Architectural History Resource Guide
Introduction
This guide provides an overview of tools and basic strategies for conducting library research in Architectural History. Included is information on finding circulating books and reference sources, journals (both in print and online), databases, and major Internet resources. All collections marked VCU are available on both campuses OR off-campus with EZProxy.
Check the catalog
Search the Library Catalog to determine what books, journals, and audiovisual materials the Libraries own and where they are located.
- General searching: When you are looking for books on a topic do a Words Anywhere search first.
example: architectural history. - Exhibition Catalogs: To locate exhibition catalogs in Cabell, simply use an Art Exhibition Catalog Search. (From the catalog, click "Advanced Search" then choose "Exhibition Catalog" in the "Format" box.)
- E-Books: VCU Libraries provides access to a collection of electronic books through NetLibrary VCU . (From the home page, click "Quick Links," and choose "E-Books.") NetLibrary is a collection of electronic books from leading university, trade and professional publishers available via the Internet 24 hours a day. For full access, VCU faculty, students and staff must first create free individual user accounts. More about NetLibrary.
- Browsing the shelves: Books are filed using the Library of Congress system which group books into subject areas. Some of the broad Architecture categories begin in the following sections:
- NA - Architecture - General
- NA 190-1555 - Architecture. History
- NA 2695-2793 - Architectural drawing and design
- NA 2835-4050 Architectural details and decoration
- NA 9000-9428 Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying
- NK 1700 - Interior Design
- SB 469-476.4 Landscape Gardening. Landscape Architecture
- TH - Building Construction - General
- Where do I find things? Check out where things are in the Cabell Library.
- Do other libraries have what you need?
- Interlibrary Loan: VCU Libraries will get the items that you need if they are not in the collections. You do not need to identify which library has the required item - we'll do that for you. See what you need to do. To search for materials in other libraries, use the Worldcat VCU database or check the catalogs of other Virginia Libraries.
Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
- American Architecture: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Cabell Library Reference NA 705 .H36 1998
- Encyclopedia of Architecture: Design, Engineering, and Construction. Cabell Library Reference NA 31 .E59 1989
- Encyclopedia of Vernacular Architecture of the World. Cabell Library Reference NA 208 .E53 1997
- Encyclopedia of World Architecture. Cabell Library Reference NA 202 .S76 1983
- Illustrated Dictionary of History Architecture. Cabell Library NA 31 .H56 1983
- Sir Banister Fletcher's A History of Architecture. Cabell Library Reference NA 200 .F63 1996
Biographical Sources
- Contemporary Architects. Cabell Library Reference NA 680 .C625 1994
- The Encyclopedia of Architecture, historical, theoretical, and practical. Cabell Library Reference NA 2520 .G94 1982
- Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture. Cabell Library NA 963 .L46 1993
- The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. Cabell Library Reference NA 40 .I45 1991
- International Dictionary of Architects and Architecture. Cabell Library Reference NA 40 .I48 1993
- Makers of 20th Century Modern Architecture: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Cabell Library Reference NA 680 .J628 1997
Bibliographic Sources
- American Architects from the Civil War to the First World War: A Guide to Information Sources. Cabell Library Reference Z 5944 .U5 W63
- American Architects from the First World War to the Present: A Guide to Information Sources. Cabell Library Reference Z 5944 .U5 W635
- Architecture: A Bibliographic Guide to Basic Reference Works, Histories, and Handbooks. Cabell Library Reference Z 5941 .E38 1984
- Architecture Sourcebook: A Guide to Resources on the Practice of Architecture. Cabell Library Reference Z 5943 .A72 A75 1997
- Landscape Architecture Sourcebook: A Guide to Resources on the History and Practice of Landscape Architecture in the United States. Cabell Library Reference Z 5996.5 .U6 L36 1996
Journal Finder
E-Journal Search
This will let you know whether an electronic version of a journal is available from VCU. Links to journals are provided. Note: the search box only searches for the names of journals, not the subject content - use one of the research databases for this.
Alternative : Go to the VCU Libraries Catalog, select a title search, type in the title of the journal.
Selected Journals
- Architectural History VCU Cabell Library Current Periodicals (1st floor) and Bound Journals (2nd floor)
- Architectural Record VCU Cabell Library Current Periodicals (1st floor) and Bound Journals (2nd floor)
- Architectural Review VCU Cabell Library Current Periodicals (1st floor) and Bound Journals (2nd floor)
- Architecture: the AIA Journal Cabell Library Bound Journals (2nd floor)
- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians VCU Cabell Library Current Periodicals (1st floor) and Bound Journals (2nd floor)
- Newsletter/The Society of Architectural Historians. Cabell Library Current Periodicals (1st floor)
Most of these databases feature the "Get it @VCU" tab - 
. This service provides hyperlinks to a variety of options such as the electronic full-text (if available), the VCU library catalog, ILLiad, and Ask-a-Librarian.
AP Images VCU (1860 - present)
Searchable collection of about 700,000 news photos with captions. International Photo Archive, focused on North America; Euro/Asia Photo Archive, regional photos; and Graphics-PDF, maps, diagrams, and other graphics.
ARTbibliographies Modern (CSA) VCU (1974 - present)
Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, PhD dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art.
Art Full Text VCU (1984 - present) AND Art Index Retrospective VCU (1929 - 1984)
Citations and some full text to articles from periodicals published throughout the world including yearbooks and museum bulletins. Also indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals. Retrospective is an electronic version of Art Index, volumes 1-32, and contains all citations found in the print version. (Tip: to search for images or illustrations, use a keyword search including "AND illustration" or "AND (illustration OR reproduction)" along with your topic terms or artist's name.)
