Updated: April 2009
LARC 140: Graphic Fundamentals
Librarians: Lara Otis, Patti Cossard
Course Instructor: Dennis Nola, Assistant Professor
Scope: This Web page will assist you in using the Architecture Library and locating resources for landscape architecture. Due to licensing agreements, some of the electronic resources available by remote access is restricted to current students, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland, College Park. Contact the subject area specialists for more information: lotis@umd.edu, 301-405-9260 or pcossard@umd.edu, 301-405-6316.
OUTLINE
- Navigating the Libraries
- Research Strategy Tips
- Using the Catalog
- Using Databases / Finding Articles
- Useful Sources for LARC 140
Navigating the Libraries
You will be conducting the bulk of your research at the Architecture Library. Consulting the Architecture Library Floor Plan will help you navigate the library and easily find what you need.
Remember:
Stacks (regular sized books) are located on the Library's second floor mezzanine level and folios (large-sized books) can be found on the Library's main level.
Reference books and bound periodicals do not circulate.
To copy or print you should have Terrapin Express activated on your student ID.
Use My Account to see what books you have checked out and when they are due.
You may also visit McKeldin Library. Again, make use of the floor plan, and always feel free to stop at a desk and ask for help when you're confused!
Research Strategy Tips
- Good research takes time, patience, and creativity. If it's not going well don't give up, just try a different angle.
- Need an overview of a topic to help you decide what to write about or focus on? Want to see if someone has already done some of the work for you? Begin your research by consulting some subject encyclopedias, bibliographies, and reference sources.
- Next look at both books and journal articles. Use the catalog to find books, and Research Port to find journal articles.
- Think about who might have kept the kind of information you want and where it might have been published.
- If and when you need help, ask! You can call, e-mail, use online chat, go to a desk, or make a reference appointment.
Using the Catalog
Look here for books, journals, audiovisual materials, microfilm, etc. (basically, anything that the library owns a physical copy of).
Tips:
Searching by title or author if you know them will be the fastest method.
When you find a book you like the look of, always write down all of the following: library, size/location (reference, stacks, folio), and call number.
Check the availability of the book you are interested in.
- In the search results list, check the location. In the example below, the Architecture Library has one copy of the book, and it is not checked out. 1/1 would indicate that the book is checked out.
- In the detailed record for the book, check the availability. If the item has been checked out, a due date will appear here.
To find general information on a topic, search for subject encyclopedias or dictionaries.- Use a "words anywhere" search in the catalog with the word "encyclopedia" or "dictionary" along with your subject ("landscape"):
- Or, use a "subject beginning with" search and put in the same words:
To find books about a subject you want to know more about, try the following techniques:- Put some well-chosen words into a "title words" search.
- Browse the results of a "subject beginning with" search. Try these for examples:
landscape architecture - designs and plans
landscape architecture - pictorial works
landscape architecture - United States [or put in another country]
landscape architecture - architectural drawings
Once you've found a book that looks useful, click on some of the hyperlinked subjects in the record to find similar books.
Using Databases / Finding Articles
- To save yourself time in the end, spend time in the beginning choosing your database and planning your strategy and search terms. Read the summaries of the databases, and look at a variety of subject categories in Research Port.
- Once you have chosen a database and opened it, explore the interface a bit before you search. Can you put any useful limits on your search?
date
limit to a particular journal
includes plans or photographs
peer-reviewed
- To help with efficient searching, use Boolean operators and/or truncation:
Use AND to narrow
Use OR to broaden
To truncate, put an asterisk on a word to find different endings. For example, architect* will find: architect, architects, architecture, architectural...
Useful Sources for LARC 140
Best Databases:
Avery Index
The Avery Index covers a huge range of architectural periodicals, and is usually the best place to start when looking for articles.
Oxford Art Online
This database includes the entire text of the Encyclopedia of World Art, and is very helpful for finding biographical information or overviews of styles.
Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index
A good source, especially for the more modern practitioners.
ARTstor
Find high quality images here.
Online guides:
Landscape Architecture
Architecture Resources Gateway - Landscape
Citation Systems and Style Manuals
Books:
- Landscape architecture: an illustrated history in timelines, site plans, and biography / William A. Mann. New York: John Wiley, 1993
Architecture Library - Reference - SB470.5 .M37 1993 - Penguin dictionary of architecture and landscape architecture / John Fleming, Hugh Honour, Nikolaus Pevsner. 5th edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1998
Architecture Library - Reference - NA31 .F55 1998 - Dictionary of architecture and landscape architecture / James Stevens Curl. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Architecture Library - Reference - NA31 .C864 2006 - Contemporary Architects (3rd edition) / ed. Muriel Emanuel. New York: St. James Press, 1994.
Architecture Library - Reference - NA680 .C625 1994 - Landscape architecture sourcebook : a guide to resources on the history and practice of landscape architecture in the United States / Diana Vogelsong. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics, 1997.
Architecture Library - Reference - SB470.53 .L36 1997
