Continually-updated dictionary of the history, archaeology and culture of the classical world.
A collection of important reference works in the visual arts, including The Concise Dictionary of Oxford Art Terms, The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, and The Oxford Companion to Western Art.
PRIMARY RESEARCH: IMAGES & TEXTS
Images
Be sure to check the rights / citation recommendations!
Library of images relating to art and architecture, humanities, and social sciences. NOTE that while you can use Artstor for inspiration, you cannot post images from this database anywhere online, including Wikipedia.
Ancient Texts
Complete access to the Loeb Classical Library -- Greek and Latin texts with facing English translations.
For even more recommendations, see:
BOOKS & EBOOKS: Books can provide basic facts, context and vocabulary to help you conduct more detailed research.
CROSSSEARCH:
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.
SEARCH TIPS:
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....
FINDING BOOKS 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.
Generally:
Watch our Call Numbers video tutorial or visit our Call Numbers guide to learn more about how call numbers work.
FINDING EBOOKS:
To search for ebooks owned by Holy Cross, use CrossSearch.
Then, use the Resource Type limiter in the side navigation to focus your search on ebooks.
You may also want to search in our specific ebook collections:
When searching within a specific ebook collection, you will be able to search the full text of each book allowing more detailed searching. For example, you may search the library catalog and not find any titles on your topic, but a search in ebrary might find a book with one chapter focused on your topic.
ACCESSING EBOOKS:
In most cases, your best option is to use the "Read Online" feature for our e-books. Most academic e-books do not work with devices that you might use to read personal e-books, such as a Kindle or Nook (believe me -- this frustrates librarians too!). There is software that you can download onto a PC or iPad, but this can be difficult to use, so if you have a stable internet connection, I recommend reading online.
However, if you would like to download the software, or if you are having trouble accessing any particular ebook, please feel free to contact us (libref@holycross.edu) or see our e-books guide linked below:
NOTE that most ebooks do have limits on printing. Each publisher has different functionality and rules for downloading and printing ebooks.
ARTICLES: Articles tend to be a good source for: detailed information on a narrow aspect of a topic; deep analysis; and information that is relatively new (because the publication cycle is shorter than for books).
Archaeology & Art
Journal articles published by the American Anthropologial Association (AAA).
Citations and abstracts from anthropology journals.
Journal articles, magazines, and book chapters about art, art history, architecture, and design.
History
(before 1450 C.E.)
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.
Citations for journal articles, books, and chapters about ancient Greek and Roman literature and civilization.
Citations for journal articles, essays, books, and other sources about the Medieval period in Europe, North Africa, and the Near East (300-1500 AD). **Limited to 2 users at one time. Please click "Logout" and close the website when you are done.
Citations for journal articles, reviews, books, and other sources about the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).
Interdisciplinary
Journal articles, magazines, and news in almost every subject area.
Articles from high-quality, open access scientific and scholarly journals.
Journal articles in almost every subject area, including some historical articles back to the 17th century.