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Created: September 2007

THET 116: Fundamental of Design

Research resources compiled and Web page developed by Joan Stahl, Branch Manager, Art and Architecture Libraries

Course Instructors: Rebecca Wolf and Marie-Noelle Daigneaul

The University of Maryland Libraries have many resources that will help with research for THET 116 assignments. If you need additional information, please contact Joan Stahl or speak with a Reference Librarian at the Art Library's Reference Desk.

Because of licensing agreements, access to bibliographic databases and electronic journals is restricted to UM faculty, staff, and students. These may be accessed from off campus; consult Remote access for further information. For a complete list of electronic resources available to University of Maryland faculty, staff, and students, as well as information about the full range of library materials and services, consult the UM Libraries' home page.

Navigating the Library

Overview: This part of the class session will provide an orientation to the University of Maryland Libraries' facilities and services, some general searching skills, and how to find materials needed for research. Learning to navigate the library requires two sets of skills:

  • physical navigation
  • virtual navigation

Physical Library Navigation: The University of Maryland Libraries have eight branches on the College Park campus. The College Park library system is part of a larger state-wide consortium (USMAI) from which you may borrow material. Inside each library you will find:

  • Reference/Information Desk for help; when not available use the Ask us now!live online reference service.
  • Circulation/Reserve Desk to request a reserve book
  • Circulation Desk to check out or return a book
  • Stacks (regular size books)
  • Folio (large books)
  • Periodicals (magazines)
  • Public Computers for research

Virtual Library Navigation: most research is begun online. You must know how to search the catalog for a book, how to renew books online, how to request items from other USMAI libraries, and beyond.

Research Skills: the most basic research skill is knowing how to search the catalog for books and magazines, then how to read the catalog record so you can go to the library to get it.

To find information on a specific topic use a basic catalog search.

To find a book on a specific topic in a specific library, or any other limiting factor, use an advanced catalog search.

To find out if we have a volume of a magazine, use the journal module.

Locating Images

Locating images requires a multi-faceted approach that includes the use of traditional art historical reference tools, image repositories (photo archives, slide collections, museum collections), books and journal articles, and electronic databases and image banks.

Getting Started: Preliminary Questions

Consider the nature of your research:

  • Are you trying to locate an image that you have seen before, and for which you may already have the creator’s name?
  • Are you trying to locate themes (as opposed to a specific image), as represented by a variety of artists and designers?
  • Are you trying to find various renderings of objects or physical features (animals, geographic features, buildings, costume, etc.)?
  • Are you primarily interested in locating visuals that express a mood or feeling?
  • Are you interested in a particular medium (painting, poster, architectural model, set design, photograph, print, etc.)
  • Are you interested in the iconography (symbolism or meaning) of an image?

Databases

  • Art Abstracts / Art Index
    An index to English and foreign-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins; indexes selected book reviews and reproductions of works of art; includes citations only

  • ARTstor
    Repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images, from across many periods and cultures. Architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, design, and other forms of visual culture are represented. Provides tools to actively use images for scholarship, teaching, and learning.

  • Grove Art
    Includes the full-text of the 34-volume 1996 print edition of the Dictionary of Art, withonline updates and links to images in museum collections worldwide. Providesaccess to 45,000+ scholarly articles and links to 40,000+ images (Art Resource; Bridgman Art Library; Art Image Collections)

  • ARTbibliographies Modern
    Covers all aspects of modern and contemporary art from the late 19th century to the present including painting, drawing, sculpture, graphic arts, photography, performance and installation art, computer and electronic art, conservation and crafts.

Web (museums and archives)

Books (a sampling)

Hall, James.Dictionary of subjects and symbols in art (New York : Harper & Row, 1979)
Location: UMCP Art Library Reference N7560 H34 1979
Location: UMCP Art Library Stacks N7560.H34 1979

Havlice, Patricia Pate. World painting index (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1977).
Location: UMCP Art Library Reference ND45.H38

Roberts, Helene E., ed. Encyclopedia of comparative iconography: themes depicted in works of art (Chicago : Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998)
Location: UMCP Art Library Reference N7565.E53 1998

Other UM Libraries Resources

  • Ask us!
    Librarians are available to help you in-person, by phone, by email, or by live chat.

  • Citing Sources Using the MLA Handbook

  • Guides to Information Resources
    Online guides to information resources, produced by librarian subject specialists.

  • RefWorks
    RefWorks allows users to build an online personal database of citations, manage those references, and generate in-text citations and bibliographies in various citation styles.

Tips

  • Locating images is more an art than a science.
  • No two resources index and catalog images using the same terms.
  • Be creative in your searching.
  • Pay attention to the subject headings that are used in a specific source, so you can locate similar images.
 

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Last modified: September 19, 2006