My personal, Top 3 LOUIS databases that will make me cry (seriously) – if they disappear:

1. JSTOR

2. Academic Search Complete

3. WorldCat

If you had to choose only 3 resources, which would you pick?

LOUIS Databases

So, first things first, WorldCat. Aside from the subscription versions of WorldCat and WorldCat Local that LSU Libraries makes available to library users, there is also a public (for FREE) version at http://www.worldcat.org. The content in the public version is exactly the same as the information provided from the WorldCat Local search from the library homepage, the main differences… the interfaces and the ability to view – instantly – the holdings of LSU Libraries. Expanding the “Find a copy in the library” will allow you to enter in your local zip code (70803 for LSU) and see if any of the local libraries have a copy of what you are after. Clicking on the name of the library or institution will automatically redirect you to the local library catalog.

DO NOT FORGET! WorldCat indexes periodical articles! This means that you will be able to discover article citations (emphasis here on citations, NOT full-text and or the electronic version of the article) using WorldCat, specifically articles from JSTOR, ArticleFirst, and other databases that are indexed within WorldCat.

Final tip – kick it old school. Doing research? Have you found a resource that is absolutely perfect but you still need more information? Don’t just resort to using random information that you find online, use the bibliography at the end of your article, book, or book chapter to track down other relevant resources!

College Art Association posted on June 23rd that ProQuest will take over BHA, which will soon operate under the new title IBA, the International Bibliography of Art.

The Getty will continue to host, for free, the content in BHA up through 2007. IBA will pick-up with 2008-2009 and beyond. As the news release notes, ProQuest plans to expand the content of IBA to include arts from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Read the original news post from CAA News.

*Sigh of relief*

Here at LSU Libraries we have made it easy for you to search our local library holdings and the holdings of all of the other WorldCat institutions simultaneously! It is as simple as clicking “Search with WorldCat Local” from the library homepage.

Aside from getting a better understanding of the breadth of information that is available locally and elsewhere on a topic, WorldCat also allows users to discover article citations from scholarly journals and magazines – a feature that is NOT available in the local LSU catalog. Article citations from the following sources are searchable in WorldCat Local (and this list should only continue to grow in #):

• ArticleFirst
• ERIC
• MEDLINE
• British Library Serials
• GPO
• JSTOR

A few highlights for you to chew on… explore the many fabulous features that the WorldCat catalog has to offer you. If you have any questions, as always, ask at LSU Libraries!

Come by the library and take a look at what the advanced LA students have designed!

Where: 4th Floor, Middleton Library

Call # SB469.22 + Date + Author

Projects in the collection go as far back as 1968!

Now available from the Indexes & Databases pages of the LSU Libraries homepage, you will find Art Full Text, Art Index Retrospective, and Avery Index all available from Wilson Web.

For all of you super savvy LSU Libraries users, you may be asking yourself, didn’t we already have Art Index Retrospective and Avery Index? The answer is yes, BUT, now you will be able to search all 3 of these key A&D databases simultaneously.

Some other fabulous features of these databases that you may be interested in include:

- a citation generator

- immediate translator for content in foreign languages

- audio files that allow you to listen to the content rather than strain your eyes reading on your computer

- convenient search result tabs that make it easy to determine if you have found peer-reviewed content and or full-text content

- much more!

As always, if you have any questions about the new interface or would like to get some help, do not hesitate to ask for help at the LSU Libraries!

View the Press Release or run a search in BHA!

“Note that the database search includes both BHA (covering 1990-2007) and the International Bibliography of Art (IBA) [new name for BHA], covering the years 2008 and part of 2009. The Répertoire de la litterature de l’art (RILA), one of the predecessors of BHA, with records that cover 1975–1989, will be online by May 1.”

View the list of Journal Titles available in BHA.

Both contain a wealth of information pertaining to the study of art and design.

Art & Architecture Complete

“Art & Architecture Complete™ is the definitive research database for the study of art and architecture. This database provides full-text coverage of more than 330 periodicals and 215 books. In addition, Art & Architecture Complete offers cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for nearly 730 academic journals, magazines and trade publications. The database also provides selective coverage for more than 70 additional publications and an Image Collection of over 64,000 images provided by Picture Desk and others.”

Read more about A&A from EBSCO!

H.W. Wilson

- Art Full-Text

“Featuring full-text articles plus abstracting and indexing of an international array of peer-selected publications, Art Full Text is an unmatched resource for art information. The database covers fine, decorative, and commercial art as well as photography, folk art, film, architecture, and much more. In recent years, its coverage of Latin American, Canadian, Asian, and non-Western art has expanded greatly, along with its material on new artists, contemporary art, exhibition reviews, and feminist criticism.”

- Art Index Retrospective

“An invaluable, in-depth record of contemporary art history, Art Index Retrospective: 1929 -1984 enables users to access over half a century of art literature with ease. In addition to the leading English-language art journals, Art Index Retrospective also covers a host of publications in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch, as well as important yearbooks and select museum bulletins.”

- Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals

“The Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals database offers a comprehensive listing of journal articles on architecture and design, including bibliographic descriptions on subjects such as the history and practice of architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, historic preservation, and interior design and decoration. It contains more than 600,000 entries surveying over seven hundred American and international journals. These include not only scholarly and popular periodical literature, but also publications of professional associations, American state and regional periodicals, and the major serials on architecture and design of Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia.”

The Getty has been taking steps to find a new home for the database, but with no luck.  Print volumes are still available, but only up through 2000.

Stay tuned… but until then, the countdown begins today – 29 days until the disappearance of BHA.

From ASLA Website:

“Introduced by Congressman Mike McCaul (TX), the Green Energy Education Act would call on the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to partner in providing grants to university programs that focus on the design and construction of high performance buildings.”

(http://asla.org/NewslistingDetails.aspx?id=25076)

Read the Bill: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h957ih.txt.pdf