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Art & Architecture Libraries

Research Resources for Art, Art History, and Archaeology

Scope: This guide provides access to a selection of art-related online databases -- also available through Research Port -- along with a selected listing of print reference sources available in the Art Library. For a guide to non-subscription art-related Web sites, see Web Resources for Art, Art History and Archaeology. For further information email Louise Greene or call 301-405-9064.

Table of Contents

 

FIND BOOKS AND EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

The University System of Maryland Online Library Catalog

  • Catalog
    Online access to the collections of the Unversity System of Maryland Libraries.

  • WorldCat UM
    [Off-campus access]
    Online access to the collections of the Unversity System of Maryland Libraries and other OCLC libraries worldwide. Materials include books, serial publications, theses and dissertations, media, visual materials, musical scores, and archival materials.

Other Libraries' Online Catalogs

  • WorldCat (FirstSearch)
    [Off-campus access]
    A union catalog of the holdings of OCLC member libraries worldwide. Materials include books, serial publications, theses and dissertations, media, visual materials, musical scores, and archival materials. Items not owned by the UM Libraries may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

  • Aladin
    A union catalog of the Washington Research Library Consortium, including American University, Catholic University, Gallaudet University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Marymount University, University of the District of Columbia, and Trinity College.

  • CIRLA
    Catalogs of the Chesapeake Information and Research Library Alliance members, including George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Johns Hopkins University, Library of Congress, National Agricultural Library, Smithsonian Institution, University of Delaware, and University of Maryland. Direct Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement for Graduate Students and Institutional Researchers.

  • National Gallery of Art Library
    Information and access to the online catalog.

  • Library of Congress
    Information and access to the online catalogs.

  • LibWeb
    Links to online library catalogs worldwide.

Other resources for locating books and exhibition catalogs

  • English Short Title Catalog
    [Off-campus access]
    A catalog of English-language imprints and imprints in all languages published in English-speaking countries from 1473 to 1800. Many of these texts are available on microform at McKeldin Library; most pre-1700 titles are available online in Early English Books Online.

  • Interlibrary Loan
    Request a book not held by UM Libraries. (Allow at least two weeks for delivery.)

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FIND JOURNAL AND PERIODICAL ARTICLES

Indexes to the literature of art, art history and archaeology

  • Art Abstracts and Art Index Retrospective 1929-1984
    [Off-campus access]
    Indexes to periodical articles on all styles and periods of the fine arts, archaeology, architecture, decorative arts, advertising art, city planning, design, motion pictures, museum studies and photography. Indexing includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks and museum bulletins; periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Spanish and Dutch; and information about reproductions of works of art appearing in these periodicals. The literature indexed in Art Index Retrospective dates from 1929-1984; the literature indexed in Art Abstracts dates from 1984 to the present.

  • ARTbibliographies Modern
    [Off-campus access]
    An index to periodical articles on art of the 19th and 20th centuries. The literature indexed dates from 1974 to the present.

  • BHA (Bibliography of the History of Art)
    [Off-campus access]
    An index to periodical articles, museum and exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and books on European and American art from late antiquity to the present. Includes RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art) and RAA (Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeologie). The literature indexed dates from 1973 to the present.

  • Design and Applied Arts Index
    [Off-campus access]
    An index to international design and craft journals. The literature indexed dates from 1973 to the present. Supplementary databases include directories of arts institutions, organizations, and current periodicals.

  • Dyabola (Click the "IP-Access" box, then click "Start")
    [Off-campus access]
    The subject catalog of the German Archaeological Institute which indexes the literature of art of the classical world. The literature indexed dates from 1956 to the present.

  • Index to Nineteenth Century American Art Periodicals
    This two-volume print set allows for subject searching, as well as contents browsing of the 43 journal titles indexed. Art Ref N6510.S35

Multi-disciplinary indexes useful for art research

Other resources for locating periodical articles

  • Interlibrary Loan
    Request an article from a journal not held by UM Libraries. (Allow at least two weeks for delivery.)

More online databases are available through Research Port.

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FIND E-JOURNALS

In addition to the many journal titles available in print in the Art Library, online access to e-journals is available through Research Port. Search or browse for specific journals by title.

