How To Search
Bibliography of the History of Art

Indexes and abstracts art-related books, conference proceedings, dissertations, exhibition catalogs, and articles from 4,000 periodicals on European and American art from late antiquity to the present. Coverage:1973 to present.

Getting Started

Simply click on "Bibliography of the History of Art" on the Libraries databases list.

Searching

> Connect important keywords with AND, OR, NOT, NEAR.
Piccaso and cubism finds an article containing both Picasso and cubism.
Drawings or sketches finds an article containing either drawings or sketches.
Architecture not gothic finds an article containing architecture but not gothic.
Art near preservation finds an article with both words in the same sentence.

> Enclose phrases in quotation marks.
"interior design" finds articles that contain this exact phrase.

> Use an asterick on the root of a keyword to find variations.
art* finds art, artist, artists, and artistry.

> If necessary, use parentheses to organize long search strings.
French and (plays or drama) finds articles containing French and either plays or drama.

Improving Searches

> Set Limits: Click the blue "Change" button near the top right to limit a search to journal articles, dissertations, books, or a certain language.

>Advanced Search: Limit a search to a source, such as a specific journal.

Finding the Full-texts of the Articles

Search in Libraries Catalog to see if the Libraries own the journal with the article:
> Click on the "Check for holdings" button underneath the citation. This feature will search the Libraries Catalog for the journal.
> The journal will appear if the Libraries own it. (If the Libraries do not own the journal, you will see the red message "Your search resulted in no hits!" in the Catalog.)
> Scroll down to see if the Libraries own the appropriate month and year (If multiple headings for the journal appear, check the dates under each heading.)
>Write down the Location and Call Number for the journal or magazine (For journals in the Gorgas Library: If the issue is a Recent Issue, go to Floor 2. If the issue is listed under Library Has:, go to Floor 4M.) Also, be sure to write down the bibliographic information from Bibliography of the History of Art such as issue date and page number.
> Retrieve the article.

***A few citations now offer links to online texts. These citations display crimson flags next to the title and contain blue links to the online texts.

Printing, Saving, Emailing

First, Checkmark the record(s) that you wish to print, save, or email.

Printing: Click the Printer icon at the top right of the results list. Fill out the questions. Click the yellow "Print" at the top right of the screen. Click "OK". (Inside the Libraries, printing is 5 cents per page, and you must use an Action Card to print. You can load Bama Cash on an Action Card at the Value Transfer Station in the Copy Room.)

Saving: Click the Disk icon at the top right of the results list. Fill out the questions. Click the yellow "Save" button on the top right. Enter a file name, select the appropriate drive, and click "Save" on the pop-up window.

Emailing: Click the Email icon (a letter) at the top right of the results list. Type in your email address and subject. Fill out the rest of the questions. Click the yellow "Send Mail" button at the top right of the screen.

Help

> Go to the Information Desk at the Gorgas Library.
> Call the Information Desk at (205) 348-6047.