Using one of the databases listed under the Databases tab above, go to Advanced Search, and search on the artist’s name as a subject or a descriptor. If you get too many hits, try adding a keyword (maybe words from the title of a specific work) that might narrow your subject down.

If you’re searching a citation database like the Bibliography of the History of Art , you’ll need to see if the library subscribes to the journal the article you want is in. Open up another window to our homepage and click on our Journals link (icon to the right). Type in the title of the journal, click on the Search button and then click on the links (if any) listed below.

If we do not subscribe to the journal you’re looking for, use ILLiad to request the article.

For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the article request form from EBSCO databases – just click on the button. From other databases, or from citations you find in printed sources, type in the information.

Start with our catalog - Felix and ConnectNY. Always search the artist’s/architect’s/designer’s name as an author (last name first), as a subject heading (again, last name first) and as a keyword. A keyword search is important in our catalog and in ConnectNY because keywords search across the entire book description, including the contents and notes information. For some artists, there may not be a whole books devoted to their works, but there might be an essay in a book that is about a larger idea or movement or group exhibit. So the artist’s name might appear in the Contents or Notes section, and nowhere else in the description. Note any appropriate subject headings, they can be used for searches in other databases, like WorldCat and Project MUSE.

When you find a book in the catalog that you want to see, make note of its location. Books whose locations include the word Bard are here in the main library, Stevenson. We share our catalog with the Center for Curatorial Studies Library which is open to Bard students, but does not lend its books, and the library at the Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. To use the Bard Graduate Center’s library, which is located in New York City, please contact the Reader Services Librarian at (212) 501-3035 or reference@bgc.bard.edu.

• If the book you’re looking for has a location of “Bard Library” and a call number that starts with the letter N, look for it on the 3rd floor of Kellogg.
• If it has a location of “Bard Oversize”, the book will be in a special section located at the end of the N’s. It’s easy to find these shelves as they’re spaced differently from the surrounding shelves.
• If the book’s location is “Bard Spec Coll, Res Rm”, the book is behind the Reserves Desk on the third floor of Stevenson. Bring your ID to check it out for three hours. This book cannot be taken out of the building.

 
If a book is not available in our library, or if the subject you’re researching is not adequately covered by the holdings in our library, the next place to look is in the ConnectNY catalog.

Search ConnectNY as you would our catalog. When you find a book you want: make sure the status is “Available” then click “Request this Item” choose Bard from the drop down box then key in your last name and barcode number.

The book will be delivered in two to six business days and may be picked up from  Reserves Desk on the third floor of Stevenson. You’ll be notified by e-mail. The borrowing period for these books is three weeks with one three week renewal. ConnectNY books should be returned to the Reserves Desk.

 
If a book is not available in our library or in ConnectNY, check WorldCat.

WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of library catalogs, including all the major research libraries and many, many specialty art libraries. Repeat the searches you performed in our catalog and ConnectNY.

 
If you find a book you want to read, use our ILLiad system to request it.

For more information on ILLiad, and to set up your account, click here. Once your account is set up, you can automatically populate the book request form from WorldCat – just click on the button.

The Reference Collection of the library contains encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks pertaining to particular subject areas, sometimes very particular subject areas. This section is organized by call numbers that mirror the call numbers in the general collection, so if you have a book in hand about a particular subject, you can go the section of the Reference Collection with a similar call number and see consult the reference works on that subject.

The Reference Collection starts on the shelves by the Rugby Field on the first floor of Stevenson and continues into Kellogg.

Art and Art History reference works are located on the first floor in Kellogg in the N’s.

Encyclopedia of Italian Renaissance and Mannerist Art, 2 volumes
ND6370 .E53 2000

Grove’s Encyclopedia of Classical Art and Architecture, 2 volumes
N5610 .G76 2007

Art Atlas
N5300 .A77 2008

Encyclopedia of Latin American and Caribbean Art
N6502 .E53 1999

Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography, 2 volumes
N7565 .E53 1998

Encyclopedia of 20th Century Architecture, 3 volumes
NA680 .E495 2004

The Artists’ Handbook of Materials and Techniques
ND1500 .M3 1970

The Design Encyclopedia
NK1370 .B93 2004

The Visual Dictionary of Architecture
NA31 .C44 1995

The Encyclopedia of Sculpture, 3 volumes
NB198 .E53 2004

The Dictionary of Women Artists, 2 volumes
N8354 .D53 1997

The Library of Congress call numbers for Art, Art History and Architecture start with N. In the general, circulating collection, these books are located on the third floor in Kellogg.

