JSTOR is a database that provides access to scholarly works, primary historical documents, and thousands of images for scholarly use. It includes Artstor, a collection of over 3 million high quality images in 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 JSTOR and Artstor so you can search, view, download, and use images in the collection.
To access Artstor, go to the A-Z Database list and search for "Artstor" or follow the link below. You should always access databases from links provided by the library, not by typing the URL into your web browser. Accessing through the library makes sure you are logged in through your Holy Cross account.
Now part of JSTOR. Library of images relating to art and architecture, humanities, and social sciences.
If you want to search Artstor and the wider JSTOR collections, you can also access Artstor by following a library link to JSTOR. On the JSTOR home page, select "Images" above the search box to search all images in JSTOR's collections. When you search, the filters on the left side of the page will have an option to filter by collection, including Artstor.
You can also browse the different collections available in Artstor. On the JSTOR home page, click "Browse" and select "Images" from the dropdown menu. Then, select "Artstor Collections" to search the collections included in Artstor.
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
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.
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:
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.
After you have entered a basic search, the results page will display an option for "Advanced Search" above the search box. Use this feature to help you combine search terms and build more complex searches. The advanced search has options to filter by date, geographic region, type of artwork, and the collection it is found in.
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.
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 JSTOR and 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 you were researching agricultural workers in Central America, you might use "agriculture" or "farming" as your search term(s), then on the results page use the Geography filter to select Central America.
When you open the detailed view of an image, the database provides options for saving the image above the item details. To save an image, click the "Download" button. Review and accept the Terms and Conditions when prompted, then save to your preferred folder on your device.
You can also use the "Save" button to save the image to your JSTOR account. The first time you use this feature, you will be prompted to create an account, with the option to link your Holy Cross Google account.
JSTOR also has a citation feature that will generate a citation of the image. 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.
To save a direct link to the image, always save the stable URL provided by JSTOR. DO NOT save the link in your address bar and do not bookmark the page in your browser. These links will expire. Look on the JSTOR record below the image's title for a URL with the word "stable" in it. Copy that URL and paste it somewhere you will be able to find it.
When logged in to your account, you can create folders of images. This can be helpful if you'll be using many images for the same project. You can create a folder for that project and keep all of the images in one place in your account. To create a folder, select the "Save" option. You will be prompted to add the image to an existing folder or create a new folder.
Once you have your images in a folder, you can export the entire folder as a PowerPoint presentation or PDF. 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.
For information about copyright and fair use related to using images in scholarly work, see our Guide to: Copyright, Fair Use, and Licensing