LS2-104: The New York School Resources at the Lucy Scribner Library Find Books | Literature Resources | Art Resources | General Resources

Introduction

This page provides students from LS2-104 with selected resources for use in their writing projects. The resources listed below are divided by subject area: literature, art, and general (or multidisciplinary). Begin your research with a search in Lucy2 (the library catalog) and then proceed to either the art or literature section of this page to identify journal and newspaper articles and reference books. General resources may be consulted in addition to the resources listed in your subject area. Because coverage varies greatly from index to index, it is recommended that you search at least two or three different indexes while conducting your research. Please feel free to visit the library's reference desk for further assistance, or contact Elizabeth Putnam, Social Sciences Librarian at eputnam@skidmore.edu or 580-5542.

Find Books

Lucy2 Library Catalog Recommended search: Click on the "Basic Search" tab (found directly above the first search box). Type the name of your writer/artist (first name, last name) in the search box, select "Library of Congress Subject Heading" to the right of the search box, then click "search". Notice the various subject headings associated with your writer/artist. Headings such as [name] - criticism and interpretation, - influence, or - exhibitions often lead to particularly useful material. Related subject headings include: Beat Generation, New York School of Art, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art Please see the reference librarian for assistance in using the library catalog.

Literature Resources

Please see the reference librarian for assistance in using the resources listed below. Starred resources (***) are most highly recommended for your writing project and offer a good place to begin your research. For more literature resources, go to the English subject page. Electronic Indexes Annual Bibliography of English Language & Literature (ABELL) *** (1892-present, some full-text) Indexes books, periodical articles, critical editions of literary works, book reviews, collections of essays and doctoral dissertations published around the world. Literature Online (LION) (some full-text) This database contains hundreds of thousands of fully-searchable texts, with reference works, bibliographies, and catalogs on a single site, and provides hypertext links to relevant resources on other websites. LION is the gateway to ABELL, described above (click on "search criticism and reference" to access ABELL). MLA International Bibliography (1963-present, citations) Produced by the Modern Language Association, indexes critical materials on modern language, linguistics, and folklore. Provides access to over 3000 journals and series published worldwide, as well as monographs, working papers, proceedings, and bibliographies. Reference Books (located on the first floor of the library, beyond the reference desk) Dictionary of Literary Biography. 1978 - *** Ref PS221 .D5, 266 vols. The Dictionary of Literary Biography offers career-spanning biographies, "tracing the development of an author's canon and the evolution of his reputation." It's purpose "is not only to provide reliable information in a useable format but also to place the figures in the larger perspective of literary history and to offer appraisals of their accomplishments by qualified scholars" (quoted from the series introduction). Each volume of the Dictionary of Literary Biography has a separate theme. Volumes of particular interest include: 16: The Beats: Literary Bohemians in Postwar America 237: Beats: A Documentary Volume 2: American Novelists Since World War II 5, 169, 193: American Poets Since World War II 38: Afro-American Writers After 1955: Dramatists and Prose Writers Contemporary Literary Criticism. 1984 - Ref PN771 .C59 This series offers "critical commentary and general information on more than 2,000 authors." It serves as an "ongoing digest monitoring scholarly and popular sources of critical opinion and explication of modern literature." "Essays and reviews are taken from hundreds of book review periodicals, general magazines, scholarly journals, monographs and books" (quoted from the series introduction). Contemporary Authors. Ref PN771 .C58, 202 vols. Contemporary Authors, New Revision. Ref PN771 .C58 New Rev., 111 vols. Contemporary Authors "provides information on approximately 100,000 writers in a wide range of media." Entries include personal information, addresses, a career summary, awards and honors, lists of writings and adaptations, interviews, autobiographical essays, photographs, biographical and critical sources and obituary notices.

