LIBRARY TOOLS

OCAD LINKS

REFERENCE


Encyclopedias  (OCADU researchers only):

Off-Campus Access: log in with OCADU username/password.


Access Science
Full text, illustrated. Access to McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology 9th Ed., Science Dictionary and evaluated external links.  Includes entries on science & technology, agriculture, anthropology, biology, chemistry, math, medicine, physics, veterinary medicine.

Adam Matthews Digital
Access full text e-books, reference material, primary documents, timelines and graphics on the below topics.  Innovative user interfaces--especially in Mass Observation Online, which explores all aspects of culture, sociology and individual psychology--make these indispensable reference resources.
China: Trade, Politics and Culture, 1793-1980
Defining Gender, 1450-1910
Eighteenth Century Journals I & II
Empire Online
Mass Observation Online
Medieval Travel Writing
Slavery, Abolition and Social Justice, 1490-2007

AskART
Auction records, biographies, low res. images of international fine arts from all time periods (ancient to contemporary).  Includes many lesser known artists not profiled in standard art encyclopedias.  Offers comprehensive coverage of Canadian artists.  

Berg Fashion Library
Full text access to Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, a range of e-books, reference works, images, and much more (see full list of content). Useful for research in anthropology, art history, history, sociology, geography, folklore, museum studies, theatre, and cultural studies as well as fashion and textiles.

Credo Reference
Full text access to over 3 million entries from almost 500 reference books.  Includes reference for conversions, sciences, quotations, religions of the world, music, history, and most academic areas of study.

Design ProFILES
Brief biographies of major designers in all areas including graphic, industrial, and environmental.  Includes bibliographies of articles.

Educator's Reference Center Complete
Search over 1,100 periodicals, 200 reports and 10 comprehensive online pedagogical encyclopedias.  ERCC is a resource for any educator -- from the school teacher and administrator to those studying in the field at the collegiate and graduate level.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Online
Full text; covers all subject areas and time periods.

Gale Virtual Reference
Search almost 50 reference e-books covering all academic and popular subject areas.  Also browse individual titles, such as Encyclopedia of GLBT History, Environmental Encyclopedia, Pollution A - Z, Cities of the World, Geo-Data, and much more.

Grzimek's Animal Life
Search or browse more than 4,000 species for information on evolution, habitat, behavior, range, endangered species, biomes.  Offers images, journal articles, videos, background information, translation into 11 languages, ReadSpeaker text-to-speech translation.

Health & Wellness Centre
Guides, encyclopedias, clinical studies and news on all aspects of health and healthcare.

Health Reference Center - Academic
Search full text and images of nursing, allied health and medical journals; consumer health magazines; newsletters; pamphlets; newspaper articles; topical overviews; and reference books.

InteLex Past Masters
Offers a collection of editions, in both original language and in English translation, of seminal figures in the humanities and social sciences. Includes Aquintas, Austen, Hume, Kant, Kierkegaard, Leibniz, Locke, Santayana, Shelley, Wittgenstein, Wollstonecraft, Wordsworth, Yeats, among many others.

Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory  (encyclopedia)
Full text encyclopedia entries, biographies, essays, covering all aspects of Literary, political & cultural theory from 17th Century onwards. offers entire text of the print guide, updated in 2004.  The ideal starting point for any research in cultural theory or visual studies.

Literature Resource Center Biographies, bibliographies, and literary criticism on authors (fiction and non-fiction) and illustrators.  Also offers plot summaries, character and thematic analysis for works of all genres and countries of the world.  Browse for authors by country, genre, or literary movement.  Includes full text articles from academic magazines and journals.

Oxford Art Online (Grove Dictionary of Art)
full text articles and biographies with over 130,000 image links.  International coverage of art/design from B.C. to the present.

Oxford Islamic Studies
Includes more than 3,000 reference articles and chapters by leading scholars and specialists, images, timelines, primary documents, Qur'anic studies. 

Oxford Digital Reference Collection

Companion to World Exploration  
Dictionary of American Family Names
Dictionary of Byzantium
Dictionary of the Renaissance
Encyclopedia of American Literature
Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
Encyclopedia of British Literature
Encyclopedia of Children's Literature
Encyclopedia of Economic History
Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment
Encyclopedia of Evolution
Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
Encyclopedia of Global Change
Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
Encyclopedia of Mesoamerican Cultures
Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages
Encyclopedia of the Reformation
Encyclopedia of Rhetoric
Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance  
Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts  
International Encyclopedia of Dance
International Encyclopedia of Linguistics

Springer Link Reference E-Books
Access over 119 encyclopedias and dictionaries covering subjects in materials, biomedical sciences, earth sciences, geography,life sciences and more.

