Reference Materials

• Bi-annual directory of art schools, art organizations, and art information center.

• A useful guide to the business of art, including self-promotion methods, contact information, submission guidelines, book publishers, galleries, and art representatives.

• This is the print version of the online database

Dictionary of Women Artists — Ref N31 .G76
The Encyclopedia of Sculpture — Ref NB198 .E53 2004
Encyclopedia of World Art — Ref N31 .E4833
From Abacus to Zeus — RESERVE N33 .P5

• This is a dictionary of art related terms including processes, symbols, mythological Gods.

Grove Dictionary of Art Online

Illustration Index 1977-1981 — Ref N7525 .I44 1977-81
Illustration Index 1982-1986 — Ref N7525 .I44 1982-86

• This is a secondary source. It gives dates and country, then refers you to the title that contains the biographical information.

• This is a secondary source which lists by artist of title of their major works and where you can find a reproduction of the work.

Finding Books, eBooks, Audio Visuals etc.

Finding illustrations or photos of objects, people, paintings, prints, etc.

Art books, Resources, Techniques and Materials

• Defines toxicology of artists’ materials and proper hygiene for artists.

Material of Interest in the Collection

Library Databases for Finding Journal Articles and Images

• Photo database of over 500,000 AP photos from the last 150 years.

• Indexes, abstracts, art journals from 1984 to present. Includes periodicals covering art, antiques, archaeology, architecture, art history, computers in art, crafts, decorative arts, fashion design, folk art, graphics art, motion pictures, musicology, painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, TV, and related topics. Wilson web software. Includes very limited full text coverage beginning in 1997.

• Art Images for College Teaching (AICT) is a non-profit project of art historian and visual resources curator Allan T. Kohl. AICT is intended primarily to disseminate images of ancient, medieval, and Renaissance European art and architecture on a free-access, free-use basis. The images displayed on this site have been photographed on location by the author, who consents to their use in any application that is both educational and non-commercial in nature.

• Articles do not have abstracts or full-text. Subject listings will refer to title, author and journal name, vol. number, issue number , page numbers and issue dates. Covers 1929-1984 only.

• Indexes 1,144 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. Indexes articles from scholarly journals, which are most often read and cited in their respective field.

• ARTstor is a repository of hundreds of thousands of digital images and related data.The ARTstor Charter Collection currently contains approximately 300,000 images; by 2006 it is expected to contain 500,000. The Charter Collection documents artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture.

• An international index to design and craft journals. It currently contains nearly 120,000 annotated references from more than 450 design and craft journals published between 1973-2001 (most articles date from 1987), and data on nearly 50,000 designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops, firms etc.

• Contains 45,000 full-text articles on every aspect of the visual arts - painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts, and photography covering topics from prehistory to the present. Also contains approximately 100,000 images of painting, sculpture, architecture, and the decorative arts.

• Refers to articles and book reviews in over 290 periodicals in the humanities (dating as far back as 1984). Topics include theology, religion, performing arts, literary and political criticism, language and literature, philosophy, history, and classical studies.

• A bibliography of the European Middle Ages (c. 400-1500) consisting of 300,000 records of articles, review articles, scholarly notes and similar literature on all aspects of medieval studies. The discipline areas to which the IMB is relevant include Classics, English Language and Literature, History and Archaeology, Theology and Philosophy, Medieval European Languages and Literatures, Arabic and Islamic Studies, History of Education, Art History, Music, Theatre and Performance Arts, Rhetoric and Communication Studies.

• JSTOR is a collection of full-text scholarly journals covering varied subject areas. JSTOR provides photo images of articles and typically covers journals beginning with their first volume to fairly recent volumes. Fulltext display is photo image, instead of plain text.

• Full text coverage of over 40 scholarly journals from the humanities, social sciences and mathematics. Full-text coverage generally begins with the 1996 volume.

Finding Journals

Periodical List

Once you have searched for articles in the databases, you will find that not all citations were available full text, so you'll need to see if the journal that has your article is available in print in the Library or online. You may also just need to see if the Library subscribes to a journal you need to look at. The best list of the Library’s periodical subscriptions is the online Periodical List search. It identifies whether a periodical is available in print at the Library or electronically through a database/vendor. You can search for journals by title, or also browse for journals by subject.

Interlibrary Loan

If the Alkek library does not own a book or journal you need, a book could be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan, while a copy of an article could be requested if we do not have access to a journal. Contact 245-4893 or stop by Room 213 of the library for further Interlibrary Loan information.

TexShare

A library resource sharing program of all public Texas college libraries. Texas State students obtain TexShare cards at the Alkek Library's circulation desk. This card entitles you to checkout privileges at other public college libraries in Texas.

