Most searchers rely exclusively on keywords to retrieve records in online catalogs. If you wish to retrieve more precise results, try searching by controlled vocabulary for your topic, often referred to as "subject headings" or "descriptors."
For example, the Library of Congress subject heading for American art is "Art, American." You do not need to enter the comma or capitalize.
The first search below is a subject search and the second is a keyword search. Compare them for precision and notice the faceted aspect of the first search:
If searching for a specific author, you can best search by author and type the last name before the first name. Example:
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowBooks remain important to the disciplines of art, architecture, interior design, and landscape architecture.
If we don't own the book or have access to an online version, request it via the Libraries' Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service, ILLiad.
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowThis page of the Research Guide addresses how to search for materials such as books, reports, and other documents published one time—therefore "monographs." In contrast, articles are typically part of serial, ongoing publications such as journals and continuations.
The local Library Catalog contains records of items owned by the University of Arkansas Libraries, the Law Library, and Crystal Bridges Museum Library. Online tips are available for searching the catalog. Searching by subject heading allows considerable precision. Below are examples of subject searches pertinent to this course.