Navigating the Libraries | Finding Books | Finding Articles | Photography Resources | Writing Resources
Finding Articles
The E-Resources List (A-Z) provides access to remote databases that you may use in your research. To figure out which database to use, you might check the list of database descriptions, or better yet, go to the web page of the appropriate subject library to see which database(s) the specialists recommend for your topic.
Periodical Indexes
Periodical indexes provide citations for articles in journals that may be owned by the Penn State University Libraries.
Tips for searching periodical indexes:
- Once you find a citation, be sure to note the journal title, volume and/or issue number, and date. (It’s also a good idea to note the author, article title, and page numbers to help you locate the article within the journal once you have it in hand.)
- Then search The CAT by performing a browse search on the journal title.
- When you get to the full catalog record for the journal, scroll down to verify that the Libraries own the particular volume and/or issue you need.
- If the Libraries do not own the volume you need, you can request an article through the database in which you found the citation or through Interlibrary Loan.
Art Index, the most comprehensive periodical for art, covers articles on photography and the arts in over 250 publications from 1929 to present. Art Index is available online in two databases, Art Abstract (1984-present) and Art Index Retrospective (1929-1984).
ARTbibliographies Modern (1974-present) includes abstracts of journal articles and other materials dealing with artists and movements from the late 19th century to the present. Photography is covered from its invention in 1839 to the present.
Full Text Resources
Unlike periodical indexes, which provide only the citations for journal articles, full text resources contain the actual text of documents.
ProQuest is a multidisciplinary database including summaries to articles from over 5,000 publications (many newspapers and popular magazines as well as some core research journals). Most articles are available full text.
The Dictionary of Art is an encyclopedia featuring over 45,000 articles on photography and the visual arts, plus bibliographic citations and images. The online version contains the full text of the 34-volume print version, which is located in Ready Reference on the 2nd floor of Pattee Library (call number N31.D5 1996).