Stewart Library - Weber State University


Research Guide: Photography

 

Finding Books 

Using Catalogs

Use the WSU Stewart Library Catalog to find location and availability of books and other media in Stewart Library. Use WorldCat for listings of exhibition catalogs, books and media on photography in other library catalogs. For home or off campus access please use your WSU Login.

 

Subject Searching in Catalogs and Databases

Using keywords of your choosing or Library of Congress Subject Headings, it may be helpful to search by:

  • artist's name: Alfred Steiglitz, Man Ray, Sherri Levine, etc. (if you use subject headings last name goes first)
  • genre: aerial photography; documentary photography, portrait photography; photojournalism, phtography, artistic and so on
  • subject:  Use a subject term with the subheading - pictorial works:  Haiti -- pictorial works OR a genre with a subject subheading:  Documentary photography -- Haiti
  • artistic style/movement: documentary, surrealism, symbolism, modernism, etc.
  • time period: photography--20th century  or art, modern--philosophy, etc. 
  • artistic medium: prints, toning, digital imaging, etc.  
  • nationality/culture: photography, german; photography, american, etc.
  • theory: modernism, post modernism, feminism, marxism, deconstruction, eco criticism, phenomenology, etc.

Also note: Exhibition Catalogs are often cataloged by artist, subject, and museum or gallery and Museum Catalogs are usually cataloged by the name of the museum. 

Browsing the Library Shelves

Books on photography are generally located within the call number TR in the Reference area (level one) and in the General Collection on level two in a special location: at the top of the north stairwell, to the left. Use the following list of call number areas to browse for books on photography.

Library of Congress Call Numbers for Photography
TR1 Photography periodicals
TR15 General histories of photography
TR145-147 Handbooks, manuals
TR250 Cameras
TR285 Processing, darkroom technique
TR646 Photographers by country
TR647 Individual photographers
TR652 Photography 1851-1900
TR653 Photography 1901-1950
TR654 Post 1950 photography
TR660 Landscape photography
TR675 Human figure
TR679 Fashion photography
TR680 Portraits
TR820 Photojournalism
TR820.5 Documentary photography (Note:  these books are often classified under their subject heading.  A book of photographs of Haiti would be under the call number for Haiti.
 

Interlibrary Loan

If we do not own a particular book or article you need, we will borrow it for you from another library through Interlibrary Loan.

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Finding Images

Use the following resources to find images on the Web

  • Grove Art Online - 10,000 links to color images. Long article on all aspects of art photography.
  • Library of Congress - Collection Finder - Use this specialized search engine to gain access to many government photographic collections.
  • Google Image Search - Use this popular search engine to find publicly available Web images on any subject.
  • Artcyclopedia - Online directory of museum art on the Web.  Retrieve a list of links to photographs at museums worldwide - http://artcyclopedia.com/. Search by:

    • Movement (e.g. Pop Art, Impressionism) by 
    • Medium (e.g. photographers)
    • Subject (e.g. photojournalism)
    • Nationality
    • Name, alphabetically
  • Life Magazine Classic Pictures - online database of pictures from Life Magazine.
  • Corbis -  Large collection of popular/commercial photographic images. 

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Using Reference Resources

Reference resources include encyclopedias, dictionaries and other materials used to "refer" to. Use these resources for facts, definitions or for background information on a topic.

Books in the Reference Collection, Main level

  • Artist's Market - Stewart Library, middle level, REF N8600.A76 (annual)
  • Contemporary Photographers - REF TR139.C663 1988
  • Dictionary of Art (Great resource! 34 volumes) - Stewart Library, middle level, REF N31.D5 1996 - Reference table 3A 
  • Encyclopedia of World Art - Stewart Library, middle level, REF N31.E533 - Reference table 3A
  • The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography - Stewart Library, middle level, REF TR9.F6 1993
  • The Illustrated Digital Imaging Dictionary  - Stewart Library, middle level, REF TA1509.G76 1998
  • The Photograph - Stewart Library, middle level, REF TR15.C566 1997

Online Reference Resources

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Finding Articles

Article Databases

To find articles on your topic you need to use article databases, also known as periodical indexes. Each database usually covers a group of subject related journals. Search by subject or keyword in these indexes.  For home or off campus access please use your WSU Login.

