Art & Art History 

VIRGO

Your first step in research at UVA...

It is always necessary to begin your searches by searching the UVA catalogues for books. The keys to a successful VIRGO search are to choose the correct index and to choose a search type which is most inclusive at the beginning. The search can then be limited to be more precise.

How to approach your topics - Search Strategies:

Before you begin your research it is necessary to spend a few minutes thinking about your topic and developing 'search strategies'. Search strategies consist of key words and/or phrases relevant to your topic of choice. For example, if your topic happened to be vase painting your strategy may include:

vase painting, attic red-figure painting, black-figure painting, Exekias, John J. Boardman, J.D. Beazley, Euphronios.

How to search VIRGO:

There are three ways of searching VIRGO:

1-Keyword, a specific word or words relating to your topic such as vase painting or greek art .

2-First Words, the first words of your topic or title (formerly begins with) such as attic red-figure.

3-Exact, the exact words you are looking for such as an exact title or a specific name such as Exekias.

Within these catagories there are several ways to construct your search. It is important to remember that VIRGO utilizes boolean operators (and/or/not) and that they are essential in constructing your searches. Also, VIRGO uses '$' as its truncation symbol. When searching VIRGO always choose 'ALL' Libraries. You do not want to eliminate the very important work that may be housed in Alderman or Clemons.

There are six indices within VIRGO:

1-Keyword anywhere- The broadest searching mechanism looking for the words or phrases in the title, description, author field or anywhere in the record of the book.

2-Author- Searches only the author field of the record. This can prove a diffucult search if the authors name is common (Smith, John) or if the author's name can be spelled several ways (as with some foreign names). If you do not know how the author spells his/her last name you may not be successful.

3-Title- Searches for words or phrases found only in the title eliminating what may be found in a description of the book.

4-Subject- This searches specifically for Library of Congress Subject Headings not a general subject. This can be a tricky search unless you are familiar with LC headings.

5-MeSH- Medical subject heading will not be applicable for an art topic.

6-Journal Title- Searches for all Journal Titles in the UVA collection. When searching for a specific Journal Title you must always eliminate any article at the beginning of the title (The, A, Le, L').

Practice searches:

Know that you know the basics you are ready to begin some practice searches. Either use the terms provided, or, if you have a specific topic and search strategies practice with those.

Contact the Librarian: Lucie Stylianopoulos | 924.6604 | lws4n@virginia.edu