CLAS 199: Before Rome: The Etruscans (Glennie): WAM Project Resources

SEARCHING FOR BOOKS:

CrossSearch is the Libraries' multi-search "discovery" tool. CrossSearch searches a cross-section of journal articles, newspapers, CDs, images, and many other types of resources available through the libraries. It is also our main library catalog -- the tool you use to find books, journals, films, and other items physically located in the library, as well electronic versions of those items. 

To leave out individual articles and focus on things like books and films, you can use the Catalog Only limit in CrossSearch. 

Watch our video tutorial  to learn more about CrossSearch! 

Not a CrossSearch fan? You can also use the Library Catalog. 
 

Try searching for books using a very basic keyword search. Books tend to be on broad topics, so the terms you search with should be broad, too! Once you've found a few books that look interesting to you, you can use clues from the books to help you find other books. For example.... 

• Call Numbers. Books on similar subjects are in similar areas of the library. For example, if you search for books about the Etruscans, you would see pretty quickly that many books have call numbers starting with DG223 (or nearby). This means you can easily go to that section of the library and look through the books in person! 
  
• Vocabulary. Check the records in the library catalog for vocabulary in the tables of contents, titles, descriptions or other information that you might use for future searches. 
   
• Subjects. Every book in our catalog is marked with at least 1 "tag" that tells you what the book is mostly about, and links together other books on that same topic. You can click on the tags to find a list of all other books using that tag.

FINDING YOUR WAY IN THE LIBRARY: 

At Holy Cross, we organize our books using a system called Library of Congress Classification or LCC. LCC is based on the subject of the books. Each letter represents a specific subject. Each subject is broken down into more specific letter sections, each of which is further broken down into number ranges for specific topics. Most call numbers have additional  numbers and letters on the end of them, which are used to give each book a unique spot on the library shelves. 

Ebooks, of course, often do not have call numbers, because you access them directly from the online catalog! 

Generally: 

• Reference Books are in the Main Reading Room. These books must stay in the library.
• Books whose numbers begin with letters A through G are on the Mezzanine level (1 floor down from the Main Reading Room).
• Books whose numbers begin with N or TR are in the Visual Arts Wing on the main level. 
• Books whose numbers begin with letters H through Z are mostly on the Ground (bottom) level.
• Books whose numbers begin with M are in the Music Library in Brooks Hall.
• Books whose numbers begin with Q, R, S or T are in the Science Library in Swords Hall.

Watch our Call Numbers video tutorial  or visit our Call Numbers guide to learn more about how call numbers work. 
 

Here are some of the general sections you might find yourself using: 

C, for archaeology 
D, for history
N, for artistic depictions, architecture, etc. 

BOOKS AT THE WAM LIBRARY:

When researching archaeology and/or the Etruscans you may see many books of interest in a location beginning with WAM (WAM Reading Room, WAM Stack Room). These books are held by the Worcester Art Museum Library, one of our Holy Cross Libraries.  As Holy Cross students, you have multiple ways to access these books! 

• Visit WAM yourself (free with your HC ID!) and check out a book in-person; 
• Use the Request button for these books in the Library Catalog (currently under construction; coming soon)
• Email library@worcesterart.org to request to have these books delivered to Dinand Library. 
• Place an Interlibrary Loan request (in which case you may get WAM's copy, or one from another library).

Archaeology & Art

History

before 1450 C.E.

after 1450 C.E.

Interdisciplinary

COMPARANDA

Image Searches
Image-based searches can help you find similar items. When you do, though, you'll need to research the image and its origin further to find the object you're comparing to. Be sure to check the rights / citation recommendations! 

Catalogues
Catalogues, often published to accompany museum exhibits or auctions, will help you find similar artifacts, alongside general information about them. Note that exhibition/sales catalogues are NOT the same as catalogues raisonnes (a term you may encounter often). Catalogues Raisonnes document the lifetime work of a particular artist -- not applicable to ancient artifacts! 

You can find catalogs by searching CrossSearch OR the Library Catalog (the library catalog may be easier) for keywords like 

Etruscans AND catalog
Etruscans AND catalogue
Etruria AND catalog 
Etruria AND catalogue

To find as much as possible in one search, you can also use the asterisk (*) as a placeholder for multiple spelling possibilities. For example, 

Etruscan* AND catalog* 

will find books with the key words Etruscan, Etruscans, catalog, catalogs, catalogue, and catalogues. You can also try 

Etruria* AND catalog* 

or even

(Etruria* OR Etruscan*) AND catalog* 

to search all the possibilities at once. 

In addition to Dinand and WAM's collections, you can also check the following resources:

Museum Websites

You can also find information about comparable artifacts on museum websites. For the most part, these websites are not listed in any one place, so to find museums beyond those you are already familiar with (ex - the WAM, MFA, etc.) you may need to cast a wide Google Search. 

• Try starting with a simple search such as museum Etruscan
   
• Carefully evaluate each search result. Make sure that what you are accessing is actually a museum -- some of your results will likely be, for example, travel website reviews of a particular museum, which will not be helpful to you. Use the source evaluation resources on the first page of this guide if you are having trouble assessing a source -- or ask for help! 
   
• Many U.S. museum websites will end in .org or .edu. However, not all such websites will be museums, and not all museum websites will end in this way! For example, Italian websites will likely end in .it. 

PROVENANCE

Worcester Art Museum Library

A critical tool for provenance research on Worcester Art Museum objects will be the Worcester Art Museum Library and Librarian, Rebecca Morin. The WAM Library will have a variety of records that you can take advantage of -- covering any known publications about the objects, as well as documentation of how, when and from whom the objects were acquired. 

To schedule an appointment or send an inquiry to the Worcester Art Museum Librarian, email library@worcesterart.org. Zoom appointments are available, too! 

Web Tools

Catalogues
Catalogues, often published to accompany museum exhibits or auctions, will help you identify collectors or museums which held your object at a given point in time, and, in the case of auction catalogues, when your object changed ownership. Note that exhibition/sales catalogues are NOT the same as catalogues raisonnes (a term you may encounter often). Catalogues Raisonnes document the lifetime work of a particular artist -- not applicable to ancient artifacts! 

You can find catalogs by searching CrossSearch OR the Library Catalog (the library catalog may be easier) for keywords like 

Etruscans AND catalog
Etruscans AND catalogue
Etruria AND catalog 
Etruria AND catalogue

To find as much as possible in one search, you can also use the asterisk (*) as a placeholder for multiple spelling possibilities. For example, 

Etruscan* AND catalog* 

will find books with the key words Etruscan, Etruscans, catalog, catalogs, catalogue, and catalogues. You can also try 

Etruria* AND catalog* 

or even

(Etruria* OR Etruscan*) AND catalog* 

to search all the possibilities at once. 

In addition to Dinand and WAM's collections, you can also check the following resources: