Australian Art

Books

Finding material in the library using the catalogue

Sidney Nolan

By using his full name you should be able to locate useful information in a variety of sources.

You might also find useful information by searching for groups or movements with which Nolan was associated, such as the Angry Penguins, or the art commune at Heide.

Using Monash University Library Catalogue

Select Basic Search to begin. In this search you can look for any or all of the words you type in. Unless you want a very large number of records to be returned, it is a good idea to ask the catalogues to find all of the words.

Punctuation, case, and word order are ignored. Use ? at the end of a term to truncate a word in your search. (e.g. paint? will search for paint, painter(s), painting, etc.)

The catalogue offers three options for your searches:

• any of these: returns those records that have any of your words in them. eg: sidney or nolan.
• all of these: returns only those records that have all your terms, regardless of what order you type them in (default option). eg: sidney and nolan.
• as a phrase: returns those records that have all your words, next to each other and in the same order you typed them in. eg: "sidney nolan".

You can use Limits to restrict your search to a specific campus, date, material type or language.

Finding a book exercise

Step 1: Key in sidney nolan as shown

Step 2: Select Search

Step 3: The library catalogue displays all records with both of these terms. Select next arrow until you see a good record

Step 4: To display a record select any link in the row

Step 5: Scroll down the screen to see the location information

Use the library catalogue.

Using subject headings

Once you have found a suitable record in the library catalogue you can use it to find other material on the same subject. If you click on "Show Detailed Record" you can use links to search for related material. For instance, you can click on the author's name to find other items by the same person, or you can click on the assigned subject headings to find other material on the same subject.

Subject headings (also known as descriptors) provide a concise description of the content of a book or article. When viewing records, you should also look for subject headings relating to your topic that you may not have considered.

Subject headings exercise

Step 1: Select Show Detailed Record

Step 2: Select Painting, Australian

Step 3: Select a relevant subject heading. In this exercise Painting, Australian 20^th century is selected

Step 4: The library catalogue displays all the records with this subject heading

Step 5: Records can be sorted or limited by date etc

Use the library catalogue.

Finding material on the shelves

For example to find the book Nolan's Gallipoli, by Gavin Fry (Caulfield call number 759.994 NOL 7):

1. Locate the first three digits.
2. Locate any digits following the decimal point. Remember that it is a decimal system, so 759.9941 comes after 759.994.
3. When you have located the number in full, look for the first group of letters.
4. Use the last number to make sure you have the right book. Later editions of the same book will have the date after these letters.

Note: other Monash libraries use a slightly different system. In step 3 instead of three letters there will be one letter followed by numbers e.g. this book has the call number 709.94 N789G.f at Matheson. Caulfield now follows this system for new books.
Note: 759.994 N789 will be shelved before 759.994 NOL7.

Reference books

Encyclopedias and dictionaries provide brief summaries of topics or concepts. They are useful starting points when researching a new topic, sometimes giving references for further reading. Reference books are listed in the library catalogue.

Some Caulfield Library reference books you might find useful:

Dictionary of Australian artists
R 709.94 DIC 2
Library catalogue record

Encyclopedia of Australian art
R709.94 MCC 1:3
Library catalogue record

Citing a book

In the Oxford style book details should be put together as in the example below, with identical punctuation:

Example: Book (by Author/s) As Footnote: S. Barnet, A Short guide to writing about art, 7th edn., New York, Longman, 2003, p. 130. In Bibliography: Barnet, S. A Short guide to writing about art, 7th edn., New York, Longman, 2003.

Note: The form of the reference in the footnote is slightly different to the form in the bibliography.

Journals

Finding journal articles

Some databases don't contain the full text of articles. You may need to check the catalogue to see if Monash holds a copy of the journal that contains an article you want. If Monash does not have the journal you may need to check other libraries' holdings.

You need as much information about the article as you can get. At a minimum you need:

• the author's name
• the title of the article
• title of the journal it was taken from
• issue details (volume, date, page numbers etc)

When searching for articles in the library catalogue you must look for the journal title. Individual articles are not listed in the catalogue unless they have been copied or digitised for a specific subject for Resource. Journals may be available in paper (or "hard copy") or available electronically. Occasionally journals may be available from more than one provider. Check the date range or coverage in the Library Catalogue to see which format will provide access to the issue you seek. To find articles on a topic, you will need to search an electronic database.

Finding the article exercise

Step 1: Note full title of journal as well as volume and year

Step 2: In the library catalogue select Advanced Search. Enter the journal title in full and select Journal title as shown

Step 3: Select Search

Step 4: The library catalogue displays records with this title

Step 5: Scroll down the record to check availability. The journal is available in both print and electronic formats. Select the link at Linked Resources to access the electronic format in a database called Australian Public Affairs - Full Text

Use the library catalogue.

Citing a journal article

If you've quoted an article from a journal or magazine, the details should be put together as in the example, with identical punctuation.

Example: As Footnote: O. Sohm, 'Caravaggio's deaths', Art bulletin, 84, 3, 2002, p.453. In Bibliography: Sohm, O. 'Caravaggio's deaths', Art bulletin, 84, 3, 2002.

Note: The form of the reference in the footnote is slightly different to the bibliography.

Using databases

Why use electronic databases?

In databases you can find details of material (journal articles, product reviews, documents, conference papers and in some cases, books) that can form the basis of, or add greater depth to, your research. You can also check bibliographic information about journal articles.

You might also find:

• a summary (abstract) of the information referred to
• entire articles or documents (full-text databases)
• very current information - some databases are updated daily or weekly
• links to Monash University Library holdings via the library catalogue

Important copyright note: Use of data extracted from electronic databases for purposes other than academic research or teaching/learning may be forbidden or restricted under the terms of our licences. Please consult with library staff if you wish to use the data for other purposes.

