Art 102 Online - Renaissance to Rococo: Understand
Your Topic

• Look up your keywords in the indexes to subject encyclopedias.

• Read articles in these encyclopedias to set the context for your research.

• Note relevant items in the bibliographies at the end of the encyclopedia articles.

• Additional background information may be found in your lecture notes, textbooks, and reserve readings.

Here are a few library resources to help you gather background information for your topic:

In the boxes below you'll see our suggestions for resources you can use to better understand the topic you have chosen to research for your class. 

Librarians call these types of sources background sources because they are sources that are written to give readers who don't know anything about a topic information to help them get started with their research.

In the video below, I show you how to use two of the background sources we often recommend for art history students: your course textbook and Grove Art Online.  The video is close captioned.

Reference Sources  

Once you have chosen a topic for your paper, use general reference sources to get background information on your topic. Reference books such as the encyclopedias, dictionaries and handbooks, and the current issue titles are a good starting point for your research because they help you become better acquainted with your topic.

See the lists below for some selected reference sources available online and in print. Ask a librarian if you need help finding more resources.

Online reference resources require login for off-campus use.  Enter your Cerritos College login when prompted.  For more login information see the Database Login page.

Here are some of the library's online reference resources which can help you get some background information on your topic.  These resources are available on and off campus.

Here are some reference sources that are located in the library.  All of these books are found in the Reference area behind the reference desk. Although they cannot be checked out, students are able to photocopy pages.