Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Plant Explorers

Looking for information on Plant Explorers? 
Try these books and periodicals databases.


RISD Reference Books:
The Oxford companion to the garden  - SB450.95 .O94 2006.
Landscape architecture  - SB470.5 .M37 1993.
Pioneers of American landscape design  - SB469.9 .P56 2000.
Encyclopedia of gardens - SB450.95 .E52 2001.
Dictionary of gardening - SB450.95 .D53 1992.

Reference resources online:

Grove Art Online, Encyclopedia Britannica Online, & Marquis Whos Who on the Web

The Athenaeum has books on many plant explorers. RISD students & faculty can check out 5 Athenaeum books at a time.

Periodicals databases:

Academic Search Premier, Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals,

Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index, JSTOR, Project Muse, &

Readers' Guide Index


Monday, October 29, 2007

Mac Laptop Printing to Go Print

Setting up a Mac to use GoPrint:

  1. Go to the Printer Setup Utility
  2. Add printer
  3. Choose IP Printer
  4. Address: 20wpps
  5. Queue: one of the following depending on the printer:
    • For B&W printer near circ: 15West_120_BW
    • For B&W printer in copy room: 15West_111_BW
    • For Color printer in copy room: 15West_111_CLR


Thanks to Anne Bulin of OIT for these instructions

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Providence architecture & neighborhoods

Where can I find information on historic buildings and neighborhoods in Providence?


Good sources to start with include:

Buildings of Rhode Island

The PPS/AIAri guide to Providence architecture

Providence Preservation Society's guide to downtown Providence : commerce in architecture

National Register of Historic Places - Rhode Island

When looking for information on a neighborhood, search by keyword in the RISD/ATH catalog using the neighborhood's name and "providence".
Example: elmwood providence

The City of Providence website, Department of Planning & Development has Neighborhood Profiles for each of the city's 25 neighborhoods. These profiles include census data on popluation, diversity, and income. Also available are sidebar links to an aerial photo, and maps showing Land Use, City Wards, Diversity, Open Space/ Parks, Recreation, Public Facilities, and Service Providers. Historic Plat maps which show land division and ownership are available at City Hall Archives, 5th floor, room 502. The Archives have a range of Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, City of Providence Atlases from 1798 to 1937, and City Directories from 1850-present. The RI State Archives also owns a range of Plat books and coastal maps. Both the City and State Archives allow the use of digital cameras.

Search the Rhode Island Historical Society's RIHS Online Catalog for historic maps and documents. The Providence Public Library also collects information on Providence and RI architecture.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Biographical information on artists

What databases contain biographical information on artists?

Start at library.risd.edu, select RISD Online Resources.
Search these sources:
Design ProFILES
Grove Art Online
Marquis Whos Who on the Web

To verify an artist's birth and death dates, his/her nationality, use the Getty Research Institute's
Union List of Artist Names Online

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Architecture article databases

What databases should I use to search for architecture topics?

Start at library.risd.edu, choose RISD Online Resources.

For Architecture subjects, search these databases:
Architecture Index
Art Full Text/Art Retrospective
Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals
Artbibliographies Modern
Bibliography of the History of Art
BuildingGreen Suite

For Landscape Architecture topics, include the
Garden, Landscape, & Horticulture Index in your search.

For architecture images, search Artstor which contains many architectural models and drawings.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

3-D Glasses & Images

Where can I find examples of 3-D images, the kind you view with 3-D glasses?

Begin by searching the RISD catalog by the keyword phrase, 3-D glasses. Looking at the subject headings in the Paris in 3-D book will lead to the subject, photography, stereoscopic. Three artists' books in Special Collections contain 3-D images & the glasses for viewing.

A Google image search using the terms stereoscopic photography, stereoscopic anamorphoses, or anaglyph all bring up images. Or try phantograms, a specific type of stereoscopic anamorphoses.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

banned books week

the freedom to read is celebrated this week.....
have you read any of these banned books?