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Hi! This is Barbara Greil, one of the reference librarians at Alfred State College. You have an assignment where you have to find information
out on an architect or an architectural firm, perhaps
This short tutorial will show you how to find information on your architect or architectural firm
by using the library's online catalog to locate a book or video
on your architect or firm. One way to start this
project is by going to our
LibGuide for architecture. That's an online guide of library resources. To get there you can go to this URL.
When you get to this page you click on the books and videos link
and then go to the link for the Alfred State College
library catalog and it'll put you into our online catalog.
Another way to access our online catalog is to go to the
Alfred State College webpage which you get to by going to
www.alfredstate.edu/library. Once you are at this page, just scroll down till you get to the section "Find Library Books and More" and then
click on the link "At the Hinkle Library " and this will also put you into our online catalog.
So let's say we want to find information on the architectural firm "Arquitectonica."
Make sure you spell it correctly
and hit the go button.
So this brings up two items. They're both books. One of them is a whole book on the firm
"Arquitectonica" published fairly recently in 2004
The other book is a collection of
articles on a variety of architects
and architectural firms and they are included.
This might also be a good place to look for
information on your firm.
Don't forget to pay attention to the first three lines in the entry. This usually gives the author of the book or the editor.
It gives the title and it gives what we call the imprint or the place of publication, the publisher
and the date. This information is useful when you want to create your MLA citation
for the item if you use it. And then to find this item on the shelves just look at the call number down at the bottom of the entry. Most items
in the field of architecture are located in the "NA" section of
our library.
OK, let's go back to our basic search and this time let's look for something on a famous architect. Let's see if we can find something on
Santiago Calatrava, the famous Spanish architect.
Notice that I put his name in last name first.
Let's click "Go."
And 8 items came up as a result of this search.
I see from the first item, the most recent one, that it is in
a reference book. I can tell that because it says REF above the number
and it gives the call number so this will be on the main floor of the library.
I see that this is a book that includes information on the number of architects and firms, so that would be useful.
I see also that there are a number of books by various authors about just the work of this
architect, for example here's one by Phillip Jodidio.
I click on the title link. I get to the full entry
and again the first three lines important if you want to
create an MLA citation for this item
And here is the call number. This book would be upstairs on the third floor of the library.
OK. Let's go back one more time to our basic search. Let's say you want to see if we
have a ball or some other specific information about a famous work of architecture, for example
Fallingwater.
Alright, let's check this.
OK, I see that 10 items come up. These are 10 books--there might be a video--yes, it is a VHS from 1997 on Fallingwater,
on this particular iconic house in Pennsylvania.
And this looking for information on a particular building works only if the item-- if the building-- is extremely well known.
Usually the best bet is to look under your architect or the firm.
That's about it. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask one of the reference librarians at the information desk, or E mail us
at
Library@alfredstate.edu
Thanks alot!