LibGuides: Art History Senior Research Seminar: Books

Finding Books in Art History

General Library Collection Catalogs

CLIO
CLIO catalog allows you to search the complete holdings (books, e-books, media materials, journal databases, and journal articles) within the Columbia Library system.
Art Discovery Catologue
The Art Discovery Group Catalogue (ADGC) brings together millions of records for art resources from leading art libraries around the globe.

WorldCat
Contains over 48 million records, covering all materials (books, special collections, DVDs/VHS, serials, etc) cataloged by over 10,000 libraries around the world.

Museum Library Catalogs

Frick Art Research Library
The mission of the Frick Art Research Library is to provide public access to materials and programs focused on the study of fine and decorative arts created in the European tradition from the fourth through the twentieth century, as well as art from around the world that has been influenced by or had an influence on this tradition. The library serves an international research community and supports scholarly and programmatic initiatives throughout The Frick Collection.
Getty Research Portal
The Getty Research Portal™ is a free online search platform providing worldwide access to an extensive collection of digitized art history texts from a range of institutions. This multilingual and multicultural union catalog affords art historians and other researchers the ability to search and download complete digital copies of publications devoted to art, architecture, material culture, and related fields.
Hispanic Society of America
The Hispanic Society of America’s renowned library offers unrivaled resources for researchers interested in the history and culture of Spain, Portugal, and the Americas. The collections of the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books are among the most extensive outside Spain, containing more than 250,000 manuscripts, documents, and letters dating from the 11th to 20th centuries, along with 30,000 books printed before 1830, which include some 250 incunabula (books printed before 1500). In addition to rare books, the Hispanic Society maintains a modern research library on the literature, fine arts, geography, history, and cultures of Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Philippines, now comprising over 300,000 volumes plus 1,500 periodicals dating from the 19th century up to the present.
International Center of Photography
ICP's William Randolph Hearst Library lives at the heart of our home in the Lower East Side of New York City. The library is dedicated to the entire discipline of photography and houses an extensive collection of photobooks and other resources.
Metropolitan Museum: Watsonline
Thomas J. Watson Library is the central research library of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Its collection of books and periodicals relating to the history of art is one of the most comprehensive in the world. The primary mission of the library is to support the research activities of the Museum staff; in addition, it welcomes a broad range of students and researchers college age and above.
MoMA Library
The Museum of Modern Art Library is a comprehensive collection devoted to modern and contemporary art. The noncirculating collection documents painting, sculpture, drawings, prints, photography, architecture, design, performance, video, film, and emerging art forms from 1880 to the present (from 1830 for photography). The Library’s holdings include approximately 400,000 books and exhibition catalogs, over 1,000 periodical titles, and over 90,000 files of ephemera about individual artists and groups.
Morgan Library and Museum, CORSAIR
The Morgan Library & Museum's collection is searchable through their database, CORSAIR.
New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
The Schomburg Center, is a specialized research library within the New York Public Library system, with collections by and about Black culture in the United States.
New York Public Library Art and Architecture Collection
The Art and Architecture Collection contains published works on fine art, decorative arts, architecture and design history in general. The scope of the Collection is international, covering the arts from prehistory through the contemporary period. The holdings are remarkably rich for scholarship as a result of the original bequests from the Astor and Lenox collections, and other generous gifts. The Collection is particularly strong in the decorative arts; included among its early holdings is an antiquarian-based collection of portfolio and plate-books; the history of painting and drawing; and in Western European and American architectural history.
NYARC Arcade
This online catalog from the New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) unites the collections of the Frick Art Reference Library and the libraries of the Brooklyn Museum and The Museum of Modern Art under a single search.
Whitney Museum Library: WhitneyCat
The Frances Mulhall Achilles Library at the Whitney Museum of American Art is a comprehensive research collection in the field of twentieth-century and contemporary American art. Of paramount importance to American art research and scholarship, its collections of books, periodicals, archives, and special collections are accessed by the Whitney’s own staff as well as by visiting scholars and researchers by appointment.

Pro Tips: Avery Library

What do do when your book at Avery Library is non-circulating

As you may have noticed, the library collections at Avery Library are largely non-circulating. While this serves to maintain the collections for everyone, it can also be a little frustrating. There is some good news, you can often find the same title through Borrow Direct or Interlibrary Loan.

Borrow Direct: Even when a book is available at Avery, you can use Borrow Direct to get materials you've found in the catalog from other libraries. Simply select "Requests" from CLIO's top navigation, and then "Borrow Direct." Borrow Direct allows Columbia and Barnard affiliates to check out books for a full semester for at-home use - and delivery is only 3-4 days!
Interlibrary Loan: ILL offers borrowing from libraries around the globe. This is the best bet when you are looking for items you can't find in Borrow Direct. Loan periods and delivery times vary.

Avery Call Numbers

Avery Call Numbers: Avery Library uses multiple call number systems, which make it a little confusing to browse. You will find books on the same topic in multiple locations at Avery. See below for call numbers and their locations.

Avery Call Number Locations

Call Numbers in the Arts

Library of Congress Classification System

The Library of Congress Classification System (LC) arranges areas of study so that researchers can browse areas of the stacks (library shelves) to find similar information. Most visual arts research can therefore be found in the N call number ranges. There are inherent biases baked into the classification system. As an example: Indigenous art forms from the Americas are found in the E & F call number ranges (History of the Americas). See the LC Classification Guide for additional areas of study.

