Research Guides: Art History: Finding Books

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Need Research Help?

You can always make an appointment the visual arts librarian (Jenna Dufour) by clicking here. Appointments can be made virtually or in-person. I'm here to help!

Find Books at UCI Libraries

UC Library Search This link opens in a new window
Using UC Library Search is an easy starting point to find books that are online and in print at UCI Libraries! This link also searches the collections of all UC campuses. While the results will retrieve more than just books (journals, films, reviews, news articles, etc.), you can narrow and filter by resource type to see only books that UCI owns or has access to.

Find Books Beyond UCI Libraries

WorldCat
WorldCat offers the ability to search hundreds of millions of items, including books, from libraries globally. Use this tool for advanced research and to discover materials outside of UCI Libraries. Use Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service to borrow them.
Google Books
A service from Google that searches the full text of books that Google has scanned and converted to text using optical character recognition (OCR), and stored in its digital database. An excellent discovery tool.
Art Discovery Group Catalog
Researchers may search within this specialized subset of Worldcat data to hone in on a vast trove of art-historical literature held in an increasing number of global art libraries.

Suggested Book Series: Documents of Contemporary Art

Documents of Contemporary Art (MIT Press & Whitechapel Gallery)
In 2006, the Whitechapel Gallery (London, UK) and MIT Press formed an editorial alliance to produce the series Documents of Contemporary Art. Each volume is a definitive anthology on a particular theme, practice, or concern that is of central significance to contemporary visual culture (examples: ethics, sexuality, beauty, the sublime, work, etc.) Artists and writers included in these books, like the guest editors who conceive them, represent a diversity of perspectives, generations, and voices. To search for these in UC Library Search, try the phrase "documents of contemporary art" AND MIT Press.

Visual Arts Books in Print

A library classification is a system of knowledge organization by which library resources are arranged and ordered systematically. At UCI Libraries, and many North American academic libraries, books are arranged according to the Library of Congress Classification system. You'll find most art books under the N (visual arts) range or T (technology) range. These call numbers are both located on the 4th floor of Langson Library (PDF). But depending on the topic, however, it may be found in other call number ranges that intersect with languages and literature, history, sociology, and anthropology.

N Visual arts

NA         Architecture
NB         Sculpture
NC         Drawing
ND         Painting
NE         Print media
NK         Decorative Arts
NX   General Arts
TP         Ceramics/Pottery (some)
TR         Photography
TT         Crafts & Textile

N Library of Congress Outline
A detailed breakdown of subjects under call number ranges
T Library of Congress Outline
A detailed breakdown of subjects under call number ranges
Short Video: How to Read a Call Number
Reading call numbers can feel tricky at first, so this short video by Douglas College Library can help you understand the numbering system you see on the spines of library books in academic libraries!

Visual Arts Books Online

Art and Architecture E-Portal This link opens in a new window
A project of Yale University Press, this database is an evolving collection of eBooks that feature important works of scholarship in art and art history! Many are older publications that were initially in print format, but this database of eBooks offers the ability to search images, create citations, highlight, read offline, and more! One perk is the ability to research exhibition catalogs online which are traditionally only in print format.

Metropolitan Museum Publications Online
MetPublications is a portal to the Met’s comprehensive publishing program with over 1,500 titles.
Online Scholarly Catalog Initiative (Getty)
OSCI helps museums transition from printed volumes to multimedia, web-based publications freely available to anyone with a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Getty Research Portal
A free online search platform providing access to an extensive collection of digitized texts related to art, architecture and material culture from a range of institutions.
Courtauld Books Online
A series of online scholarly books published by The Courtauld Institute of Art. The series includes research publications that emerge from Courtauld Research Forum events and Courtauld projects involving an array of outstanding scholars from art history and conservation across the world. It is an open-access series, freely available to read online and to download without charge.
Europeana Books
Europeana Collections provides access to over 50 million digitised items – books, music, artworks and more.
Gallica
Gallica is the digital library of the National Library of France and its partners. Contains over 1,000,000 digital objects including books, periodicals, maps, and manuscripts
HathiTrust Digital Library
Brings together the immense collections of partner institutions in digital form, preserving them securely to be accessed and used today, and in future generations.

Find Dissertations

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global This link opens in a new window
Index and full text of graduate dissertations and theses from North American and European schools and universities, including the University of California.

College Art Association (CAA) Dissertations Online
Titles are submitted once a year by each Art History/Visual Studies PhD granting institution.
Requests via Interlibrary Loan (ILL)
Use ILL to request dissertations that are not available as full-text.