What's This Number?
Need help making sense of the Call # you found in Library Catalog? or where to find the book in the library?
Browsing for Books
Another option is to browse the STACKS for books. The following call # areas might be of interest for this class.
Art Books-Regular and Oversize books are located on the 8th floor of the Central Library.
| Visual Arts (General) | N |
| Architecture | NA |
| Sculpture | NB |
| Drawing | NC |
| Painting | ND |
| Prints/Engravings | NE |
| Decorative Arts | NK |
| Arts in general | NX |
Books, Articles and More!
Vanderbilt University Library Search
Selecting the best search scope for your research needs:
Everything vs. Library Catalog vs. Articles
| Search Scope | What is included? | When should I use it? |
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For a more detailed explanation of your search scope options consult What am I searching?
Keyword vs. Subject Searching
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Step 1: Start your search process by brainstorming a list of keywords that describe the main concepts of your topic or question. |
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Step 2: Use these keywords for your initial searches. Step 3: Use the Subject Heading links in the Library Catalog record to refine your search. |
The following databases will help you find articles on your topic:
Art Databases
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Art Full Text and Art Index Retrospective This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive resource for art literature: articles, indexing and abstracting of journals, and art dissertations; covering fine, decorative, and commercial art, folk art, photography, film, and architecture. Includes indexing of publications, and citations of book reviews. Indexing of art reproductions provides examples of styles and art movements, including works by emerging artists.
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Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals This link opens in a new window
Comprehensive American guide to the current literature of architecture and design. Index of international, scholarly and popular periodical literature, including publications of professional associations; US state and regional periodicals; and major serial publications in the architecture and design of Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.
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International Bibliography of Art (IBA) This link opens in a new windowResource for scholarly literature on western art, and successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA).
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Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Oxford’s art reference works: Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, the Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, and The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.
Asian Studies Databases
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Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) This link opens in a new window
Index of books, journal articles, chapters in edited volumes, and conference proceedings on all subjects (especially the Humanities and Social Sciences) pertaining to the East, Southeast, and South Asia.
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China/Asia On Demand (CAOD) This link opens in a new window
Index of core and university journals in business, economics, arts, humanities, law, politics, and social sciences.
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China and the Modern World This link opens in a new window
English-language monographs, manuscripts, periodicals, correspondence and letters, historical photos, ephemera, etc. on diplomacy/international relations, economy/trade, politics, Christianity, sinology, education, science and technology, imperialism, and globalization in China.
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DBpia This link opens in a new window
Korean scholarly journals covering literature, economics & business, medical science, humanities, theology, law & administration, arts, engineering, natural science, and education
History and Religion Databases
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Anthropology Plus This link opens in a new windowIndex to journal articles, reports, commentaries, edited works, and obituaries in the fields of social, cultural, physical, biological, and linguistic anthropology, ethnology, archaeology, folklore, material culture, and interdisciplinary studies. Includes materials published in English and European languages from the late 19th century to the present. Compilation of the Royal Anthropological Institute’s Anthropological Index and Harvard University's Anthropological Literature databases.
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ATLA (American Theological Library Association) Religion Database with ATLA Serials PLUS This link opens in a new windowIndex to journal articles, book reviews, and collections of essays in all fields of religion. Some full text.
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Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (DDB) This link opens in a new windowPan-Buddhist compilation of Chinese logograph-based terms, texts, temple, schools, persons, etc. found in Buddhist canonical sources. Dictionaries and other reference sources are in many Asian languages (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Pali, Sanskrit and Tibetan).
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Historical Abstracts This link opens in a new window
Index of academic historical journals on the history of the world (excluding the United States and Canada) from 1450 to the present, including world history, military history, women's history, history of education, etc.
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Religion and Philosophy Collection This link opens in a new window
Journals on world religions, major denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy.
General Databases
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowLarge and important archive for academic journals, books, and primary sources in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Many journals do not have current issues.
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ProQuest This link opens in a new window
Search all ProQuest databases simultaneously. Includes arts, humanities, social sciences, news, and science and technology.
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Google Scholar Vanderbilt Login This link opens in a new window
Use this link to seamlessly access VU resources via Google Scholar both on and off campus.
You can also adjust your Google Scholar settings to display the Vanderbilt Findit@VU link to appear in search results and allow for access from on or off-campus. Access Google Scholar settings by visiting this page (https://scholar.google.com/scholar_settings).
Click library links on the left hand menu. in the search box, search for Vanderbilt and select: “Vanderbilt University Library – Findit@VU” (with uppercase F), Click Save. -
WorldCat (FirstSearch) This link opens in a new window
Catalog of books, manuscripts, websites, internet resources, maps, computer programs, musical scores, films, slides, newspapers, journals, magazines, sound recordings, articles, chapters, papers, and videotapes available at libraries worldwide. Cross-search OCLC databases: ArchiveGrid, ArticleFirst, Ebooks, ECO, ERIC, GPO, MEDLINE, OAIster, PapersFirst, ProceedingsFirst, WorldCat, and WorldCatDissertations.
The History of the Buddha's Relic Shrine
Buddhist chronicles have long been had a central place in the study of Buddhism. Scholars, however, have relied almost exclusively on Pali works that were composed by elites for learned audiences, to the neglect of a large number of Buddhist histories written in local languages for popular consumption. The Sinhala Thūpavamsa, composed by Parakama Pandita in thirteenth-century Sri Lanka, is an important example of a Buddhist chronicle written in the vernacular Sinhala language.
Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs: a comprehensive handbook on symbolism in Chinese art through the ages
The Eight Immortals, the five elements, the dragon and the phoenix, yin and yang--representations of these important cultural symbols are pervasive in Chinese literature, art and architecture. Without an understanding of their significance, much Chinese history, folklore and culture can't be fully appreciated. In this comprehensive handbook, C.A.S. Williams offers concise explanations--and over 400 illustrations--of these essential symbols and motifs. Arranged alphabetically for easy access, the book not only explains essential cultural symbols, accompanied by their Chinese characters, but also contains many articles on Chinese beliefs, customs, arts and crafts, food, agriculture, and medicine.
Images, Relics, and Legends the formation and transformation of Buddhist sacred sites
A major collection of important essays by many of the leading scholars in the field of Buddhism, including Phyllis Granoff from Yale University, T.H.Barrett from the University of London, Raoul Birnbaum from University of California, Toru Funayama from Kyoto University, Eugene Wang from Harvard University and others.
Gandharan Buddhist Reliquaries
Gandhara, the ancient name for the region around modern Peshawar in northern Pakistan, was of pivotal importance in the production of Buddhist texts and art in the first centuries CE. Since the mid-nineteenth century, excavations of Gandharan monastery sites have revolutionized the study of early Buddhism. Among the treasures unearthed are hundreds of reliquaries--containers housing relics of the Buddha. This volume combines art history, Buddhist history, ancient Indian history, archaeology, epigraphy, linguistics, and numismatics to clarify the significance and function of these reliquaries.
Buddhist Practice and Visual Culture: the Visual Rhetoric of Borobudur
Providing an overall interpretation of the Buddhist monument Borobudur in Indonesia, this book looks at Mahayana Buddhist religious ideas and practices that could have informed Borobudur, including both the narrative reliefs and the Buddha images. The author explores a version of the classical Mahayana that foregrounds the importance of the visual in relation to Buddhist philosophy, meditation, devotion, and ritual. The book goes on to show that the architects of Borobudur designed a visual world in which the Buddha appeared in a variety of forms and could be interpreted in three ways.
