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Architecture

   

This guide is highly selective and is designed to provide an overview of some of the general reference materials in Architecture. All items listed are available in Millar Library.

Within this page the following symbols are used:
book to denote books; cd rom to denote cd-rom resources; psu-only access via the web to denote PSU licensed web resources; and www source to denote generally accessible internet resources.

Items having this background color are particularly important resources.


See also related guides Art History |

   

Sections of this guide:
Reference Works  |   Databases and Indexes | Other Important Resources   |   Call Numbers
Organizations & Societies   |  Web Resources

 

   

Reference Sources - A Selective List

Encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, statistical sources, and thesauri; overviews, backgrounds, and detailed or procedural information specific to the subject areas addressed.

www source

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)
Copyright held by the J. Paul Getty Trust.

http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/

The AAT is a structured vocabulary of around 125,000 terms, scope notes, and other information for describing fine art, architecture, decorative arts, archival materials, and material culture.

book

Art Information: Research Methods and Resources
Lois Swan Jones
N95 .J64 1990 (Reference)

A good introduction to finding art information. Use its table of contents and index to locate resources you might use which are not listed below.

book Art Information and the Internet: How to Find it, How to Use it
Lois Swan Jones
N59 .J66 1999
book The Elements of Style, a Practical Encyclopedia of Interior Architectural Details from 1485 to the Present
NA2850 .E44 1996 (Reference)
book

Encyclopedia of Architecture: Design, Engineering, & Construction,
Edited by Joseph A. Wilkes &

Robert T. Packard, 4 vols.
NA31 .E59 1988 (Reference).
Includes bibliography.

book Encylopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World, 3 vols.
NA208 .E53 1997 (Reference)
book

Encyclopedia of World Art
Edited by Bernard S. Myers,
17 vols.
N31 .E533 (Reference).

www source The Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names (TGN)
Copyright held by the The J. Paul Getty Trust.
http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/tgn/

The TGN is a structured vocabulary of around 1,000,000 geographic names, including vernacular and historical names, coordinates, and place types, and focusing on places important for the study of art and architecture.
book [Grove's] Dictionary of Art
Edited by Jane Turner, 34 vols.
N31 .D5 1996 (Reference).

Represents the work of more than 6,800 international scholars.
psu-only access via the web Grove's Dictionary of Art Online

Contains 45,000 articles on every aspect of the visual arts; painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts and photography from prehistory to the present day.
Bibliographies
book American Architects from the Civil War to the First World War, a Guide to Information Resources
Z5944 .U5 W63 (Reference)
book American Architects from the First World War to the Present [1977], A Guide to Information Resources
Z5944 .U5 W635 (Reference)
book Architecture Sourcebook, a Guide to Resources on the Practice of Architecture
Z5943 .A72 A75 1997 (Reference)
book

Arts in America: a Bibliography
Edited by Bernard Karpel
Z5961 .U5 A77 1979b (Reference)

book Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA)
Z5937 .B53 (Reference)
book Guide to the Literature of Art History
Etta Arntzen & Robert Rainwater
Z5931 .A67 (Reference)
book Landscape Architecture Sourcebook, a Guide to Resources on the History and Practice of Landscape Architecture in the United States
Z5996.5 .U6 L36 1997 (Reference)
Biography
book Contemporary Architects
NA680 .C625 1994 (Reference)
book International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture, 2 vols.
NA40 .I48 1993 (Reference)
book Makers of 20th Century Modern Architecture: a Bio-critical sourcebook
NA680 .J628 1997 (Reference)

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Databases and Indexes

Magazine, periodical and journal articles provide information on current developments, research trends, experiments and hot topics in a discipline. For every discipline, there are specific databases or indexes that provide article level information. Once articles are identified through the database or index search, look up the source journal in Vikat, PSU Library's online catalog, to locate them in the library. For a complete list of online databases and indexes, see the Library's Online Databases pages.
cd rom

Architectural Grapic Standards
(CD ROM)
TH2031 .R35 1996 (Reference)

book The Architectural Index
(Published annually, covers 9 to 12 mainstrean U.S. architecture journals.)
Z5941 .A66 (Reference Index)
psu-only access via the web ARTbibliographies Modern
1974 - Present

Provides abstracts for journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art. Subject coverage includes modern and contemporary arts dating from the late 19th century onwards, and including photography since its invention.
book Art Index -
1929 - Present
Z5937.A78 (3rd floor reference)

Published by H.W. Wilson. Broad coverage that includes archaeology, architecture, art history, arts and crafts, city planning, fine arts, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape design, photography, and film.

