Using one of the databases listed under the Databases tab above, go to Advanced Search. Key in a search term or two, or an author’s name and click on the search button. 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 ArticleFirst, 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.

The Library of Congress call numbers for Dance range from GV1580 to GV1799.4. In the general circulating collection, these books are located on the second floor of Kellogg, near the computer lab. You can (and should!) browse the shelves of this section to find books, but be aware that dance intersects with other disciplines and art forms, and relevant titles may be found on other floors, for example:

Pearlman, Ellen. Tibetan Sacred Dance: A Journey Into the Religious and Folk Traditions. Rochester, VT : Inner Traditions, 2002.
BQ 7695 .P43 2002  - 1st floor Kellogg

Haas, Jacqui Greene. Dance Anatomy. Champaigne, IL : Human Kinetics, 2010 
RC 1220 .D35 H33 2010 - 4th floor Stevenson

Laws, Kenneth. Physics and the Art of Dance: Understanding Movement. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002
QP 310 .D35 .L388 2002 - 4th floor Stevenson

Thus, you should also use Felix, our library catalog, to identify dance books on your topic. If you know the title of the book or the author's name (last name, first name), enter these into Felix. Otherwise, choose a Keyword search and type in ‘dance,’ then click on a title from the list that looks like it is about the subject you're researching. You can also expand your research by looking at the subject headings for each record. Click on a given heading to get a list of all the subject headings used in our catalog that alphabetically surround the one you chose. Selecting any subject heading will then give you a list of the titles we own on that particular subject heading. You can also use these headings as search terms in databases like WorldCatand JSTOR.

If you have selected a title, make note of the location, call number, and status of the title to find the book on the shelves. 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 a book is checked out, or not owned by 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 in our catalog or in ConnectNY, you may request it through ILLiad, our InterLibrary Loan service.

The database that serves ILLiad is called WorldCat. WorldCat is a catalog of thousands of library catalogs, including all the major research 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.

Sample reference works about dance include:

Craine, Debra. The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press, 2010
Reference GV1585 .C78 2010

A Core Collection in Dance. Chicago : The Association, 2001
Reference GV1594 .C6 2001

International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York : Oxford University Press, 1998
Reference GV 1585 .I586, 1998 vols. 1-3

The Library of Congress call numbers for Dance range from GV1580 to GV1799.4. In the general circulating collection, these books are located on the second floor of Kellogg, near the computer lab. For example:

Rethinking  Dance History: A Reader. London; New York : Routledge, 2004
GV 1781 .R48 2004

Danceart - Features articles and interviews about dance, dance-themed clipart, and over 60 dance message boards.

National Museum of Dance - The only museum dedicated to American professional dance. Located in the Saratoga Spa State Park, the Museum houses a collection of photographs, videos, artifacts, costumes, biographies and archives comprising a contemporary and retrospective examination of seminal contributions to dance.

Voice of Dance - Offers calendar listings for major dance companies around the world, review excerpts of dance performances, the latest news from the arts world, an extensive image gallery, special multimedia presentations, and a global directory of over 25,000 dance-related companies and organizations.

New York Magazine - Dance reviews, feature articles, and dance event listings in the New York area.

New York Times - Dance reviews, feature articles, and selected dance event listings in the New York area.

ExploreDance - Features articles on dance searchable by type of dance, topic, author or location. Includes performance reviews interviews, and dance events and lessons in the New York area.

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.

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 MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers
LB2369 .G53 2009 (in the Reference Section and in Ready Reference behind the Reference Desk)

Concise Rules of APA Style
BF76.7 .C66 2005

Rules for Writers by Diana Hacker
PE1408.H277 2008

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)