Library of Congress Call Numbers	Subjects
N N1-58 General N61-72 Theory. Philosophy. Aesthetics of the visual arts N81-390 Study and teaching. Research N400-3990 Art museums, galleries, etc. N4390-5098 Exhibitions N5198-5299 Private collections and collectors N5300-7418 History N7420-7525.8 General works N7560-8266 Special subjects of art N8350-8356 Art as a profession. Artists N8510-8553 Art studios, materials, etc. N8554-8585 Examination and conservation of works of art N8600-8675 Economics of art N8700-9165 Art and the state. Public art	Visual Arts
NA NA1-60 General NA100-130 Architecture and the state NA190-1555.5 History NA1995 Architecture as a profession NA2000-2320 Study and teaching. Research NA2335-2360 Competitions NA2400-2460 Museums. Exhibitions NA2500-2599 General works NA 2599.5-2599.9 Architectural criticism NA2695-2793 Architectural drawing and design NA2835-4050 Details and decoration NA4100-8480 Special classes of buildings NA9000-9428 Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying	Architecture
NB NB1-50 General NB60-1115 History NB1120-1133 Study and teaching NB1134-1134.4 Competitions NB1135-1150 General works NB1160-1195 Designs and technique NB1199-1200 Restoration of sculptures NB1203-1270 Special materials NB1272-1291 Mobiles, color, sculpture gardens, etc. NB1293-1895 Special forms NB1910-1952 Special subjects	Sculpture
NC NC1-1940 Drawing. Design. Illustration NC1-45 General Including collective biography NC50-266 History of drawing NC390-670 Study and teaching NC673-677 Competitions NC703-725 General works NC730-758 Technique NC760-825 Special subjects NC845-915 Graphic art materials NC930 Conservation and restoration of drawings NC950-(996) Illustration NC997-1003 Commercial art. Advertising art NC1280-1284 Printed ephemera. Imagerie populaire NC1300-1766 Pictorial humor, caricature, etc. NC1800-1850 Posters NC1860-1896 Greeting cards, postcards, invitations, book jackets, etc. NC1920-1940 Copying, enlarging, and reduction of drawings	Drawing, Design, Illustration
ND ND25-3416 Painting ND25-(48) General ND49-813 History ND1115-1120 Study and teaching ND1130-1156 General works ND1288-1460 Special subjects ND1290-1293 Human figure ND1300-1337 Portraits ND1340-1367 Landscape painting ND1370-1375 Marine painting ND1380-1383 Animals. Birds ND1385-1388 Sports. Hunting, fishing, etc. ND1390-1393 Still life ND1400-1403 Flowers. Fruit. Trees ND1410-1460 Other subjects ND1470-1625 Technique and materials ND1630-1662 Examination and conservation of paintings ND1700-2495 Watercolor painting ND2550-2733 Mural painting ND2889-3416 Illuminating of manuscripts and books	Painting
NE NE1-3002 Print media NE1-978 Printmaking and engraving NE1000-1352 Wood engraving NE1400-1879 Metal engraving NE1940-2232.5 Etching and aquatint NE2236-2240.6 Serigraphy NE2242-2246 Monotype (Printmaking) NE2250-2570 Lithography NE2685-2685.8 Lumiprints NE2690 Engraving on glass NE2800-2880 Printing of engravings NE3000-3002 Copying art. Copying machine art	Print Media
NK NK1-(9990) Decorative arts NK1-570 General NK600-806 History NK1135-1149.5 Arts and crafts movement NK1160-1590 Decoration and ornament. Design NK1648-1678 Religious art NK1700-2195 Interior decoration. House decoration NK2200-2750 Furniture NK2775-2898 Rugs and carpets NK2975-3049 Tapestries NK3175-3296.3 Upholstery. Drapery NK3375-3496.3 Wallpapers NK3600-9990 Other arts and art industries	Decorative Arts
NX NX1-820 Arts in general NX1-260 General NX280-410 Study and teaching. Research NX411-415 Competitions NX420-430 Exhibitions NX440-632 History of the arts NX650-694 Special subjects, characters, persons, religious arts, etc. NX700-750 Patronage of the arts NX760-770 Administration of the arts NX775-777 Voluntarism in the arts NX798-820 Arts centers and facilities	Arts in General
Other Useful Call Numbers	Subjects
D	World History (Arts of non-Western cultures)
E & F	History of the Americas (for Native American art)
TR	Photography
TT	Handicrafts. Arts and Crafts

Finding Exhibition Catalogs

Finding exhibition catalogs through known item searches

An exhibition catalog, like any book, can be found in CLIO by its title using what is called a "known item search."
Simply enter the exact title in quotation marks to find the catalog you are looking for

To Find exhibition catalogs using Advanced Search

In CLIO select catalog from the menu of options on the left side
Select advanced search (to the right of the search box)
In the first search box select "Subject" from the dropdown menu and enter exhibition catalogs in the box (no quotation marks)
In the second search under "All Fields" use the topic of your search. This could be a museum itself, or a general topic of interest

Art History Senior Research Seminar

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