Art Resources

Please see the reference librarian for assistance in using the resources listed below. Starred resources (***) are most highly recommended for your writing project and offer a good place to begin your research. For more art resources, go to the Art & Art History subject page. Electronic Indexes ARTbibliographies Modern *** (1960s-present, abstracts) Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art. Entries date back as far as the late 1960s. Art Index Retrospective (1929-1984, citations) Indexes major periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins and provides access to a range of bibliographies, reports of conferences, exhibition listings, review articles, interviews, and film reviews. Use this resource to find articles published during the time that your artist was active. Bibliography of the History of Art *** (1973-present, abstracts) Indexes and abstracts articles, art-related books, conference proceedings, dissertations, and art exhibition and dealer's catalogs. Covers European and American art from late antiquity to the present. Provides the best coverage of scholarly art journals. GroveArt (Encyclopedia) Use GroveArt to find brief biographies of artists along with bibliographies of their writings and/or sources relating to them. Reference Books (located on the first floor of the library, beyond the reference desk) Contemporary Artists. Colin Naylor. 3rd Edition, 1996 *** Ref N6490 .C6567 1996 Each artist's entry includes basic biographical information, a listing of individual and group exhibitions, collections, publications, quotes, and a brief essay. Modern Arts Criticism: A Biographical and Critical Guide to Painters, Sculptors, Photographers and Architects from the Beginning of the Modern Era to the Present. Joann Prosyniuk. 1991, 4 vol.. Ref N6489 .M63 1991 Volume 3 contains a large entry on Jackson Pollock. Includes an introduction, artist commentary, survey of criticism and further reading. Other selected artists for this assignment are not represented in this work.

General Resources

Electronic Indexes The general resources listed below are multidisciplinary; that is, they contain materials relating to a wide variety of subjects. Use these general resources to identify articles from newspapers and a variety of popular and scholarly journals. Please see the reference librarian for assistance in using the resources listed below. America History & Life (1964-present, abstracts) This journal index covers all aspects of U.S. and Canadian history, culture and current affairs including american studies, art and literature. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: New York Times (1857-present, full-text) Indexes and presents the full-text of articles and advertisements appearing in the New York Times back to 1857. Use the Advanced Search feature to find articles about your artist/writer written during the time that they were active. Follow these instructions: On the first screen, click into the link for "ProQuest Historical Newspapers" (located in the first line of text underneath the green and orange bar at the top of the page) On the next screen, click the "Continue" button On the next screen, place your mouse pointer over the orange "Search Methods" box near the top left of the screen. Choose "Advanced" On the next screen, type your search term or phrase into the search box (ex. "Jackson Pollock"). DO NOT hit the search button yet! Scroll down to the box titled "Select Publication Date Ranges to Limit Your Search". Choose "From" and "To" (the last option), and enter your date range (month, day and year: ex. 01/01/1940 to 01/01/1957). Click "Add". Notice that the date range is added to your search box. Now click on "Search". The full text of all matching articles will appear. Periodical Abstracts Research II (1986-present, some full-text) Contains abstracts, indexing, and full text articles from popular magazines, business periodicals, and academic publications, plus current coverage of articles from The New York times and The Wall Street journal. It covers a wide range of topics including the arts, general interest, humanities, and women's studies. Periodical Contents Index (PCI) (1770-1995, citations) Index to the contents of thousands of periodicals in the humanities and social sciences. Search PCI to find journal and magazine articles about your writer/artists written during the time that they were active. Reference Books (located on the first floor of the library, beyond the reference desk) Historical Dictionary of the 1950s. James S. Olson. 2000 Ref E169.12 .O44 2000 Contains "hundreds of essays about the prominent people, issues, scandals, fads, events, ideas, films, radio and television programs and court cases of the decade." Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History. Mary Kupiec Cayton and Peter W. Williams. 2001 Ref E169.1 .E624 2001, 3 vol. The encyclopedia is an "attempt to comprehend the ever-changing character and rich variety of American thought and expression." See Volume 2, Part 6: World War II and the 1950s, and Part 10: Geography and Cultural Centers: New York City.