Student Resource Center: Canadian Edition
Covers all aspects of Canadian and world cultures, history and society. Browse "topic trees" for or search for reference books, multimedia, primary sources, statistics, or periodical articles (journal, magazine, newspaper )

Encyclopedias Open Source

Bartelby.com
Search this impressive collection of reference resources. Includes biographical and quotation dictionaries, as well as the King James Bible, works of verse by famous International poets, ancient Greek and Roman histories. Also includes full-text versions of classic fiction and non-fiction books, including Mark Twain, Charles Darwin, and many more. Fully searchable and highly recommended.

The Canadian Encyclopedia Online
Search or browse this concise encyclopedia of Canadian culture. Most major artists and movements are represented.
 
The Catholic Encyclopedia
Offers detailed information on artists and architecture associated with the Roman Catholic Church. Entries are comprehensive, but do not include images. Search by keyword or browse the alphabetic index.

The Columbia Encyclopedia 
Comprehensive encyclopedia including entries on major artists and movements.  Search "entry word" or "full text" to access over 51,000 entries from the 6th edition (2002). 

Country Studies   Library of Congress
Search by keyword or browse full text e-books originally published by the Federal Research Division. Provides historical information, current events, demographic and economic profiles of 102 countries and regions are covered. Notable omissions include Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and other Western nations, as well as a number of African nations.

Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online 
Search for biographical information on people living in Canadian territory from the periods 1000 to 1930. Offers the same material as the print version produced by the Department of Canadian Heritage. Offers some images and web links.

Gay, Lesbian, Transgender & Queer Encyclopedia
Use keyword search for extensive coverage of biographies, as well as themes and history of LGBT culture. Includes "Arts" and "Literature" pages with information listed by topic.

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy 
The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a non-profit organization featuring regularly updated original contributions by specialized philosophers around the Internet; includes citation information .

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Started in 1995 this peer refereed journal is hosted by Stanford University. Every entry is linked to previously archived entries. Entries are arranged alphabetically by topic in a table of contents. 

World Factbook  CIA
Access extensive information on individual countries, including demographics, geographical, and economic data.


Dictionaries & Specialized Glossaries

Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary and thesaurus.

YourDictionary.com
Includes links to language dictionaries (e.g., French-English), specialty dictionaries and grammar guides.

OneLook Reverse Dictionary
A dictionary that lets users "describe a concept and get back a list of words and phrases related to that concept." Enter "a few words, a sentence, a question, or even just a single word." Offers in-depth definitions as found from numerous online dictionaries. Warning: make sure you check the "home" for each site to ensure that it is dependable and authoritative.

Glossary of Literary Theory: Index of Primary Terms
Offers concise definitions for key criticism and theory terms. Although created for literary studies research, many terms used in art history and criticism are included. Browse an alphabetic listing of terms. Hosted by the University of Toronto.

Roget's Thesaurus
Contains 35,000 synonyms and over 250,000 hyperlinked cross-references.

Alternative Dictionaries
Offers links to online slang dictionaries from around the world; includes rap, regional dialects (Scottish, Irish, Cockney etc.) and historic usages. A Yahoo directory.

Art & Design Information

Archindont (Architectural Index for Ontario)
Toronto Public Library: Provides brief entries and citations for articles for most significant structures Ontario; coverage of Toronto architecture is fairly comprehensive.  Browse by Architect, street, type or name of building.  

Artcyclopedia
Search by artists' name, artwork title, or geographic location; or browse by artistic movements, mediums, subjects, nationalities, names, etc. Includes encyclopedia entries, bibliographic information, lists of art works, and links to related web sites and online images.

Artists in Canada (Canadian Heritage Information Network)
Note: this is not a full text resource. Compiled and maintained by the National Gallery of Canada Library, it includes over 42,700 artists and lists museum, libraries and galleries that have clippings files on Canadian
artists & designers.

Artists A to Z - National Gallery of Canada
Browse hundreds of biographies and works by artists represented in the National Gallery of Canada's collection. Search and browse by century or category access also available. 

ArtLex Art Dictionary
Use the keyword search or browse the alphabetic listing to search for definitions specific to the theory and practice of art & design. Definitions are concise and offer internal links to other art terms.

Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada, 1800-1950
The Dictionary is written, edited and compiled by Robert G. Hill, Architect, MRAIC. Browse or keyword search biographies of nearly 1,700 architects who lived and worked in Canada as well as those architects who resided in the United States, Britain and elsewhere, and for whom it is now possible to link their names with buildings constructed in this country.

British Museum/BBC -- History of the World
View timeline (2 mill BCE - present) of objects that define culture throughout the world.  Search of browse by theme, colour, culture, size or material.  An excellent resource for visual or material culture research.

Canadian Film Encyclopedia
contains over 750 film titles, biographical and subject entries, covering is of Canada's historical and contemporary films and filmakers.  Includes bibliography of other print and electronic resources.

designinform Research Guides No.1: Internet Sources of Biographical Information
Browse this comprehensive directory of sites containing biographical information on designers, architects, craftspeople, painters and sculptors. Created by Design Research Publications.