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FIND BOOK REVIEWS

Many of the above indexes to journal and periodical articles are good sources of information on book reviews. The following Book Reviews Guide also provides links to these and other resources: http://www.lib.umd.edu/UMCP/MCK/GUIDES/bookrev.html

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FIND THESES AND DISSERTATIONS

  • Center for Research Libraries (CRL)
    [Off-campus access]
    A consortium of North American academic and independent research libraries which acquires and preserves newspapers, journals, doctoral dissertations from the US and abroad, documents, archives, and other traditional and digital resources for research and teaching. Items not owned by the UM Libraries may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

  • Dissertations & Theses Full Text
    [Off-campus access]
    An index to U.S. doctoral dissertations completed since 1861. Citations include abstracts from 1980, and some full-text from 1997.

  • UM Theses and Dissertations (DRUM)
    Online full-text access to UM theses and dissertations since 2003 through DRUM (Digital Repository at the University of Maryland).

  • WorldCat
    [Off-campus access]
    A union catalog of the holdings of OCLC member libraries worldwide. Items not owned by the UM Libraries may be requested through Interlibrary Loan.

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FIND PRIMARY MATERIALS

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FIND IMAGES

Resources not linked are available in the Art Library reference collection.

  • Visual Image Resources on the Web
    An Art Library guide to image sources available online.

  • ARTstor
    [Off-campus access]
    A searchable database of digital images from all periods, cultures, and media including architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design. Provides tools for using the images for scholarship, teaching, and learning.

  • Bridgeman Art Library
    [Off-campus access]
    A searchable archive of images drawn from public and private collections worldwide. Includes all subjects, styles, periods, and media.

  • LC Prints and Photographs
    A searchable database of images from the Library of Congress collections.

  • Vertical Files
    Ephemeral materials in the Art Library's collections (exhibition announcements, catalogs, etc.) filed alphabetically by name of institution or individual. Located in the Art Library photocopy room. Browse the online index.

Indexes

  • Havlice, Patricia. World Painting Index.
    Art Ref ND45.H3

  • Appel, Marsha. Illustration Index.
    Art Ref N7525.A67

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REFERENCE WORKS

Resources not linked are available in the Art Library Reference Collection.

General

  • Jones, Lois. Art Information: Research Methods and Resources
    Art Ref N85.J64 1990

  • Jones, Lois. Art Information and the Internet: How to Find it, How to Use It
    Art Ref N59.J66 1999.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Atlases

  • Oxford Art Online (Formerly Grove Art)
    [Off-campus access]
    Includes the full text of the 34-volume Grove Dictionary of Art as well as other reference texts and links to images and information through museum Web sites worldwide.
    Art Ref N31 .D5

  • Perseus
    [Off-campus access]
    An interactive multi-media database for the study of the history, archaeology, art, and literature of archaic and classical Greece. Includes images of art and architecture, primary texts in Greek with English translation, a Greek-English lexicon, a world atlas, histories, articles and essays, and an extensive bibliography.

Biographical Dictionaries and Indexes

  • Artist Biographies Master Index
    Art Ref N40.A78

  • Benezit, Emmanuel. Dictionary of Artists
    Art Ref N40.D5213

  • Biography and Genaeology Master Index
    [Off-campus access]
    An index to more than 13.6 million biographical sketches.

  • Contemporary Artists
    Art Ref N6490.C6567

  • Havlice, Patricia. Index to Artistic Biography
    Art Ref N40.H38

  • Who's Who in American Art
    Art Ref N6536.W5

Directories

  • American Art Directory
    Art Ref N50.A54

  • International Directory of the Arts
    Art Ref N50.I6

  • Official Museum Directory
    Art Ref AM11.O4

Auction Information

  • Artnet
    [Off-campus access]
    A database of sales results for artworks sold through 500 international auction houses from 1985 to the present. Searchable by artist, title of work, auction house, medium, size, date of execution, and date of sale. Includes color images.

More online reference works are available through the UM Libraries home page.

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SUBJECT GUIDES TO INFORMATION RESOURCES

Consult these Art Library guides for additional resources on specific topics.

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© 2008 University Libraries. University of Maryland. College Park, MD 20742-7011, (301) 405-0800
Last modified: July 30, 2009

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