Research Guides: POM ARHI 130 / Latin American and Latinx Art / Romero / FA25: Finding Secondary Sources (books, journal articles, etc!)

Find Background Information

Dictionaries and encyclopedias provide background information on a topic or concept.

Oxford Art Online

Why search here? Good for scholarly background information and bibliographies on artists, artistic movements, and artistic terms.
Content type: Encyclopedia articles, bibliographies, images
Special Note: Limited to 3 simultaneous users.

Our subscription does not include content from Benezit Dictionary of Artists.
Language: English
Keywords: Grove's Dictionary of Art

Oxford Art & Architecture Dictionaries
Good for background information. Includes "Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art"

Oxford Bibliographies

Why search here? Search here for annotated bibliographies combined with encyclopedia articles to get started finding key sources across a wide range of humanities and social sciences topics.
Content type: Annotated bibliographies, encyclopedia articles

Language: English

Find articles in art magazines and scholarly journals

Remember that some art journals are magazines are only in print. Use the "Get This Item" button to link to full text or to request a PDF.

Besides the resources below, you can browse a partial listing of the Library's art journal subscriptions. One journal that you might find particularly useful that we discussed in class is the journal ⭐Latin American & Latinx Visual Culture⭐. The Library might not have every article in the journal. So if you do find an article on the journal's website, but can't access it, remember that you can request it through Resource Sharing (ILL).

Art Full Text

Why search here? The main database for Art research, including art scholarship about all time periods and geographies.
Content type: Scholarly articles, trade journal articles, magazine articles
Coverage dates: 1900s-present

Also includes content on museum studies, graphic arts, industrial design, landscape architecture, television and motion pictures
Language: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, etc.
Academic Search Premier

Why search here? Good starting point when researching topics that intersect with multiple disciplines.
Content type: Scholarly articles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, trade journal articles
Coverage dates: 1887-present; varies by title

Language: English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, French, Chinese, Arabic etc.
Keywords: ASP
ARTbibliographies Modern

Why search here? Good starting point for finding articles, both scholarly and popular, on modern and contemporary art (19th century to present).
Content type: Scholarly articles, trade journal articles, magazine articles
Coverage dates: 1960s-present

Beyond fine arts, includes publications that discuss graffiti, theatre arts, crafts, museums, and art conservation.
Language: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian, etc.
Keywords: Art Bibliographies
International Bibliography of Art (IBA)

Why search here? Search this resource for sources about Western art (late antiquity to present), American art (colonial era-present), and global art since 1945.
Content type: Abstracts of scholarly articles, books, conference proceedings
Coverage dates: 1949-present

Language: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, etc

Complete List of Art Databases

Finding Books

Books are an essential part of art and art history research. Three of the most common types of art books are

Monographs - books about a single artist's work

Exhibition Catalogs - books documenting a museum or gallery exhibition

Catalogues Raisonnés - books that document all the known works by a single artist

Use the Library Search on the Library's Homepage to find these and other types of art/art history books.

Library Search
Find books, and other materials the library owns or has access to (books, journal articles, DVDs, etc)

Search Hint: to find exhibition catalogs, add the keyword "exhibitions" to your search

To borrow books we don't own or that are checked out, use the "Get This Item" button in Library Search Records to have the book delivered from another library.

Library Search is still the main place to find any type of book (print or digital), but these resources below are also good places to discover eBooks (and articles) through the Library:

JSTOR
Includes both eBooks and scholarly articles. This database is mostly backfiles though, so articles are usually at least 3-years old.

ACLS Humanities Ebooks

Why search here? Access a curated selection of eBooks in the humanities from primarily scholarly publishers, including out-of-print titles.
Content type: eBooks

Language: English
Keywords: American Council of Learned Societies
Latino Literature: Poetry, Drama, and Fiction

Why search here? Explore fiction, poetry, plays, and scholarship by Latino and Chicano authors in the United States.
Content type: Poetry, plays, primary sources, books
Coverage dates: 1872-2007

Most resources in this database are works of literature, most in English with some in Spanish. Search filters available for author ethnicity, nationality, gender, and time period.
Language: English, Spanish
Project MUSE

Why search here? Find scholarly journal articles and books in the humanities and social sciences.
Content type: Scholarly articles, books

Includes content in the fields of literature and criticism, history, the visual and performing arts, cultural and ethnic studies, education, political science, gender studies, economics, and many others.
Language: English