Reference Sources

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Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)

The AAT is a structured vocabulary of around 34,000 concepts, including 131,000 terms, descriptions, bibliographic citations, and other information relating to fine art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, and material culture.

Ask Art

AskART is an online database containing over 120,000 artists from early 16th-century through the present. Access information about artists biographies, auction records, financial graphics, magazine ads(pre-1998) and images. Over 6,000 museums and dealers are also referenced.

COPA: Commercial Pattern Archive

COPA is a project that electronically captures and records commercial pattern data. Commercial patterns are full-scale tissue paper clothing patterns used by the home-sewer to create garments and accessories issued in the States as early as 1854. The Archive is an official project of Save America's Treasures. Please contact the Reference Desk: risdlib@risd.edu or 401-709-5902 for login and password.

 

Design ProFILES

Contains biographical profiles of more than 15,000 designers and design-related organizations that were influential in the 20th century world of design. Design ProFILES Factsheet

Encyclopedia Britannica Online

Includes the complete encyclopedia, as well as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Thesaurus.

FirstSearch

Gateway to 24 databases which index newspapers, journal articles, and academic writing in a variety of subject categories including alternative press, biography, business, consumer affairs, current events, theses and dissertations, economics, education, engineering, general science, health, humanities, law, life sciences, medicine, public affairs, social sciences, and technology. Dates of coverage vary. The search option, "Suggest Best Database" is a good starting point. Also contains WorldCat (see worldcat.org) OCLC's catalog of books and other materials in libraries worldwide. To request books or articles not owned by RISD Library, see Interlibrary Loan. Return completed ILL forms to the Reference desk or email to RISD Library. Requests can take up to two weeks. Questions? RISD Reference, 709-5902.

Grove Art Online is now part of Oxford Art Online

An authoritative guide with extensive surveys and in-depth, signed full-text articles on the history of art written by noted scholars in their respective field of expertise. This online version of the Dictionary of Art provides external image links to museums, galleries, and art collections around the world.

Hislop's Art Sales Index on CDROM

Hislop's includes 2.8 million art auction results worldwide for 215,000 artists who have appeared at auction in the past 50 years. 2004 edition. Access at RISD Reference Desk.

Literary Reference Center

Literary Reference Center (LRC) is a comprehensive literary reference database, which provides users with a broad spectrum of reference information from antiquity to the present day. LRC is a comprehensive database that combines information from over 1,000 books and monographs, major literary encyclopedias and reference works, and hundreds of literary journals. Source List

Material ConneXion

Database of materials and processes covering the fields of architecture, industrial design, interior design, and textiles. Includes over 2,800 materials representing eight categories: carbon-based materials, cement-based materials, ceramics, glass, metals, natural material derivatives, natural materials, and polymers. Provides comprehensive product information, technical specifications, application information, manufacturer profiles, and material images.

Oxford Art Online

This major art reference source includes Grove Art Online, the Oxford Companion to Western Art, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms. New features include Timelines of world art, MOMA lesson plans, and thematic guides. Utilize digital images within the Oxford Art Online database. Browse or Search among 5,990 digital images and 40,000 editorially selected image links to museums and galleries around the world.

Oxford English Dictionary

Full text version of the second edition of the OED, the most complete dictionary of the English language available. Traces the usage of words through 2.5 million quotations from a wide range of international and English language sources. Sign up to receive the OED Word of the Day by email or RSS feed. View today's Word of the Day.

Oxford Reference Online

Includes timelines, maps and illustrations, quotations, encyclopedia and bi-lingual dictionaries. This source is comprised of 175 titles, including key titles in the acclaimed Oxford Companions and Oxford Dictionaries series, plus the Visual English Dictionary, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations and the Encyclopedia of Mammals. List of Subjects & Books.

Rhizome

Rhizome is dedicated to the creation, presentation, preservation, and critique of emerging artistic practices that engage technology. Through open platforms for exchange and collaboration, Rhizome's website serves to encourage and expand the communities around these practices. Programs, many of which happen online, include commissions, exhibitions, events, discussion, archives and portfolios. Sign up to create a personal profile page, subscribe to Rhizome's blog and newsletters, participate in discussion, post announcements and view job opportunities, browse art in the online archive, the ArtBase, find out about recent events and exhibitions, apply for a grant and view Rhizome grantees.

RISD Library Reference Blog

Created by RISD Librarians, this blog is used to log reference questions received via email, in person and by phone at the Reference Desk. Check here for sources and search tips on recent assignments and for resources specific to your major. RISD Library Reference Desk, 709-5902, risdlib@risd.edu

Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)

TGN is a structured vocabulary currently containing around 1,106,000 names and other information about 912,000 places. Names for a place may include names in the vernacular language, English, other languages, historical names, names and in natural order and inverted order. Among these names, one is flagged as the preferred name. The temporal coverage of the TGN ranges from prehistory to the present and the scope is global.

 

Ulrichsweb

Ulrichsweb is the authoritative source of bibliographic and publisher information on more than 300,000 periodicals of all types: academic and scholarly journals, Open Access publications, peer-reviewed titles, popular magazines, newspapers, and newsletters from around the world. Search by keyword, title, subject or ISSN( International Standard Serial Number). Use it to learn which online index to search for a specific periodical or whether a journal is peer-reviewed and has an online presence. Use to learn if a journal has ceased publication or has had a title change. Ulrichsweb includes reviews, demographics of each journal's readership, submission information, publication frequency and subscription price. From the Ulrich's record, search the RISD/Ath catalog by selecting SEARCH MY LIBRARY'S CATALOG. Titles List

Union List of Artist Names(ULAN)

The ULAN is a structured vocabulary currently containing around 293,000 names and other information about 120,000 artists. Names in ULAN may include given names, pseudonyms, variant spellings, names in multiple languages, and names that have changed over time (e.g., married names). Among these names, one is flagged as the preferred name. The temporal coverage of the ULAN ranges from Antiquity to the present and the scope is global.

Worldcat

WorldCat.org lets you search the collections of libraries in your community and thousands more around the world. You can search for books, music, CDs, and videos as well as downloadable audio books, article citations some with full text, authoritative research materials such as documents and photos, and digital versions of rare items.