Which databases should I use?

All Art and design databases are listed on the databases pages. Here we show you how to search in AustArt: Australian art journals index and Art full text.

AustArt indexes Australian art journals for articles, exhibition reviews and reproductions of artists' work. Coverage is from 1988 with monthly updates. Searching is limited to author and subject (can't search by title of the article) and full text of the article is not included.

Art full text indexes international art journals. Coverage is from 1984; abstracts are available from 1994 and selective full text from 1997. Note the only 5 to 8 people can use this database at any one time, please try a few minutes later if unable to connect initially.

The following screens demonstrate how to search for articles about Sidney Nolan in both databases. Searching in Art full text for full text articles about Australian painting is also demonstrated.

Using AustArt: Australian Art Journals index

Step 1: Locate AustArt via the Databases link on the library home page

Step 2: Key nolan, sidney in the Search box. Note the comma and the space after the comma. Select Search

Step 3: Results are displayes in the lower half of the screen. In order to find the article in the library catalogue you will need to write down the citation details

Use AustArt database.

Using Art full text exercise

Step 1: Locate Art full text via the Databases link on the library home page

Step 2: Select "Art Full Text 1/00-7/04" and "Art Full Text 9/84-12/99" from the database menu and select Start Searching

Steps 3: Type search terms sidney nolan. Note that word order is not important. select Search

Step 4: Results are displayed in the lower half of the screen. To see the abstract and full text (if it is available) select Complete Record

Steps 5: When the complete reference is displayed, select the Links to holdings information links to see if the journal is held at Monash

Step 6: To limit search to only full text articles, select Records with Full Text.

Use Art full text database:

Internet

Why use the internet?

Before you begin searching the Internet you should consider the following:

• Think about the information you are searching for. Is it likely to be available for free?
• Would a printed or other electronic source be quicker or more appropriate, e.g. an encyclopaedia or a database of academic/refereed journal articles that is available in the library?
• Would it be better to use a search engine or a subject directory?
• What words would best describe your subject? Try to be as precise as possible.

How to do research on the internet

After each step you should evaluate what you have found to see if it is relevant and useful. Remember, in many cases you will find the information you need in a book or electronic database more quickly than using the web.

1. Check the subject guides for relevant links, and subject gateways for your area.
2. Try a metasearch engine, using phrase searching if possible. Don't use too many words. This may find some introductory pages to help you build your search, or it may even find exactly the material you require.
3. Note any alternative terms that seem useful for further searching, such as synonyms, different spellings and variations in names.
4. Refine your search by using the facilities built into a search engine, for example Boolean operators. Try and eliminate as much irrelevant material as possible at this stage.
5. If you can't find anything that answers your question, seek help by contacting experts in the field, or by joining a mailing list or discussion group on the topic.

Using a search engine exercise

Step 1: Enter search terms sidney nolan criticism as shown. By adding art to your search you reduce the chances of finding material about other "Sidney Nolans".

Step 2: Select 'Google Search'

Steps 3: Google displays all pages with both these terms

Step 4: Select on the linked headings to view the pages

Step 5: Google caches (saves) pages, so if the page has disappeared, Select on the "Cached" link to see a saved version.

Use Google to find images

Step 1: In Google select the Images link

Step 2: Key in search terms sidney nolan

Step 3: Select Google Search

Steps 4: Google displays images. Select on image to view the pages.

Use Google

Citing a webpage

Web pages can be tricky, because it is hard to find all the information you need. If you can find the name of an editor or author use the format in this example.

Example: As Footnote: M. Nunes, 'Baudrillard in Cyberspace': http://www.gpc.edu/~mnunes/jbnet.html [accessed 21/9/03] Bibliography: Nunes, N. 'Baudrillard in Cyberspace': http://www.gpc.edu/~mnunes/jbnet.html [accessed 21/9/03]

If you can't find the name of an editor or author use this format. Remember, consistency is what really counts:

Example: 'View Melbourne outdoor art by women', Australian Women's Art Register: http://www.yarranet.net.au/womar/statues.htm [accessed 19/10/04]

Other useful information

Australian Art Subject Resources page

The Art and Design subject guides will lead you to a range of useful resources. They include links to appropriate electronic databases and internet resources. The names of the Art and Design contact librarians are also listed.

An electronic database is an organised list of published information sources (usually journal articles), either giving a summary (a citation) of where you can find the full information or containing the full article itself (full text databases).

When do I need to cite?

Whenever you directly copy the words of another author (quoting) or put their ideas into your own words (paraphrasing) you must acknowledge that you have done so, or you are plagiarising their work.

How you acknowledge their work depends on which style you are following. Be careful to do all your acknowedgements in the same style.

The Oxford style, which is a footnote style, is the one preferred by the Department of Theory of Art & Design (Faculty of Art & Design, Monash University).

In this style you number each quote or paraphrase then give the details of where to find it at the bottom of the page to which it refers (footnote).

A bibliography should also be supplied at the end of your work, listing all references that appear in the footnotes, in alphabetical order by the author's surname.

Links in this tutorial

Significant links in this tutorial:

• Art and design databases
• Authcate information
• Google
• Library Art and Design faculty team
• Library catalogue
• Subject guides

Summary

In this tutorial you have learnt the key steps to finding information:

1. Deciding what you are looking for
2. Deciding where to look for information
3. Knowing how to find the information you need
4. Where to find the information you need
5. Evaluating the information you find
6. Acknowledging and listing your sources

If you need more help contact your subject librarian or the library.