 

  • Art Full Text - Abstracts from 1994, full text from 1997 covering: Archaeology, Architecture, Art History, Computers in Art, Crafts, Decorative Arts, Fashion Design, Folk Art, Graphic Arts, Industrial Design, Interior Design, Landscape, Motion Pictures, Museology, Non-Western Art, Painting, Photography, Pottery, Sculpture, Television, Textiles, and Video. Use your WSU student ID number for off-campus access.
  • Use the print Art Index to find articles published from 1929 to 1994 -Reference,1st Floor North, Call number N1.A7846
  • Communication & Mass Media Complete  -- Includes CommSearch and Mass Media Articles Index plus many other journals in the fields of communication and mass media. Cover to cover indexing for 300 core journals and selected indexing of 100 more. Fulltext available for almost 200 journals. Dates of coverage vary by journal.  Use this to find articles on photojournalism, documentary photography and journalism.
  • Bibliography of the History of Art - The premier international scholarly reference in art history. Including citations to writings from 1973 to present, covering visual arts in all media including traditional fine arts; decorative and applied arts; material culture; photography and contemporary new media; and visual arts aspects of performing arts. Includes access to RILA (International Repertory of the Literature of Art), and RAA Repertoire d'Art et d'Archeolgie). 1973 to present. Use this to find citations. Use interlibrary loan to order items.
  • Academic Search Premier - Provides some full text articles in over a 8,000 magazines and journals.
  • Lexis/Nexis Academic - Full-text coverage of many newspapers from across the US and around the world. Good industry coverage
  • Arts & Humanities Search - Citations from many of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. 1980 - present, updates weekly.  
  • ERIC (EbscoHost) - For information on teaching photography. Provides citation and abstract information from over 750 educational journals and related documents from the Educational Resource Information Center. Selected full text.   1967 to present. Updated quarterly.

Browsing Current Periodicals

Current magazines and journals on photographic art can be browsed in the Current Periodicals Area, in the "N" section (for art) and in the TR section (for photography) on the Main level. Bound volumes of older issues are found upstairs in the periodicals stacks.  Selected titles include:

Aperture TR1.A641
ArtForum N1.A786 
Art In America N1.A7851
History of Photography TR1.H673  &  online
Life Magazine AP2.L722  & online
Modernism/Modernity  online journal
National Geographic G1.N21  & online
October NX1.O21
Postmodern Culture online journal
Double Take AS1.D727

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Web Resources

Here are some WWW sites to get you started. Most of these will take you to other links, so explore! Use the Yahoo and Google directories to find other selected lists of sites on artists, museums, techniques, styles, periods, etc.

 

General Sites

 

Photographer/Artists Sites

 

  • The Artists.org - Photographers - Lists major modern and contemporary visual artists. Provides for each artist  a portrait, brief biography, links to articles, essays and interviews; original art, limited edition art prints, photography and posters, multimedia and artist's books. Artists are listed alphabetically and by discipline
  • National Press Photographers Association - association for photojournalists and those in related fields.
  • Ansel Adams at 100 - The companion to a physical exhibit, this site examines seven pictures for "insights into the history and world of ideas behind Adams' photography." From the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
  • Alfred Stieglitz - Companion to a documentary (part of the PBS American Masters series) about photographer and art impresario Alfred Stieglitz .
  • Google Directory: Photographers - Lists of useful links.
  • Magnum Photos - agency founded in 1947 by Henri Cartier-Bresson and others.
  • Man Ray: Photèque Numérique/Digital Photographic Library - A searchable collection of works of the artist Man Ray, including photographs, paintings, drawings, sculpture, and stills from his films. Search by category or theme. There is also a brief biography in the form of a timeline. Also available in French.
  • Masters of Photography - Articles, photographs and resources on more than 60 photographers.
  • Yahoo Directory: Photographers - Links to dozens of photographers.
 

Center and Museum Sites

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Research Tips

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Updated April 18, 2008 Original version by Carol Hanson.

Weber State University, Stewart Library. Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved.