Art Ed 101s
An Introduction to Reference Resources
for Art
Education
Spring, 2004
Henry Pisciotta, Arts and Architecture
Librarian
This bibliography highlights and describes reference materials useful for research projects in art education -- particularly the case study and journal analysis assignments for Art Education 101s. This is a list of reference books, databases, and web sites. These titles are not ones that you would normally include as bibliography for your case study or other research papers. Instead they are tools to help you choose readings well and to understand them. Tools of inquiry. The list is organized by tool-types. Each section begins with an explanation of the type because and understanding of these formats of reference resources can help when your research takes you to more specific topics or topics in other disciplines. The names of these formats are not used consistently by publishers and librarians, nor are the names important. But understanding the type of tool, and how it can be used, is useful indeed. Some key formats are:
| FAST STARTS: | PEOPLE | |
| SPECIALIZED ENCYCLOPEDIAS | ||
| LOCATIONS: | LIBRARY CATALOGS | |
| PERIODICAL INDEXES | ||
| FACTS: | DICTIONARIES |
The underlined items below are available via
the Internet.
A quick way to get started on a research
project is to do two things at once: gather information about where
to find things and start learning about them. It doesn't work well
to do too much of one without doing some of the other. So "FAST
STARTS" in this bibliography means that these types of resources can
give you both kinds of information at once: "LOCATIONS" and
"FACTS."
PEOPLE
People can give you both kinds of information at once: locations and facts. The faculty, other students, and librarians can be good sources. I would be happy to help with your research. (See my contact information at the end of this document.) For some topics you may wish to contact the librarians at the Education and Behavioral Sciences Library (who are listed at http://www.libraries.psu.edu/ebsl/facsta.htm).
SPECIALIZED ENCYCLOPEDIAS
Encyclopedias are fine places to get a quick start
on solving many kinds of problems. They synthesize a lot of other
published information. Reading a brief summary of a topic, at the
beginning of your exploration, can help you make better choices as
your research progresses. The best encyclopedias refer you to the
essential literature on each subject (usually with brief
bibliographies at the end of each entry.) Many large encyclopedias
have entries on general topics, and access to more specific subjects
through an index at the back. The Encyclopedia
Britannica. is an excellent general encyclopedia and especially
convenient to use as one of the web-based data files on LIAS (the
Library Information Access System.)
For the history of art
education, specialized encyclopedias are usually more helpful than
general ones. For example, a good encyclopedia art will have entries
that are more detailed and analytic than those in a general
encyclopedia. The specialized encyclopedias below feature articles
signed by recognized authorities and contain well-chosen lists for
further reading. Although the words are often used interchangeably,
I am making a distinction between "encyclopedia" and "dictionary",
reserving the latter for books that simply define terms without
providing much discussion or recommended readings.
- The Dictionary of Art. Turner, Jane (ed.) 34 vols. New York:
Grove's Dictionaries, 1996.
N31.D5 1996 (PATTEE, ARTS & HUMANITIES READY REF - 2ND FLR, W202 & ARCHITECTURE LIBRARY)
Available as a database on LIAS as Grove Art Online.
A huge compendium of historical information on people, places, major works, styles, periods, techniques, etc. Covers all of the visual arts. Frequently the best place to start. The electronic version has corrections, updates, and some new articles that are not in the printed set. However, the electronic version does not have the same illustrations - most of the electronic illustrations are provided by links to other web sites and so don't match the texts as precisely as those in the paper volumes. - Encyclopedia of Creativity. Runco, Mark and Steven Pritzker (eds.)
2 vols. San Diego: Academic Press, 1999.
BF408.E53 1999 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO)
Entries on dozens of aspects of creativity (cognitive and learning styles, developmental stages, cultural differences, gender, teaching, etc.) - Encyclopedia of Education. Guthrie, James W. (ed.) 2nd
ed. 8 vols. New York: Thomson Gale, 2003.
LB15.E47 2003 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO)
People, processes, and issues in education. - Encyclopedia of Psychology. Kazdin, Alan E. (ed.)
8 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press with the American Psychological Association, 2000.
BF31.E523 2000 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO)
Covers many topics of interest to art educators such as developmental stages (early childhood, adolescence, etc.), gender (roles, conditioning, etc.), educational contexts (levels, processes, etc.), and a concise summation of "visual and design arts." - International Encyclopedia of Education, Husen, Torsten
and T. Neville Postlethwaite (eds.) 2nd ed. 12 vols. New York:
Pergamon, 1994.
LB15.I569 1994 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO)
Substantive articles, usually containing a brief historical overview, of general issues such as "visual literacy," "vocational training" etc.. - International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Smelser, Neil and Paul Baltes (eds.) Amsterdam:
Elsevier, 2002.
Available as a database on LIAS.
Covers psychology and some education as well as many other social sciences. Not as thorough as the items listed above, but in a convenient electronic format.
LIBRARY CATALOGS
Of course library catalogs contain records describing the books they own, but note that most library catalogs only have a single record for each magazine title; they do not include records for each of the articles in a magazine. (For that, see "PERIODICAL INDEXES" below.) In addition to books and magazines, library catalogs may contain records for archival materials, audio-visual materials, vertical file ephemera, software, and even selected web sites. With online catalogs, as with any other database, you may need to try several methods of searching in order to get good results. One important technique is to use synonyms, related terms, and word truncation to narrow or broaden your search. Another is to notice the standard subject headings that were assigned to an item that you like, then to search with those headings.