Journals in Art Index held by PSU.
psu-only access via the web

Art Full Text
Coverage: Indexing, 1984-present; Abstracts,1994-present; Full Text, 1997-present (list of journals included in full text)
Online acces to Art Index.
Journals in Art Index held by PSU.

Subject areas indexed include archaeology, architecture, art history, city planning, crafts, motion pictures, graphic arts, industrial design, landscape architecture, museology, photography, and related fields.

"Art Full Text provides indexing and abstracting of art periodicals published throughout the world. Full-text coverage for selected periodicals is also included. In addition to articles, Art Full Text indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals."

psu-only access via the web Art Index Retrospective
1929-1984
Online access to Wilson's Art Index.
Journals in Art Index held by PSU.
psu-only access via the web The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
1930 - Present
Journals in Avery Index held by PSU.

Indexes more than 2,000 periodicals published worldwide on archaeology, city planning, interior design, and historic preservation, as well as architecture. Coverage is from the 1930s (with selective coverage dating back to the 1860s) to the present. The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals is updated daily.
book The Burnham Index to Architectural Literature, 10 vols.
(Based on the holding of the Burnham Library of Architecture at the Art Institute of Chicago, this index covers the field of architecture going back to 1919. Overlap with the Avery Index is less than 3% before 1934 and 30% after that date.)
Z5944 .U5 B87 1989 (Reference)
psu-only access via the web EBSCOhost

Academic Search Elite - Provides full text for nearly 1,380 journals covering the social sciences, humanities, general science, multi-cultural studies, and education.
psu-only access via the web EI (Engineering Index) Compendex Web, 1970-
(Indexes and abstracts engineering and technical literature worldwide.)
psu-only access via the web

book

Humanities Index

Humanities Index
1975- Present
AI3 .H8 (Reference)
Journals in Humanities Index held by PSU.

A cumulative index to English language periodicals. Subject fields indexed include archaeology and classical studies, area studies, folklore, history, language and literature, performing arts, philosophy, religion and theology, and related subjects.

psu-only access via the web

book
Readers' Guide Retrospective

Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature
(Includes general articles on architecture.)
AI3 .R4 (Reference Index)
book

psu-only access via the web
Social Sciences Index, (1974-1996)
Z7163 .S6

Social Science Index
book World Architecture Index, a Guide to Illustrations
NA202 .T4 1991 (Reference Index)

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Important Resources

These sources don't fit into any particular category, but are important for the discipline.

 

book Worldwide Art Catalog Collection
The Library receives catalogs from major art exhibitions all over the world, including exhibits of the work of architects. The catalogs are classified at N405 W6. Each one has an individual accession number by which it can be located on the shelf. The Worldwide Bibliography of Art Exhibition Catalogs (3 vols.) on the Index Table at Z5939 .W675 1992 is an index to the collection up to 1987.

 

   

Call Numbers

Browsing the library shelves by call number ranges is another strategy for locating information on a topic; call numbers can help you get to the "right neighborhood" in the library stacks.
NA 1-9428 Architecture
NA 190-1614 History. Historical Monuments
NA 2695-2793 Architectural design and drawing
NA 2835-4050 Architectural details, motives, decoration, etc.
NA 4100-8480 Special classes of buildings
NA 9000-9428 Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautification
HT 101-395 Urban Sociology. The City
HT 390-395 Regional Planning
SB 469-476.4 Landscape
  TH 1-9745 Building Construction

 

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Organizations

Often the best way to find information on a topic is to look for material published by a professional society or an organization.
www source The American Institute of Architects
http://www.aia.org/

 

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Web Resources

www source Architecture Studies Library
www.library.nevada.edu/arch/rsrce/webrsrce/contents.html

A directory of architecture related sites, arranged into categories.
www source

Art History: Resources on the Web
Chris Whitcombe
Sweet Briar College
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHLinks.html

Online since October 24, 1995. Covers current links to authoritative sites about world art history. An award winning site for research, learning, and innovation.

www source

Art Source
http://www.ilpi.com/artsource/welcome.html

This selective site is a a gathering point for networked resources on Art and Architecture. Includes pointers to resources around the net as well as original materials submitted by librarians, artists, and art historians.

www source Cyburbia: Internet resources for the built environment
http://www.cyburbia.org/
www source The Great Buildings Collection
http://www.GreatBuildings.com/gbc.html

This gateway to architecture around the world and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects, with 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds.
www source The Worldwide Web Virtual Library: Architecture-Resources
http://www.clr.utoronto.ca./VIRTUALLIB/arch.html

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