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Art History

Finding Articles

artforum coverMAGAZINES! 

JOURNALS!

NEWSPAPERS!

The CCSF Library provides free access to newspaper, magazine and journal article databases. 

Use these databases for specialized and the most up-to-date information, especially academic (scholarly) sources that are not available for free on the Web. See the A-Z Databases list page for a full list of databases available.

Recommended Databases for Art Research

Databases are searchable containers of books, magazines, journals, and images (but not webpages, which you search on the open web). Databases are owned by a few different companies, and the library pays for access to make relevant sources available for your research. The sources in the databases are rarely available for free on the open web.

When looking for articles related to Art, whether history, criticism, or technique, we recommend the following options:

At the Public Library

San Francisco Public Library offers access to several excellent databases on art and art history, including:sfpl

  • Art Full Text, a database with full text, scholarly articles exclusively about the arts.

You will need a San Francisco Public Library card and your pin number for the card to access these databases. Go to SFPL's list of Art & Music Databases and explore these amazing resources!

Search Strategies

Overlap icon (from Krishansky)Digital searching can work well when you combine your search words with "Boolean" connectors.

Boolean Connector What does it do?
AND
  • narrows the results of a search, though without this operator, the AND is usually implied.
  • This searches only for items containing both search terms.
  • Example: health disparities AND urban
OR
  • expands or broadens the results of a search. This searches for either term, thus widening the possibilities.
  • This is helpful when searching using synonyms. ("OR is more.")
  • Example search string: genetically modified OR transgenic OR GMO
NOT
  • excludes specific terms that may be clouding your result set with irrelevant results not related to your topic.
  • This is helpful when trying to remove some results.
  • Example: nutrition NOT diet

"Filter my results" section with "Peer-reviewed Journals" checkedOther strategies:

  • Identify key concepts. Include the useful or relevant keywords in your search, as well as synonyms, rather than a full question.
  • Use "Filters" to limit your source type, time period, and location.
  • Need "scholarly" articles? Use the "Peer-Reviewed Journals" filter.

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