N	Visual arts, general works; art as a profession; economics of art; art and the state; public art
NA	Architecture; aesthetics of cities; city planning and beautifying
NB	Sculpture designs and techniques, restoration
NC	Drawing, design and illustration; history of drawing; commercial art; illustration; posters;
ND	Painting; techniques and materials conservation; watercolor painting; mural painting; manuscript illumination;
NE	Print media; printmaking and engraving; etching; lithography
NK	Decorative arts; religious art; interior decoration; furniture; wallpapers
NX	Arts in general

Art History Resources on the Web - Links to art history sites organized by time and geography. Includes links to museums.

Artsource - A gathering point for networked resources on Art and Architecture. The content is diverse and includes pointers to resources around the net as well as original materials submitted by librarians, artists, and art historians, etc. This site is intended to be selective, rather than comprehensive.

The Mother of all Art and Art History Links Pages - Includes links to dozens of museums in the United States

ArtBabble - ArtBabble was conceived, initiated, designed, built, sculpted, programmed, shot, edited, painted and launched by a cross-departmental collection of individuals at the Indianapolis Museum of Art (IMA). It is intended to showcase video art content in high quality format from a variety of sources and perspectives.

Librarians' Internet Index Museum Directory

The Archives of American Art - From the Smithsonian, the Archives today is the world's pre-eminent and most widely used research center dedicated to collecting, preserving, and providing access to primary sources that document the history of the visual arts in America

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Timeline of Art History - This is a global timeline of art history featuring examples of art from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

For contemporary, 20th century and late 19th century artists, it’s often useful (sometimes crucial) to consult newspaper reviews of their exhibitions or feature articles and obituaries about the artist. We have several good sources for that kind of information: Newspapers.

New York Times From 1851 to 3 Years Ago is a great source for reviews and articles. It’s helpful to choose the document type when searching. If you’re looking for an obituary or review, try that document type, but if you can’t find anything, try “article”. For newspaper articles after 1985 for cities other than New York, try LexisNexis Academic.

For older newspaper and magazine articles, our collection of the index The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature extends back to the 1890s. It’s located on first floor of Stevenson, on the shelves closest to the rugby field. C19: The Nineteenth Century Index indexes newspapers and magazines from the 19th century, as does the Index to 19th Century American Art Periodicals.

For the most part, Art History faculty prefer that students use the Chicago Style of Citation. NoodleBib is an excellent online utility for both generating a Chicago Style bibliography and footnotes and for organizing your research. Zotero is a similar database that downloadable from Firefox and has the added advantage of pulling the bibliographic data straight from the source into your research folder.

Style Guides:
The Chicago Manual of Style
LB2369 .T8 2007  (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations : Chicago Style for Students and Researchers by Kate Turabian
LB2369 .T8 2007  (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Cite right: A Quick Guide to Citation Styles -- MLA, APA, Chicago, the Sciences, Professions, and More by Charles Lipson
PN171.F56 L55 2006  (in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

The first stop for images is ARTstor. To search for a particular image, try using the advanced search and keying in the artist’s last name in the Creator field (from the drop down box) and a keyword from the title of the work. Bear in mind that translations of titles are not always consistent, and you might have to page through to find the image you’re looking for.

Once you’ve found an image in ARTstor, you can zoom in and out on the image, create a personal account and save it in a folder. ARTstor also includes presentation software that can be downloaded to any computer called the Offline Image Viewer (OIV).  It’s very easy to use, and images on your computer, like those found on the web or from your collection can easily be transferred to the OIV.

For other images, try using Google Images. Search results can be limited by file size, so choose the larger file sizes for presentations, smaller ones for websites.