Artstor
About Artstor
Artstor is an online database that includes images for a variety of subjects collected from hundreds of museums, artists, photo archives, libraries, and rare collections. It is the most comprehensive image resource available for educational and scholarly use, with many rare collections that are not available anywhere else. The Holy Cross Libraries provide access to Artstor so you can search, view, download, and use images in the collection.
Accessing Artstor
To make sure you get full access to the resources available in Artstor, always access it from a Holy Cross Libraries page. You can use the link below or access it from our A-Z Database List (use the search box on that list to search Artstor, or filter for Art & Architecture databases). If you are off campus, you will be prompted to enter your Holy Cross username and password.
Once you've accessed the database, register as a user to use all of the features. Use the "Register" link in the top right corner of the Artstor homepage to create an account. If you've already created an account, use the "Log In" link to access your account.
- Artstor This link opens in a new window
Now part of JSTOR. Library of images relating to art and architecture, humanities, and social sciences.
In Class Activity
Use the worksheet linked below to guide you as you explore the database. When you click the link, you will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Doc that you can fill out and save as needed.
Search for Images
About Database Searching
Searching a database is a little different from how you might be used to searching in a search engine like Google. In a search engine, you can type in entire phrases or questions and the algorithm will be able to parse through that to return the results you want. In a database or library search, you need to be more precise. By choosing your search terms strategically, you can maximize your search to make sure you're getting the information you want.
Identify Search Terms
To identify keywords or search terms, start with your research topic or question. What are the key words or phrases in your question that sum up your topic? Is there specific terminology used by people in that field or subject area? Can you think of synonyms or other ways of talking about your topic? Make a list of all the key terms you can think of related to your topic, then try using a few of those terms in a library search. Searching is a process - it's good to try different combinations of terms to see what works!
Some suggested terms to start with:
- Labor or labour (consider it may be spelled differently depending on the country)
- Work (see the advanced search tab to learn how to use this as a subject search - this word is fairly broad and if used as a keyword will bring back a lot of unrelated results)
- Worker
- Specific occupations or fields (i.e., farm worker, factory, masonry, etc.)
Basic Search
A basic search, also known as a keyword search, is the default search box on the Artstor home page. Using this search will look for your search terms across all parts of the Artstor library, including image titles, photographer names, image descriptions, work types, and other item details. This is a fairly wide search - it can be good if you want to see what is out there, but it will likely show a lot of results that aren't related to your topic.
Advanced Search
An advanced search lets you be more specific about what you're looking for and can be used to create more complex searches. To start an advanced search, click on the "Advanced Search" link below the basic search box on the Artstor home page. The advanced search will appear as a pop-up window. As you can see in the screenshot, advanced search gives you the option to search for multiple words or phrases; to search by geography, classification, and collection type; and to select dates for your search. You can use some or all of these features to craft your search.
What Does Artstor Search?
In a basic search, Artstor will look for your search term in any of the information provided about an image. With advanced search, you can select specific fields you want to search. Artstor can search for your term(s) in the following details about an image:
- Creator
- Title
- Location (the name and geographic location of a work, may also include where it was originally created or found)
- Repository (the name and geographic location of the museum, archive, or other collection currently holding the work)
- Subject
- Material
- Style or Period
- Work Type (i.e., sculpture, painting, photograph, etc.)
- Culture
- Technique
- Number (a unique identifier for the image, usually a file name)
- SSID (a system identification number unique to Artstor)
- Repository ID (a unique identifier assigned by the current or last known repository, such as a museum accession number)
For full definitions of these terms, visit the Artstor Advanced Search Guide.
Deciding Where to Search
As you can see, Artstor provides a lot of ways to search for images. How do you know what to search? Think about your project and what you're looking for. Do you know the name of the artist or creator you're looking for? Select the Creator option and use the person's name as your search term. Are you interested in art from a particular part of the world? If so, consider using the Location or Culture search options. Are you looking for images from a specific art movement? Try the Style or Period search option. There are many ways to make your search work for you.
Combine Search Terms
Advanced search lets you combine search terms to be more precise. You can use the dropdown menus on the advanced search page to use AND, OR, and NOT to combine your terms.
Use AND to combine your search terms. Each search result with include all of the terms. This can help narrow your results.
Use OR to find results that contain at least one of your search terms. This can help you broaden your results, and can be good to use if the subject you're searching for is referred to in different ways.
Use NOT to exclude terms from your results. This can help you narrow your topic by removing a related term that you are not interested in finding sources about.
Use Filters
When you conduct a search in Artstor (or any database), you will see options to filter your results. This can be a great way to narrow down your search even more. In Artstor, the filters appear on the left side of the results page. You can also pre-select filters from the advanced search box. You can filter by Collection Type, Geography, Classification, Contributor, and Date.
This can be helpful if you are looking for images from a specific time period or geographic location. For example, if I were researching agricultural workers in Central America, I might use "agriculture" or "farming" as my search term(s), then on the results page use the Geography filter to select Central America.
Browse in Artstor
Artstor also has a browsing feature where you can explore the digital library without conducting a search. From the home page, select the "Browse" dropdown menu. Select "Artstor Collections" to browse the entire Artstor digital library.
You will then see a list of collections in alphabetical order, with the option to filter by title. You can also browse by Classification, and Geography. These options will be listed above the list of collections. Classification includes specific subjects and types of images, such as Drawings and Watercolors and Manuscripts and Manuscript Illuminations. Geography includes regions of the world, from continents to specific countries.
Saving and Using Artstor Images
Download Images
When you click on an image to view, you will see options for saving the image above the item details. To save an image, click the "Download" button and select "Download Image" (which will save just the image) or "Download Detail View" (which will embed some of the image details in the file). Accept the Terms and Conditions when prompted, then save to your preferred folder on your device.
Other Ways to Save
From the same menu, you can also add the image to a group, generate a citation, print the image and item details, or copy a permanent link to the image record.
A note about citation generators: While this can be a helpful feature, keep in mind that the citation is only as accurate as the information entered about the image. These generators use a template and fill in the information entered in the database. Sometimes, that information is entered in different formats or in the wrong spot, meaning the citations are not always 100% accurate. Always review your citations to make sure they match with your citation style.
Image Groups
When logged in to your account, you can create groups of images. This can be helpful if you'll be using many images for the same project. You can create an image group for that project and keep all of the images in one place in your account. To create a group, select the "Add to Group" option. You will be prompted to add the image to an existing group or create a new group. Enter a title for the group and a description, then select if you want to share the group with other Holy Cross accounts or set it as private.
Once you have created a group, you can see all of your groups by selecting the "Browse" menu and selecting "Groups." You will be able to see groups you've created, groups shared with you, and groups shared with all Holy Cross accounts.
Create a PowerPoint from a Group
Once you have your images in a group, you can export the entire group as a PowerPoint. Artstor will generate a PowerPoint where each slide includes one image with the image data in the notes field below the slide. You can download up to 150 images at a time. Each image will also be hyperlinked, so if you view the downloaded PowerPoint while connected to the Internet you will be able to click on the image and be taken to the image's Artstor page.
Copyright and Fair Use
For information about copyright and fair use related to using images in scholarly work, see the Using Images: Copyright and Fair Use page of this guide.