History of Art Subject Guide
Materials held in Birkbeck Library
Books
Search the Library catalogue to find where these materials are located. Many of the materials relating to Art History will be in the 700s or at the shelfmark V in the alphabetical sequence. It is always advisable to check the catalogue rather than browsing the shelves as relevant books can be classified at other shelfmarks, and you may be interested in reserving books that are currently on loan. The collection includes the Peter Murray bequest: these books (Italian and Renaissance art and architecture) are for reference use only. Some of your essential reading may have been placed in the Reading Room Collection. Click on the Catalogue tab at the top of the screen.
A guide to Library classification in this area.
Dictionaries & Encyclopedias
The multi-volume Dictionary of Art (1996) shelved at 703 TUR is a useful starting point when trying to find information about a particular topic.
Some reference sources are available online via Oxford Reference Online or Credo reference. The collections can be searched individually or by subject cluster and are all listed on the library catalogue.
- A Dictionary of Architecture (via Oxford Reference Online)
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (via Oxford Reference Online)
- The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms (via Oxford Reference Online)
- The Oxford Dictionary of Art (via Oxford Reference Online)
- A Dictionary of Twentieth-Century Art (via Oxford Reference Online)
- A Biographical Dictionary of Artists, Andromeda (Credo reference)
- The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of 20th century Architecture (Credo reference)
- The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art & Artists (Credo reference)
- The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of British Art (Credo reference)
- The Thames & Hudson Encyclopaedia of Impressionism (Credo reference)
Print & Electronic Journals
The Library subscribes to more electronic journals than print ones in this subject area: click here for a journals list. Most of the electronic journals can be accessed from outside College with your ITS username and password. Click on the eLibrary tab above and select Ejournals to access them. The two principal services in this subject area are JSTOR and Art Full Text.
Also under eLibrary you will find ePrints - a database of research papers by Birkbeck academic staff.
Videos, DVDs, off-air recordings & CDs
These are located in a separate collection on Level 1. All A/V materials are listed on the Library catalogue. If you are looking for a feature film, search by title or director (use Author Alphabetical when searching for a director). There is also an alphabetical title list of videos/DVDs on the catalogue, if you click on Advanced at the top of the screen.
