Welcome
Welcome to the library portal for Alexander Calder and the World of Modern Art! This portal provides quick links to resources you can use for your research and assignments. Whether you are online or on-Grounds, UVA Library services and support are available to all students.
DROP-IN RESEARCH HELP
Rebecca will be available to the Calder class for drop-in research help Tuesday 9/3 11am-1pm & Monday 9/9 from 1pm-3pm in the Fine Arts Library. Pop in to talk about your research and get some tips or assistance!
Your Librarian
Your Librarian is Rebecca Coleman
Rebecca can help with: refining your topic, gathering research, finding images and site documentation, locating maps and data, organizing your research, citations, and more! She can meet with you in-person or online via Zoom.
Request content any time
Search Virgo
Download library apps and software
- Libkey Nomad Browser ExtensionUpon finding an article on any website, Libkey Nomad identifies if the Library has access (and directs you to the full PDF of the article), or if not, directs you to Interlibrary Loan to allow you to get quick access to any article, anywhere.
- ZoteroAnother free alternative to Refworks - collect, organize, cite and share your research sources. Downloads to your web browser on your personal computer. Is especially good for saving and linking to digital objects and web pages.
Ask a Librarian
Sign Up for Library events
Sign up for Library orientations, workshops, and events with our online calendar. UVA Library programming is offered in-person and online.
Search for academic articles
Academic databases contain peer-reviewed articles, images, reports, news, and more. These are the most used databases for architectural history research.
- Google Scholar This link opens in a new windowFind articles from most online scholarly journals plus some books and Web sites. Use Advanced Search if you get too many results; use Preferences to turn on links to Find@UVa and RefWorks.
- Art & Architecture Source This link opens in a new windowArt & Architecture Source is a full-text art research database covering fine, decorative and commercial art, as well as architecture and architectural design. With strong international coverage, it offers hundreds of full-text art journals, magazines and books, plus detailed indexing and abstracts and thousands of images.
- ARTbibliographies Modern This link opens in a new windowAbstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art published since the late 1960s.
- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new windowFind articles and book reviews in architecture, urban design, historic preservation, and urban planning in journals from many countries. Coverage begins in the 1930s, but some journals are indexed back to the the 1860s. Many citations include abstracts.
The Calder Foundation
The Calder Foundation is "dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, preserving, and interpreting the art and archives of Alexander Calder." The website includes a robust biography, timelines of Calder and his work, and an archive that contains extensive images, photographs, and bibliographic resources.
Locate more resources by program or topic
- See Resources in Other Subject AreasWe have guides to the databases in many areas-- history, politics, business, sciences, etc. If your research touches on these subjects, check out the databases listed on that guide, too!
Reference Resources
Reference resources include dictionaries, encyclopedias and other sources that offer access to factual information. Many of these resources are deeply focused on particular subjects, which can help you to find the appropriate definition for a particular discipline or time period.
- Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowComprehensive encyclopedia of the visual arts of Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific with links to tens of thousands of images.
- Oxford Reference Online This link opens in a new windowA large collection of basic information on many subjects drawn from reference books published by Oxford University Press.
- Oxford Handbooks Online This link opens in a new windowOxford Handbooks Online brings together leading scholars to discuss research and the latest thinking on a range of major topics. Each Handbook offers thorough introductions to topics and a critical survey of the current state of scholarship in a particular field of study, creating an original conception of the field and setting the agenda for new research. The articles review the key issues and major debates, and provide an original argument for how those debates might evolve. UVa has access to all subjects.
Image Sources
- ARTStor This link opens in a new windowArtstor is now on JSTOR.
Images of world art from all periods, including paintings, drawings, prints, historic photographs, architecture and design.
- YoutubeSearch youtube for footage of Calder's mobiles to view their motion. Youtube also contains some videos with historic footage. As always, look for reputable content providers, and cite your source!
Historic Newspapers
- ProQuest Historical Newspapers This link opens in a new windowNew York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Defender, Chicago Tribune, Norfolk Journal and Guide, Pittsburgh Courier, NY Amsterdam News, Baltimore Afro-American, Washington Post, and The Guardian & The Observer.
- Access World News This link opens in a new windowThis comprehensive news collection is ideal for exploring issues and events at the local, regional, national and international level. Its diverse source types include print and online-only newspapers, blogs, newswires, journals, broadcast transcripts and videos. It currently contains over 9,600 sources from 160 countries.
- Chronicling America: Historic American NewspapersSearch and view newspapers published from 1836 to 1922. States covered include Virginia, Arizona, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana,Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas, Utah, Vermont and Washington.
Help me with citations
Different disciplines use different styles of citation. Please check to determine which style is right for your course and assignment. Remember that citations are important for crediting ideas, designs, data sources, image creators, and more.
- Use Zotero to organize your sources and generate bibliographiesGuide to downloading and using Zotero, a free application that collects, manages, and cites research sources.
Google Tips & Tricks
These tips can help you locate better information on the web, faster. But remember- a lot of information is not freely available on the web, no matter how well you search!
- Put quotation marks around words that you want to stick together as a phrase
- Add "site:.gov" to the end of your search to ONLY search websites on government domains
- Add "site:website.com" to search only the content of a specific site (for example: charlottesville.org!)
- Add "filetype:pdf" to ONLY search for information you think is likely to be in PDF format (reports, documents, etc.)
- Use the minus sign or dash to eliminate results that are off target (Example: food system -digestive)
- Remember that Google is only a computer, and doesn't understand the concepts in your search. So, try your search using different keywords and phrases that mean the same thing.