Dictionary of Art Historians (Duke University)
Search or browse full text biographies and authoritative  entries on the key scholars, museum professionals and academic historians of art for classic and contemporary art history research. 

Glossary for Medieval Art and Architecture
A dictionary of specialized terms used in medieval art history studies is provided. Definitions are concise, but accurate and provide internal links to related terms. There is no means of searching other than browsing the list of alphabetically ordered terms.

Inclusive Design Toolkit
An open source portal offering background information on inclusive design with links to interactive resources such as impairment simulators, an exclusion calculator, business case studies. 

Insecula: L'encyclopedie des arts et de l'architecture
Use search box to view works by artists or architects. Results list describe work and note museum/park/site where work is located. Note: Some text is in French only.

Multilingual Glossary for Art Librarians
Brief definitions of art and art library terms, with translations in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Swedish.

TransMaterial
Search or browse for recycled biomaterials and other sustainable materials.  Includes ceramics, metals, and polymers.

Universes in Universe
Extensive news on contemporary art world; includes a calendar of major international biennial exhibitions.

Video Art in Canada  
A division of VTape, this collection of Canadian video artists' bios, critiques and works.

World's Fair Ephemeral and Graphic Materials Collection
From the Architecture Library, University of Maryland, includes list of World's Fairs from 1851-1970 with accompanying images and background information. 

Materials

Material ConneXion (OCADU researchers only)
Contains thousands of new and innovative materials from world-wide sources, along with current applications, representing eight material categories. Offers an overview of product information including general description, profile, and images. current information on products, processes and processed raw materials.

Inventables
Database that helps vendors of materials and technologies market their products to people who are looking to solve sourcing problems.

Materia
Offers a knowledge bank of innovative materials and their applications with an emphasis on architecture and design.

Transmaterial
Provides information about current materials that are commercially available. It covers the areas of material uses, properties and sources.

Sound Effects

Freesound
Search or browse by subject this collaborative database of sound effects. Users are encouraged to download and share sounds using Creative Commons License principles.  Includes user forum, tagging and links to remix groups. 


Translators

Babel Fish
A text translator for English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

FreeTranslation.com
Text or web page translation for English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese and Spanish.

Systran Information and Translation Technologies
Translates text or web pages in a variety of languages.  Offers free trials, but products must be purchased for extended use.

Writing Style Guides

HyperGrammar (Univ. of Ottawa)
One of the best writing style guides online!  Find succinct descriptions, with useful examples, of all aspects of English language grammar, syntax and diction.

Writing About Art (City College of New York, CUNY)
Based on a course in art writing, Prof. Marjorie Munsterberg offers a guides that "explains the different approaches college students encounter in undergraduate art history classes."  Offers excellent descriptions of varying styles of writing and practical tips in achieving success in using them.

The Elements of Style
William Strunk's classic guide to plain English writing style (from Bartleby.com).

Art Theory Essay Writing Guide (Adelaide Central School of the Arts)
Download this Word document as a helpful and detailed guide on critical essay writing for art students.

Writing in Art History
Concise guides on five different art history essay formats are given, including papers dealing with formal and stylistic analysis, iconographic imagery, theory and criticism, and provenance or patronage studies. Information on research methods is included as well as a Sample Paper .

Other Style Guides (Turabian, Chicago Manual of Style, APA)

 Citation & Style Guides
A list of websites that describe how to format citations and bibliographies in all other formats.


Used Book Catalogues

abebooks
Search for used books from across North America. Use the advanced search to limit by country. Includes several Toronto used book sources.

alibris
Includes over 35 million used, new and "hard-to-find" books, CDs, or videos (VHS or DVD). Search by title, author, or subject.

Anatomy & Medicine

Gray's Anatomy
Search or browse the classic 1918 publication. Includes over 1,247 engravings (some in colour), as well as a subject index with more than 13,000 entries.

Doctor Search College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario
Use easy or advanced search to find doctors in Ontario. Searches can be limited to ones currently accepting patients and by postal code zones.

Atlases

Atlas of Canada
Government of Canada : Offers maps and extensive background information on Canadian culture and geography. Search by keyword or browse by subject. Includes information on climate and environment.

Timeline of Art History
Metropolitan Museum of Art : Select time period, then geographic region from a "clickable map," to find detailed information on historical events.

Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Browse through this extensive collection of international maps. Of special interest are the "Historical Maps" collection.


Calculators & Monetary Conversion

Calculators & On-line Tools
About.com : Includes basic numeric, scientific, currency, time and unit converter calculators.

Currency Converter
Bank of Canada : Convert to any international currency.