- "The
Cat".
Available as a database on LIAS.
The Penn State Libraries' catalog contains nearly all of the holdings of the University Park Libraries as well as those of the many other campuses of Penn State. If you are searching for a specific author or title, the "Browse Titles and More" screen is generally easier to use. To find a books or journal on the shelves, you will need the call number, the building name, and floor. If the book you want is charged out, or owned only at another campus, click on the "I Want It" button and complete the information on how to contact you. The book will be retrieved and held for you at a library service desk. If you want to find materials not held at the Penn State Libraries, try:
PERIODICAL INDEXES
Periodical indexes are designed to direct readers to articles and reviews in magazines and journals. Each of the ones listed in this section can be used to find articles on a particular topic or by a particular author. Once you select articles that you want to read, you will need to check the title of each magazine in the library catalog to see if it is held in our library and to get the classification number so that you can find it on the shelves.
- Art
Abstracts and Art
Index Retrospective. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1932
to present.
Available as two databases on LIAS.
The most commonly used periodical index for the visual arts (painting, sculpture, graphic arts, photography, decorative arts, crafts) and, to a lesser degree, related disciplines (including some architecture, design, cinema, scenic design, museology, cultural criticism, and critical theory). In addition to articles and reviews, individual works on art unaccompanied by text (often gallery ads) are indexed. The indexing goes back to items published in 1929. This index has been divided into two separate databases: Art Abstracts, which covers roughly 1984 to present, and Art Index Retrospective, covering 1929 to 1984. When you enter either database, click on "Change Databases" and you can select both, so that your searches will retrieve from both data files. - ERIC:
Educational Resources Information Center.
Available as databases on LIAS.
A huge database providing abstracts and detailed subject indexing for journal articles and "ERIC Documents" on educational research and practice as well as many related subjects. The documents are unpublished reports and studies, usually generated by educational institutions. Use of the standard subject terms ("thesaurus terms") can be especially helpful in this database. "The "ERIC Document Retrieval Service" offers downloads of the full texts of documents after 1993.
DICTIONARIES
As you browse through titles and read articles or books, you will probably encounter terms that your do not know. Getting the meaning of a specialized term often
requires a specialized dictionary. There are many which may be
useful for art education. Here are a few examples:
- ArtLex. Delahunt,Michael. 1996-present (as viewed 2/6/04).
Available on the web at: http://www.artlex.com/
Not as good as the paper dictionaries below, but convenient for technical terms. - ArtSpeak: A Guide to Contemporary Ideas, Movements, and
Buzzwords, 1945 to the Present. Atkins, Robert. 2nd ed. New
York: Abbeville, 1997.
N6490.A87 1997 (ARTS & HUMANITIES, PATTEE, STACKS 2 - REFERENCE COLLECTION) - ArtSpoke; A Guide to Modern Ideas, Movements and Buzzwords,
1848-1944. Atkins, Robert. New York: Abbeville, 1993.
N6447.A85 1993 (ARTS & HUMANITIES, PATTEE, STACKS 2 - REFERENCE COLLECTION) - Cyclopedic Education Dictionary. Spafford, Carol, et al.
Albany: Delmar, 1998.
LB15.E419 1996 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO) - Glossary of Art, Architecture, and Design
Since 1945. Walker, John Albert. 3rd ed. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1992.
N34.W34 1992 ARCHITECTURE LIBRARY, REFERENCE, 207 ENGINEERING UNIT C - Handbook of Educational
Terms and Applications. Ellis, Arthur, and Jeffrey Fouts. Princeton: Eye on Education, 1996.
LB15.E419 1996 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO) - Key Concepts in the
Philosophy of Education. Winch, Christopher, and John Gingell. London: Routledge, 1999.
LB15.W56 1999 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO)
Short, thoughtful definitions of selected terms from a British point of view. Provides a few citations for each. - Klee As In Clay: A Pronunciation Guide. McConkey,
Wilfred. Lanham: Hamilton, 1986.
NX163.M3 1986 (ARTS & HUMANITIES, PATTEE, STACKS 2 - REFERENCE COLLECTION) - Language of Learning. McBrien, J. Lynn, et al. Alexandria:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1997.
LB15.M32 1997 (EDUCATION & BEHAV. SCI. REFERENCE COLL., 5TH FLOOR PATERNO) - Oxford Companion to Art. Osborn, Harold (ed.) Oxford:
Clarendon, 1970.
N33.O9 (ARTS & HUMANITIES, PATTEE, STACKS 2 - REFERENCE COLLECTION) - The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century
Art. Osborn, Harold (ed.) Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
N6490.O93 Pattee, (ARTS & HUMANITIES, PATTEE, STACKS 2 - REFERENCE COLLECTION) - Words of Art. Belton, Robert. 1996- present (as viewed
2/6/04).
Available on the web at: http://web.ubc.ca/okanagan/creative/links/glossary.html
Not as good as the paper dictionaries, but convenient for critical terms.
Compiled by Henry Pisciotta
Arts and Architecture
Librarian
Pennsylvania State University Libraries
320 West
Pattee
865-6778
henryp@psu.edu