources include bibliographies which list additional books and journal articles that would be useful for further research on the topic. All Reference materials are shelved on Wilson 4. These are selections from the many available resources:

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Online Databases

Use electronic databases to find journal articles, book chapters and reviews. The library has over 200 databases for finding journal articles. In the left sidebar, expand the Subject List under Arts and Humanities to find databases relevent to Art History.

Remember, these databases include articles from scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers. If your professor requires that you use scholarly journal articles for your project, take a look at this checklist to see if your articles are appropriate! When in doubt, ASK your professor or a librarian!

Note: The three main art databases (Art Index, BHA, RILA) can be searched simultaneously. When you first access the Art Index database, check the boxes to also select BHA and RILA, and then hit the "Start Searching" button in the top right corner. If you do search these databases simultaneously, remember that the results are grouped by database, i.e., all of the results from Art Index will be listed first, in chronological order, then the results from BHA, then RILA.

Arts Databases

Full-text, Multi-subject Databases

(index journal, magazine, and newspaper articles)

Historical Databases

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Locating a Journal

Find out if the Library subscribes to the journal you need through the Journals page. If we subscribe to the journal, the catalog will display information regarding print and/or electronic versions of the journal. You can also use the "subject browse" feature to view journals by subject area (selected journals only).

Remember, if the Reynolds Library does not have the journal (or book) that you need, request it via Interlibrary Loan. Current Art periodicals are located in the Periodicals Room, Art Section, alphabetical by title.

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Citing Your Sources

The latest editions of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Turabian) and The Chicago Manual of Style are available in exchange for an ID at the Reference Desk in the Library. Abridged electronic versions of several of the most common citation styles are located here.

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Websites

After you have consulted books and journal articles, you may also want to use web resources. Take a look at Evaluating Web Resources as you evalute the websites you find. These sites contain reliable information:

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Need Help?

Good luck in your search! If you are not finding enough information, ASK:

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