Web Image Databases and Art Web Sites

• This site sells movie and movie star posters, sports, maps, fine art images, and photographs, contemporary and vintage. Framed images can be purchased and previewed as it would appear in a large variety of mats and frames.

archINFORM

• International Architecture Database. This database for international architecture, originally emerging from records of interesting building projects from architecture students, has meanwhile become the largest online-database about worldwide architects and buildings from past to present. This database includes information over more than 21000 built and unrealized projects from various architects and planners. The architecture of the 20th century is the main theme of this database. It's possible to look for a special project via an architect, town or keyword with the indices or by using a query form. For most entries you get the name, address, keywords and information about further literature. Some entries include images, comments, links to other Websites or internal links.

• The vast majority of the artists in this database specialize in painting and sculpture. Artistic media is included when possible. Examples of these types of media are: photography, decorative arts, installation art, video, digital/web-based art, naïve art/folk art/outsider art, and architecture.

• Facilitating art historical and other arts research on the Internet; provides access to search engines, mailing lists, newsgroups, library catalogs, art collections, and other art-related web sites.

• Professor Christopher Witcombe from Sweet Briar College has put together a page of art history links including prehistoric art up through contemporary art. He also has links that divide the art by region. There are links to research resources and other miscellaneous useful art links.

• Free use resource for art images, mostly architecture but includes some painting and sculpture. These are “image copies that are the copyrighted property of Art Historian and photographer Allan T. Kohl (unless otherwise credited), are licensed for non-profit use as set forth” in their licensing information. It grants permission to use the images “freely and without further authorization in conjunction with educational activities such as teaching, research and scholarly publication.”

ARTINFO

News about art and culture around the world. Includes Art Sales Index Search tool for searching lots at auctions.

Artlibraries.net

• Virtual catalog for art history. Formerly known as the Virtueller Katalog. Provides access to over 8 million bibliographic records for periodicals, conference papers, festschriften, auction catalogues, exhibition catalogues and much more. Along with the catalogues of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Thomas J. Watson Library and the Getty Research Institute Research Library, Arcade is one of only three U.S. library catalogues included in this international search portal for the discovery of art resources.

• This site claims to be the portal for the world of art. Information about galleries, artists, auctions, printstore, bookstore, and a magazine are just some of the features.

• National Arts and Education Information Network. The mission of ArtsEdge is to help artists, teachers, and students gain access to and share information, resources, and ideas that support the arts.

• The Getty’s Art Education Web site.

• This is a network of resources on Art and Architecture; includes links to other art-related web sites as well as original materials submitted by librarians, artists, art historians, and others.

• This is a useful image directory. “The Artists Bluebook”. Extensive information about 32,000 artists.

• Copyright protected, for sale images. Some are royalty-free. You need a subscription to acquire these images, but you can always just look for inspiration.

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Art & Design

• Browse the image gallery, ask Joan of Art a question, look through the archives of American Art, or browse the many Smithsonian art collections.

• A great place for conducting research on contemporary and modern artists. 

Google Image Search

• Great for when you just need a simple image fast for a paper or collage. But remember it is the Web so the resolution is usually very small so the quality of the image is not that great. Also, if you plan to publish or display the image you use, you should contact the person who made the image to make sure it is OK. Many images on the Web are copyrighted.

• Website of websites for art image resources, by geographic area Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, type or medium and collections in museums and galleries. This was produced by the University of Michigan Art History dept.

• The Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) provides access through group or item records to about 65% of the Division's holdings, as well as to some images found in other units of the Library of Congress. Many of the catalog records are accompanied by digital images--about one million digital images in all. No all images are in public domain and if you are going to use them for publishing you need to determine if copyright restrictions apply. The main Library of Congress page, offers a wealth of other types of cultural and educational resources as inspiration for any artist.

• NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 300,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints and photographs, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more. Choose from subject areas including arts, literature, cities, buildings, culture, society, history, geography, industry, technology, nature, science, printing and graphics.

• This is accessed free, but it sells you the images, so you really can’t use them except to look at them online. It is all images of New York, including some LIFE magazine photos, but all of this is copyrighted

• This website includes a “Search Oeuvre Catalogue” where you can type in the name of an artist and it will cite sources for their print works only, especially print catalogues raisonne. You would then have to check our online catalog. If we don’t own, request via interlibrary loan.

Smithsonian Collections Search Center

• The Collections Search Center provides easy "one-stop searching" of more than 2 million of the Smithsonian's museum, archives, library and research holdings and collections. The access to more Smithsonian collections via this Search Center is increasing over time.

• Great collection of books and manuscripts from the British Library with wonderful image resolution and audio. You actually see the original book and get to turn the pages.

• The UT Fine Arts Library has extensive information on their Web Site about art history research. They also have links to museum Websites. You can also search the catalog and use their print resources using your Texshare card. Be aware that fines are incurred on overdue material.

• Focuses on humanities research, including art, art history, photography, classical studies, architecture and many other art-related disciplines.

• The Web site is under copyright, but Alkek Library has permission for its students and faculty to use for academic and scholarly purposes, including publishing. Excellent collection of European and particularly Renaissance art. Once you get to a work, there are thumbnail prints, but when you click on the image, it will blow it up in size. Increases from 25% to 200%. Image quality is excellent and most images have an "i" icon which indicates they have some narrative regarding the image.

Information Literacy Standards