In this part of SAFARI we are going to cover information resources in art history. As with any subject it is difficult to describe every resource that may be of use, as this will depend on what aspect of art history you are interested in.
Information about resources available to Open University students and links to them are found on the Open Library website, 'Finding information in Art History'
Specific resources are discussed in more detail below.
The reference section of the Open Library web pages includes books such as:
There are some art history books available online from the Art History Electronic Books page on Open Library. Some of the books are part of larger collections, so you will need to search for them.
To find out about other books available in your subject area, you can search library catalogues and/or online bookshops. These are listed on the Open Library page Catalogues and bookshops.
Databases are useful for finding articles on a topic. They enable you to search across a number of journal titles (and sometimes books, reports and newspapers) simultaneously in order to find information in your area of study. There are two main types of databases:
Some databases may contain a mixture of both full text and bibliographic information. Your starting point when using library databases should be the Art History: Databases page of Open Library. Databases of particular interest to you include:
You can use Open Library to find images of works of art. Some library databases you will find useful are:
There are also a number of freely available image resources in the ROUTES database.
An increasing number of journal articles are available electronically through Open Library. We have selected a list of Art History journals for you, but this list is only a selection. You are strongly advised to use the A-Z list of journals to browse for other titles.
You can also search several journal titles at once, by subject keyword, using the electronic journals collections.
There are many sites on the internet where you will find information on art history. Some of the best available are included on the ROUTES database. The Library and module teams have worked closely to compile a set of resources relevant to Art History modules at the Open University. You can browse by module code, if you are following an OU module, or by subject or keyword.
You may also find useful gateways to art history information on the Open Library page, Arts: Internet links.
You can find out about exhibitions at museums and galleries by looking at their websites, which can be found in the ROUTES database. Many museums and galleries now have online exhibitions.
Exhibition catalogues are an important source of information for art history. To find them, check the catalogue of a library close to you. The two largest collections of exhibition catalogues are found in the British Library and the National Art Library. See the Libraries section below for more information about using other libraries.
This subject is covered in more detail in Section 7.
SAFARI concentrates on resources that are available to Open University students through the Open Library web pages. However, these may not be the only resources available to you. When you need to use a library, you can find out about those located near you by using our database Access to University and Other Higher Education Libraries for Open University Students . A key library for Art History is the National Art Library in the Victoria & Albert Museum, which is open to members of the public. Arlis.net contains a directory of the collections and services of 250 art libraries in the UK and Ireland; it includes weblinks, access and contact information. All Open University students are also entitled to apply for a three-year pass to use the British Library's St. Pancras reading rooms. To receive your pass you need to present documentary proof of the module you are currently studying, and some form of personal ID.
Before visiting a library, you may want to check its catalogue to make sure it holds the books and journals you need. You can find links to library catalogues on Open Library.
There may be other library resources near to you. Does your workplace have a library or information service you can use? Do you belong to a professional organis ation or learned society? Many of these have specialist library and information services for their members and they often offer student membership rates.