111 Stuckeman Family Building, University Park, PA 16802-1921
phone 814 865 3614 - fax 814 865 5073 - email arch@psulias.psu.edu

Intro for Undergraduate Landscape Architecture Students

This guide to library and Internet resources for landscape architecture students focuses on browsing for design ideas or precedents.

THE SHELVES

THE CAT

PERIODICAL INDEXES

SURVEYS

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES

IMAGE SOURCES

THE SHELVES

The arrangement of the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library is explained in two paper guides that may be picked up in the reading room or at the service desk: a map and “The Browsers Guide to the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library.” Remember that many important materials for landscape architecture are found in other libraries at Penn State, including the many items on the history of landscape architecture before 1850.

THE CAT

The CAT is the online library catalog for the Penn State University Libraries and contains bibliographic records for materials owned by the Libraries in all formats -- books, videos, etc. It tells you which journals the Libraries have but does not list the articles in the journals. For that see PERIODICAL INDEXES, below. If the book you want is charged out or at a distant location, click the "I Want It" button and it will be retrieved for you within a few days.

Tips for finding books:
Most landscape projects do not have entire works written about them. Search the library catalog by the site’s name. If that doesn’t work (and it usually won’t) search by the designer’s name (for a book on their projects). Many projects, designers, and design firms may be known by multiple names. Try variant names. Be certain that you are spelling the names correctly. If The CAT doesn't provide what you want, try a PERIODICAL INDEX or ask the library staff for assistance.

PERIODICAL INDEXES

Periodical indexes point you to articles in journals. The most important index for professional literature of landscape architectural literature is:

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals.
A database guide for Avery is posted here.
-- Selectively indexes journal articles and reviews on architecture and landscape architecture(including archaeology, decorative arts, interior design, furnishings, city planning, and housing) which appear in more than 2,500 design journals. Indexing is fairly up-to-date and goes back to 1919 (and some scattered items from even earlier).

Other useful Periodical Indexes:

ARTbibliographies Modern.
-- This indexes publications about modern art -- beginning with Impressionism in the late 19th century, up to recent trends. It covers land art, public sculpture, and some other types of built works. Indexing began in 1974 and includes more than just articles – some books, dissertations, etc. You can combine this index with the Avery Index and search them together.

Sustainability Science Abstracts..
-- Indexes resources related to sustainable development and conservation of natural resources. Coverage is from 1995 to date.

Proquest Direct..
-- Indexes articles in more than 5000 general interest magazines, journals, and newspapers. Unlike the indexes above, this one contains full text (sometimes without the illustrations) or page images (looks like real paper publication) to over 2,000 of the journals it indexes, and full text to 150+ newspapers. The beginning date for the indexing varies widely, but usually only includes that past decade or so.

Tips for finding journal articles:
When you have chosen articles in a PERIODICAL INDEX, click the "Get It" button. A window will open that finds an electronic version of the article or searches The CAT to find a paper version. For articles on paper, be sure to note the call number of the journal and location as given in The CAT and also the volume number and year from the PERIODICAL INDEX.

SURVEYS

Surveys are books that discuss landscape architecture over some period or throughout some country, etc. They can be very helpful as a way of browsing through works that have become recognized as greats. The surveys listed below contain numerous pictures and plans.

Landscape Design: A Cultural and Architectural History

Rogers, Elizabeth
SB470.5.R64 2001 Q - Reference Collection -
Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library - 111 Stuckeman
-- A well-rounded history of landscape architecture.

Landscape Design: USA

Lam, George
SB472.32.U6L36 2007 Q - Reference Collection -
Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library - 111 Stuckeman
-- 70 well-chosen and well-illustrated recent works by 70 designers, organized by types.

The Landscape of Man: Shaping the Environment From Prehistory to the Present Day (3rd ed.)

Jellicoe, Geoffrey and Susan
SB470.5.J44 1995 Q - Reference Collection -
Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library - 111 Stuckeman
-- The history of landscape design told mostly in pictures.

Landscapes in History: Design and Planning in the Eastern and Western Tradition (2nd ed.)

Pregill, Philip, and Nancy Volkman
SB470.5.P74 1999 Q - Reference Collection -
Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library - 111 Stuckeman
-- Another good history of landscape architecture.

ENCYCLOPEDIAS

Specialized encyclopedias can help you get the quick information you might need during several stages of your project. They cover broad topics (such as "college") very concisely, but also explain more specific subjects (such as "parterre"). The entries are written by noted authorities and provide references for further research.

Grove Art Online.

-- A compendium of historical information on all aspects of the visual arts, including entries for people, places, major works, styles, periods, techniques, etc.

Access Science (McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology).

-- A high-quality encyclopedia containing articles on most aspects of science and technology.

Environmental Encyclopedia.

-- Articles on technical terms, famous disasters, important people, and key organizations.

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences.

-- Articles reviewing scholarship on most major topics in an impressive array of disciplines.

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARIES

Biographical dictionaries can be similar to encyclopedias, except that the only type of entries in biographical dictionaries will be for people. Like specialized encyclopedias, the best biographical dictionaries refer you to additional sources of information.

Dictionary of Today’s Landscape Designers

Nicolin, Pierluigi
SB469.9.P56 2000 - Reference Collection -
Architecture & Landscape Architecture Library - 111 Stuckeman
-- Selects 85 important names in current landscape design and provides: country, year of birth, a list of major works, selected bibliography, a few color photos of works, and a brief critical statement for each designer. Sometimes a brief statement by the designer.

IMAGE SOURCES

Nearly all of the books and journals in the Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library are well-illustrated. However the oversized books (with a “Q” at the end of the call number) often have the best quality illustrations. Some good advice on finding pictures in any format is on the Picture Sources webpage at:
http://www.libraries.psu.edu/artshumanities/art/images.html

Image Databases at Penn State

http://www.lias.psu.edu/entry/image.html
-- The University Libraries maintain and subscribe to several digital image databases. Together they provide Penn State people with nearly 2 million images – all considerably larger than the average size posted on free web sites and with more reliable descriptions.

One that has lots of landscape architecture images is:

Worldwide Building and Landscape Pictures

http://apps.libraries.psu.edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/content/wblpp.cfm

Of course there are many free sites where you can find digital images, but many of them have the images in databases that cannot be found through Google or Google Images. Here are two (of several) good ones for landscape architecture:

American Landscape and Architectural design, 1850-1920

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/mhsdhtml/aladhome.html
Library of Congress - American Memory
-- Scans from old lantern slide images from 1850 to 1920, representing the work of an assortment of landscape architects throughout the United States.

Cities and Buildings Image Archive

http://content.lib.washington.edu/cities/index.html
University of Washington Libraries - Digital Collections
-- Scans from old lantern slide images from 1850 to 1920, representing the work of an assortment of landscape architects throughout the United States.

The Avery Index may also be used to locate specific types of illustrations of buildings (such as plans, sections, etc.)

This guide created by:
Henry Pisciotta and Tim AumAn
Architecture and Landscape Architecture Library
Pennsylvania State University Libraries
865-3614
henryp@psu.edu
10/00 (updated: 01/21/08)