Digital Processes
Background Information
Dictionary of Art. 34 vols. 1996
A standard for the study of art and art history.
Ref. N31 .D5 1996
The Oxford Companion to Art. 1970.
A mixture of short, one-paragraph entries with longer articles that may be several pages in length on a wide variety of topics. The longer articles reference a bibliography in the back of the volume.
Ref. N33 .O9
The Oxford Dictionary of Art.
Includes brief entries, thoroughly cross-referenced. A quicker introduction to concepts and people than the Oxford Companion to Art, it includes some technical terms that the companion omits.
Ref. N33 .O93 1988
Artwords: A Glossary of Contemporary Art Theory.
Provides a way into the current discourse on art.
Ref. N71 .P32 1997
Phaidon Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art. 1973.
Brief entries on aspects and people related to twentieth-century art. A few bibliographic citations are given at the end of some entries.
Ref. N 6490 .P46
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art. 2 vols.
Discusses a wide variety of themes, lists artworks related to them, an provides a list of further readings.
Ref. [q.] N7560 .E53 1998
The Dictionary of Computing and Digital Media: Terms and Acronyms.
Information for a wide range of users, including programmers, writers, video producers, network managers, and more, as well as graphic artists.
Ref. QA76.15 .H318 1999
The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography.
Details primarily the technical aspects of photography and imaging. Some entries are brief, but others, for example those on the history of particular pieces of equipment, are considerably longer.
Ref. TR9 .F6 1993
Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century Photography. 3 vols.
Covers history and practice of photography, and includes articles on artists (with lists of further readings) and entries on technique, technology, and more.
Ref. [q.] TR642 .E5 2006
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Books
To find items owned by the library, search LUCIA. Try a Subject begins with search, for example, photography or photography--digital techniques. LUCIA will list other subject headings (and subheadings) which may be of interest. For advanced research you should consult the Library of Congress Subject Headings, or LCSH, a guide to the terms commonly used in catalogs like ours. The LCSH can be found on top of the Ready Reference shelves behind the reference desk on the first floor of the library.
To combine terms for a different kind of search, try Keyword Anywhere. LUCIA will look for the terms you specify anywhere in the important areas of the cataloging records, and display a list of those records. Try a search for a phrase, like Eastman Kodak, by searching with quotation marks around the phrase, as in "eastman kodak". You can search for individual terms connected by logical operators like AND or OR. You might want to try searching for some of the terms you find in the LCSH. You can also search for multiple forms of words; try a search like this one for photograph* and women The asterisk acts as a truncation symbol and tells LUCIA to search for all words starting with photograph: photograph, photographs, photographers, photography, and so on. You can target your search even more effectively by telling LUCIA to look for the terms in the subject area of the records; compare the Keyword Anywhere search with the Subject Keyword search.
Books are arranged on the library's shelves by Library of Congress Classification. This is a system which organizes materials by general subjects. Once you have a call number from searching LUCIA, see this guide to call number locations at Mudd and the library floor maps to find out where a book might be on the shelves.
Search LUCIA for materials in our library; try WorldCat to find materials beyond the Mudd. Make sure you've thoroughly searched our library before going to WorldCat. See a reference librarian if you need help.
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Articles
The best index to use will depend on your topic. Be sure to check the Electronic Resources page for other options. Two of our resources, JSTOR and Project MUSE provide complete full text. Some of our indexes include:
. 1929-Basic index to art periodicals. The index will list other alternative subject headings to try.
Reference Indexes and on EBSCOhost (1984- )
Bibliography of the History of Art.
"Covers visual arts in all media including traditional fine arts (painting, sculpture, drawing, prints, architecture); decorative and applied arts; material culture; photography and contemporary new media; visual arts aspects of performing arts."
Newspapers and current magazines may be important sources of information for finding information on artists currently producing new work. Some of the sources you might consult include the following:
Academic OneFile
A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics. Includes full-text articles, many with images. 1980 - present; updated daily.
EBSCOhost.
Follow the link for EBSCOhost Web. EBSCOhost provides a single Web source for multiple databases; you might want to select the Academic Search Elite. Contains broad and specialized coverage of academic and general periodicals.
Finding News Information
From the librarians here at Lawrence. Includes links to many newspapers on the Web, and to electronic news source subscriptions.
Lexis/Nexis Academic
A version of the Lexis Nexis database for academic users. Provides access to a wide range of periodicals, national and international news sources, and reference sources, as well as up-to-the minute news wires.
ProQuest Newspapers
Provides access to a dozen Wisconsin newspapers in addition to over 500 regional, national and international publications, most in full-text. Dates for backfiles vary by title.
Once you have a citation for an article on your topic, try the 
button to see if that particular article is available. If you don't find it, you can submit a request for interlibrary loan (ILL) of a copy of the article: ILL takes about 7-10 days, so plan ahead. See the library's Interlibrary Loan page for more information.