Weights & Measures

How Many?
University of North Carolina : A site with definitions with units in English Customary, Metric and International Systems. Information organized by subject and includes "Index of Tables and Scales" as well as a "What's New" section for updates on international developments.

Infoplease.com: Weights & Measures
Offers extensive number of tables for weight and measurement conversions. All major international systems are included.

MegaConverter 2
Offers a range of scientific and math conversion (angles, density, weights, times, etc). Includes historic weights and measurements, including Roman numerals.

World Wide Metric
Convert length, weight, pressure or volume from either metric or imperial measurements.


Statistics

E-Stat (OCAD Users only; log in with OCADU username/password)
Access statistics from 1997 - 2006 censuses, as well as historic information from 1665 - 1871.

<odesi> (OCAD Users only; log in with OCADU username/password.)
Access a growing collection of Canadian statistic and marketing sources; includes Gallup polls.

Statistics Canada
Search by keyword, or browse subjects for information and statistics about Canada ranging from economics to demographics. Includes information from the 2001 Census

U.S. Census Bureau
Includes information on economic, geographic, demographic and social information from the 2000 census. Also includes news releases and some historic information.

United Nations Statistics Division
Includes some free access to statistical information such as the "Millennium Indicators Database, which presents 48 social and economic indicators and related series by country and year since 1985, and the Social Indicators data set." Information is searchable or organized by topic, including industrial, energy consumption, housing and trade statistics.

Finding People

Canada 411
Over 12 million entries by name of person or business. Locates telephone number and address.

YellowPages.ca
Locate a Canadian business by name, type or location. Includes maps and city lists.

Whitepages.com
Find a person or business in the U.S. Also contains a comprehensive International Directories section.

Postal Information

Canada Postal Code Lookup
Look up by street address, rural address, post office box. Browse address ranges for postal code.

Canadian Postal Rates
Rates for letters and parcels.

Postal Rates Info
Rates, postal codes and related information for countries around the world.

U.S. Zip Code Lookup
Lookup by address, city or state names.

Web Evaluation

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: or, Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources
Provides information evaluating Internet sites with helpful online examples.

Evaluate Web Pages
Widener University : Tutorial and exercises to help you evaluate the quality of information you find on the Web.


Website Reviews

Librarians' Internet Index
Search or browse for information on over 11,000 websites. Brief reviews are provided by public and academic libraries.

Infomine
Developed by several U.S. university libraries, this site offers point form information on over 40,000 sites. Reviews can be searched or browsed by subject.

Internet Scout Report
Produced by the Univ. of Wisconsin, this weekly e-zine offers information on websites and their creators. Archives are searchable by keyword.

Web Directories: Art


Mother of All Art and Art History Links
University of Michigan : Browse this comprehensive directory created by the School of Art & Design.

Open Directory: Visual Arts
The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors.

Internet Public Library: Fine Arts Resources
An annotated collection of high quality Internet resources, selected by IPL staff for their usefulness in providing accurate, factual information on a particular topic or topics.



General Directories


BUBL LINK
Covers all subject areas and is organized by Dewey Decimal system (used in public libraries). Although only 11,000 sites are included, this resource provides a "more effective route to information" then search engines.

PINAKES: A Subject Launchpad
A directory of other subject directories from all subject areas.

Voice of the Shuttle
An excellent collection of sites from all humanities subjects, including cyberculture, media studies and women's/gender/queer studies.

Yahoo! Canada
Generic directory with North American focus.

Copyright

Copyright Act
Federal copyright act from Department of Justice Canada

Intellectual Property Policy
Intellectual Property Policy Directorate from industry Canada

Digital Copyright Canada
A forum started in August of 2001 to raise the level of public debate about Digital Copyright revision in Canada. The forum focuses on Digital Copyright but also discusses copyright, patents, trademarks and open source software. It includes an excellent glossary as well as links to other relevant sites.

Creative Commons Canada
Established in 2003 Creative Commons Canada is an organization dedicated to providing information and tools to a growing network of Canadians passionate about the effect of copyright laws on our arts and culture. Focus are on copyright, moral rights and open source software among others. Includes an excellent selection of external links.

"Fair Dealing" Intellectual Property Advisory. Dec 2008 no.3: 1 - 9.  Canadian Association of University Teachers publication profiling best practices and policies in regards to fair dealing.

Key Considerations for a New Copyright Bill with Reference to the 2008 Bill C-61: An Act to Amend the Copyright Act: Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) offers a brief assessment of Bill C-61 on points that relate to university research libraries and to CARL’s priorities for any new copyright legislation

Last Modified:3/26/2013 6:53:35 PM


Link to Artists as Writers database

Food for Fines campaign

 

 

 

Ontario College of Art & Design 100 McCaul Street Toronto, Ontario M5T 1W1 Canada Tel. 416.977.6000 Fax. 416.977.6000 © OCAD 2007