Arts and Humanities Citation Index via ISI Web of Science VCU (1975 - present)
Database of references cited in articles from 1,144 of the world's leading arts and humanities journals. Search by cited reference, topic, and author. Web of Science Tutorial
ARTstor VCU
Curated collections of digital art images and associated data for noncommercial and scholarly, non-profit educational use. Select "Search and Browse for Images" to enter. Uses cookies and pop-ups.
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals VCU (1930s - present)
Citations from international architecture literature. Also includes archaeology, city planning, interior design and set design. Selectives coverage dating back to 1860s.
BHA: Bibliography of the History of Art VCU (1973 - present)
Citations and abstracts of books, conference proceedings, dissertations, catalogs, and journal articles. Covers European and American art from antiquity to the present.
Design and Applied Arts Index VCU (1973 - present)
The Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI) contains over 130,000 annotated references from more than 500 design and craft journals and newspapers published from 1973 onwards, and data on over 50,000 designers, craftspeople, studios, workshops, firms etc., making it the largest index of its kind in the world.
Grove Art Online VCU
Searchable access to the entire text of The Dictionary of Art (1996, 34 vols.) and The Oxford Companion to Western Art (2001) with ongoing additions of new material and updates to the text, plus extensive image links.
Complete list of all Arts databases - click "Brief View" to see full description of each database.
General
ArchINFORM (http://eng.archinform.net/) - This database for international architecture, originally emerging from records of interesting building projects from architecture students, has become the largest online-database about worldwide architects and buildings from past to present. Includes information over more than 14,000 built and unrealized projects from various architects and planners. The architecture of the 20th century is the main theme.
Architecture and Building Resources (http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/rsrce/webrsrce/contents.html) - A directory of architecture related sites, arranged into categories, from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Cities and Buildings Databases (http://www.washington.edu/ark2/) From the University of Washington: a collection of digitized images of buildings and cities drawn from across time and throughout the world, intended for educational use.
Cyburbia: Internet Resources for the Built Environment (http://www.cyburbia.org/) - Cyburbia (formerly called PAIRC - The Planning and Architecture Internet Resource Center) contains a comprehensive directory of Internet resources relevant to planning, architecture, and the built environment.
The Great Buildings Collection (http://www.greatbuildings.com/gbc.html) - This gateway to architecture around the world and across history documents a thousand buildings and hundreds of leading architects, with 3D models, photographic images and architectural drawings, commentaries, bibliographies, web links, and more, for famous designers and structures of all kinds.
International Archive of Women in Architecture (http://spec.lib.vt.edu/iawa/) - The purpose of the Archive is to document the history of women's involvement in architecture by collecting, preserving, storing, and making available to researchers the professional papers of women architects, landscape architects, designers, architectural historians and critics, and urban planners, and the records of women's architectural organizations.
Society of Architectural Historians (http://www.sah.org/) - An international not-for-profit membership organization that promotes the study and preservation of the built environment worldwide. The Society’s 3,500 members include architectural historians, architects, preservationists, students, professionals in allied fields and the interested public.
Virginia
Architectural Resources in VCU Libraries Special Collections and Archives (http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/vcuarch.html) - Begin here for research resources on many of the architecturally significant buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries in Richmond, VA. Special focus is given to documenting architecture of the areas on and adjacent to VCU's campuses, especially the Fan District.
The Architecture of Thomas Jefferson (http://www3.iath.virginia.edu/wilson/home.html) - An archive that brings together materials related to the architecture of Thomas Jefferson.
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (http://www.apva.org/) - The APVA is dedicated to preserving and promoting the state's irreplaceable historic structures, landscapes, collections, communities and archaeological sites.
The Jefferson Bibliography Database (http://etext.virginia.edu/jefferson/bibliog/) - Contains annotations of writings about Thomas Jefferson from the time of his death in 1826 up to 1997.
The Library of Virginia (http://www.lva.lib.va.us/) - Resources for architectural drawings and plans.
Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress (http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/jefferson_papers/) and at the University of Virginia (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/collections/tj/) - Documents include correspondence, commonplace books, financial account books, manuscript volumes, and architectural drawings.
Virginia Center for Architecture (http://www.virginiaarchitecture.org/vca_index.jsp) - Features exhibitions, educational programs, and publications which explore the architecture of Virginia.
Virginia Department of Historic Resources (http://www.dhr.state.va.us/) - The state historic preservation office which supports the stewardship of Virginia's significant historic, architectural, archaeological, and cultural resources.
Virginia Heritage (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/small/vhp/) - Virginia Heritage is a consolidated database of finding aids to manuscript and archival collections and provides information about historical materials that document Virginia history. It searches the finding aids or guides to collections found in most of Virginia's repositories including the Library of Virginia, the Virginia Historical Society, and many of Virginia's colleges and universities. For researchers interested in using primary source materials and documents on topics related to Richmond and Virginia history, begin with this source. Two excellent examples are finding aids from the Library of Virginia that include a wealth of information about Richmond architecture - the Guide to the Richmond (Va.), Bureau of Permits and Inspections, Building permit architectural blueprints and specifications, 1907-1949 and the Guide to the Richmond (Va.) Office of the City Engineer, Architectural drawings, plans, and plats, 1809-1975.