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Biographical Sources
In addition to the sources below, be sure to look at the library's guide to finding biographical information.
Biography and Genealogy Master
Index.
A comprehensive index to over 16 million biographical sketches in
current and retrospective reference books, covering both contemporary and historical figures throughout the world.
The Prestel Dictionary of Art and Artists of the 20th Century.
Provides very brief biographical sketches.
Ref. [q.] N33 .P74 2000
Index to Artistic Biography. Multiple volumes and supplements.
Lists other published works on artists ancient to contemporary.
Ref. N40 .H38
World Artists.
Entries range from two to three pages in length, and include a lists of major exhibitions, major collections, and works about the authors profiled.
World Artists, 1950-1980 Ref. [q.] N6489 .M37 1984
World Artists, 1980-1990 Ref. N6489 .W67 1991
Contemporary Artists. 2nd ed. 1983
Fairly in-depth listing of over 800 artists from around the
world. Includes lists of publications by and about the artists
as well as some critical comments.
Ref. [q.] N 6490 .C6567 1983
North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century: A Biographical Dictionary.
Includes information on women artists of Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Ref. [q.] N 6503 .N67 1995
Dictionary of Contemporary American Artists. 6th ed.
Brief "Who's Who" type information, includes bibliographies and some illustrations.
Ref. N6536 .C8 1994
Who's Who in American Art. 2001-2002.
Brief information on living artists from North America. Includes several indexes and a necrology.
Ref. [q.] N 6536 .W5 2001-02
Contemporary Women Artists.
Provides biographical and career information on more than 350 of the world's most prominent and influential women artists.
Ref. N 8354 q.C66 1999
Dictionary of Women Artists. 2 vols.
Includes information on women artists in the western world working in a variety of media from the Middle Ages to the present day. Bibliographies are included.
Ref. N 8354 q.D53 1997
Contemporary Photographers.
Valuable compilation of information; includes photos of representative works and statements by the artists.
Ref. [q.] TR139 .C664 1995
American Women Photographers: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography.
Ref. Z7134 .K74 1999
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Web Resources
Internet Resources for Art and Art History
From the Seeley G. Mudd Library.
WebMuseum Artist Index
The WebMuseum is an excellent resource for online art; this link points
directly to a list of the artists represented in the Museum's "collection."
Web Wise Guide to Searching
From the library. In addition to advanced information about the workings of different search engines, provides links to tutorials and more.
One successful technique for finding biographical information on the Web is to search for the artist's name as a phrase within quotation marks, for example, "nam june paik". This technique will not work in every web search tool; you might want to consult the help screens offered by the various tools. It will work in Google.
Of course, there are many more web resources available that might be useful in your research. You might want to try looking at sources that select the best of the Web, like these:
It's important to think carefully about any information you find in any format, and to evaluate resources for their accuracy, applicability, and so forth. Evaluation of web resources is especially important. You may want to consult this guide to Evaluating Internet Resources. You can often find out a lot about a page (and a site) by parsing the URL. You might also learn something from the Web Wise Guide to Searching.
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Style Manuals
Academic Citation and Writing
Style manuals of the humanities, physical sciences, and the social sciences in the Seeley G. Mudd Library.
Citing Electronic Documents
This page provides guidance on citing electronic documents and links to
other guides, some on specific styles of documentation.
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers.
The guide for any academic papers written in the literatures and languages.
RRef. LB2369 .G53 1999
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About Research in Photography
Material related to the topic of this course will be drawn from many fields besides art; be prepared to look at materials from art history, history, and cultural studies, just to name a few. In addition to consulting catalogs and indexes, be sure to look at bibliographies supplied at the end of relevant articles, chapters, and books, and to search library catalogs for book-length bibliographies.
Your sources must be fully documented in any written work you produce. It may help to look at the information on style before you start your research, so that you will have all the required documentation at hand when you need it. Then as you write, go back to the resources on style for details on the exact format of your citations.
The sources listed in this guide were chosen for the broad coverage they provide. Direct links are provided to Internet resources and searchable databases, as well as links to LUCIA, the library's online catalog. Be sure to check the library's Electronic Resources page regularly to see new databases and indexes; some of these will only be available to users on the Lawrence campus. Also, you may want to take a look at guides on related topics from the Library Research Guides page.
Evaluating the resources you find is an essential part of the research process. See this guide to hints on evaluation of books and articles and this guide to evaluating Internet resources.
As always, if you have any questions be sure to ask a Reference Librarian.
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Definitions of terms and abbreviations:
Ref. = Reference collection, first floor
RRef.= Ready reference, shelves behind the reference desk
Periodicals = Level A
GovDoc = U.S. Government Documents, second floor
Reference Indexes = Alphabetically arranged at the end of the reference collection
Microform Area = Reading room east of the reference desk, near microform drawers
q. = Oversized books: interfiled in reference and scores; at end of classes in other collections
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