ART 104: Art History: Prehistory to Renaissance

Finding research paper worthy information on specific art topics can be a challenge, you may want to try using Google Books and Google Scholar to look beyond the holdings of your library. Once you find clues to what books and articles you need, come back to the library. We will help get access to these sources without having to open your wallet.

Scenario: You search the library's online catalog for book information about Merovingian jewelry. Even after expanding your search to all of HELM, you still get no hits.

Try searching Google Books. You will see the results of a search for Merovingian jewelry on the left. Now click on one of the titles on the left. You may find that you can only read a short "preview" of the book, but are given the option to buy an ebook version. Sometimes the snippet of information you can get from the preview is enough, but if is not, you don't need to buy the ebook or order a copy from Amazon. Instead, check the title you found in the library catalog. If it is not there, check with us in the library. We can almost always get a copy for you. You can search on your own through the statewide Comcat catalog, or ask a librarian.

Google Scholar allows you to search for scholarly articles using the familiar Google search box, and the techniques you are familiar with in a Google search. Google Scholar is a resource worth trying if you become frustrated using the library databases. Unfortunately, many of the scholarly articles you will find using Google Scholar are not available in full-text or are not free.  If you are blocked or asked for a fee, make sure you check the Full-Text Finder to see if we have an online subscription. We strongly recommend that you begin your search with the Research databases, and not limit yourself to Google.