Databases /Arts /History and Criticism

Databases

AlukaVCU
An international initiative to build an online library of full-text scholarly resources from and about Africa, Aluka includes archival documents, books, ecological data, periodicals, reports, maps, and oral histories.

American Periodicals Series VCU
Periodicals published between 1740 and 1940, including special interest and general magazines, literary and professional journals, children's and women's magazines, and more. Digitized images of pages show original typography, layout, and graphics.

Archive FinderVCU
Current directory of thousands of repositories and collections of primary source materials housed in the United States and United Kingdom.

Archive of AmericanaVCU
Combined interface for searching Early American Imprints I & II (1639-1819), American State Papers (1789-1838), and the U.S. Congressional Serial Set (1817-1980).

Art Full TextVCU
Citations, abstracts, and selected full text for articles from international periodicals, peer-reviewed journals, and art dissertations. Also indexes art reproductions from indexed periodicals across styles and art movements.

Art History Research NetVCU
A resource for research into the history of modern design and the applied arts consisting of three linked databases: Design Abstracts Retrospective (DAR), Design ProFILES (DP), and ReVIEW. Formerly Arts: Search.

Art Index RetrospectiveVCU
Electronic version of Art Index, volumes 1-32, indexing historical literature on a variety of art topics from the early twentieth century to 1984.

ARTbibliographies ModernVCU
Abstracts of journal articles, books, essays, exhibition catalogs, dissertations, and exhibition reviews on all forms of modern and contemporary art.

Artforum ArchiveVCU
An international monthly magazine covering contemporary art from 1962-2020. The archive contains feature articles, reviews, and interviews on artists, exhibitions, and publications.

Arts and Humanities Citation Index via ISI Web of ScienceVCU
Database of references cited in articles from the world's leading arts and humanities journals. Allows searching by subject, work, author, journal, and author address. Web of Science Tutorial

ARTstorVCU
Image database featuring a range of images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and social sciences. Collections have been contributed by leading museums, photo archives, scholars, and artists.

Avery Index to Architectural PeriodicalsVCU
Citations for journal articles on architecture and design, covering subjects such as the history and practice of architecture, landscape architecture, city planning, historic preservation, and interior design.

BHA: Bibliography of the History of Art
Indexes and abstracts scholarly writing about the history of Western art from late antiquity to the present. Covers art-related books, conference proceedings, dissertations, exhibition and dealers' catalogs, and periodical articles. Includes RILA.

Bibliography of Native North AmericansVCU
Citations for books, essays, journal articles, and government documents of the United States and Canada pertaining to native North Americans. Coverage from 1558 to present.

Black Design in AmericaVCU
An asynchronous design history course focused on African Americans and the African diaspora in graphic design.

Black DramaVCU
Full text of thousands of plays written from the mid-1800s to the present. Includes published and previously unpublished works from Africa, as well as North America, the Caribbean, and other African diaspora countries.

Black Studies Center VCU
Black Studies Center is a digital core collection of primary and secondary sources in arts, history, literature, politics, and religion that record and illuminate the Black experience, from ancient Africa through modern times.

Black Thought and CultureVCU
Non-fiction writings by major American Black leaders -- teachers, artists, politicians, religious leaders, athletes, war veterans, entertainers, and other figures -- present an evolving and complex view of what it is to be Black in America.

Bloomsbury Design LibraryVCU
Cross-searchable access to a broad and expanding range of encyclopedias, reference works, e-books, images, and more covering the global history, theory, and practice of crafts and design.

Bloomsbury Fashion CentralVCU
Contains Berg Fashion Library, Bloomsbury Fashion Photography Archive, and Bloomsbury Fashion Video Archive, providing cross-searchable access to content on world dress and fashion. Includes e-books, reference works, images, and more.

Bloomsbury Video Library VCU
Digital video streaming collection of films for arts education and arts practitioners. Includes films produced by Contemporary Arts Media as well as independent artists, film producers, and arts organizations.

British Periodicals I-IIIVCU
Searchable facsimile images for journals dating from the 17th to the 20th century. This resource contains Collections I-III covering historical, artistic, and popular periodicals.

Cahiers d'Art InstituteVCU
Digital catalogue raisonnés, comprehensive and annotated compilations of all known works by an artist. These works also contain videos and digital archives.

Caribbean SearchVCU
Full text content pertaining to the countries and people of the Caribbean, including extensive data on the current status and history of geographic regions.

Chicago Manual of Style OnlineVCU
Online style guide featuring a citation quick guide, Chicago style Q&A, a users forum, video tutorials, and more. Includes contents for the two most recent editions of the Chicago Manual of Style.

Design and Applied Arts Index (DAAI)VCU
International index to articles in hundreds of design and craft journals. Also contains data on designers, craftspeople, studios, schools, workshops, and firms.

Digital Theatre +VCU
A platform for the performing arts providing students with access to full-length productions, interviews, texts, rehearsals, and other educational resources.

Dissertations and Theses Full Text (ProQuest)VCU
Comprehensive and curated collection of dissertations and theses from universities around the world, with full-text availability for most titles.

Docuseek Complete CollectionVCU VIVA
Documentaries covering anthropology, area studies, the arts, criminal justice, education, environmental studies, global studies, health, history, political science, psychology, sciences, sociology, women's studies, and more.

Early American Imprints, Series I: Evans, 1639-1800VCU
Books, pamphlets, broadsides, and other imprints published in 17th- and 18th-century America. Covers thousands of subjects in full-text.

Early American Imprints, Series II: Shaw-Shoemaker, 1801-1819VCU
Books, pamphlets, broadsides, and other imprints of early 19th-century America. Covers thousands of subjects in full-text.

Eighteenth Century Collections OnlineVCU
Page by page digital images of every historically significant text published in 18th-century Great Britain and Colonial America, from books by well-known and lesser-known authors, to directories, Bibles, sheet music, sermons, and advertisements.

ERIC via ProQuestVCU
Premier database for education research. Includes bibliographic records and select full-text for journal articles, curriculum materials, and more.

Essay and General Literature IndexVCU
Citations to essays and articles contained in collections of essays and miscellaneous works. Focuses on the humanities and social sciences, with subject coverage ranging from economics and history to criticism of literary works, drama, and film.

Ethnic Diversity SourceVCU
Full text database covering the culture, traditions, social treatment and lived experiences of different ethnic groups in America. Includes thousands of books, biographies, primary source documents, speeches, letters, interviews, videos, and more.

European Views of the Americas: 1493 to 1750VCU
Searchable bibliographic index to print materials about the Americas written in Europe before 1750. Created from European Americana: A Chronological Guide to Works Printed in Europe Relating to the Americas, 1493-1750.

Film & Television Literature Index with Full TextVCU
Comprehensive bibliographic and full-text database of journal articles and books covering the spectrum of television and film. Covers areas such as film and television theory, preservation and restoration, cinematography, and more.

Filmakers Library OnlineVCU
Award-winning documentaries and independent films presenting points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions worldwide.

Films on Demand Master Academic CollectionVCU
Streaming films covering core academic subjects. Also includes archival films and newsreels.

Frick Art Reference Library Periodicals IndexVCU
This resource is a comprehensive index from the Frick Art Reference Library covering a selection of art history periodicals. It includes titles published in a broad selection of languages.

GenderWatchVCU
Full-text publications and archives covering the impact and evolution of gender and gender roles across a broad spectrum of subject areas, taking an interdisciplinary approach to family studies, LGBTQIA+ studies, and women's studies.

Humanities AbstractsVCU
Broad coverage of humanities disciplines with indexes and abstracts to articles from English-language periodicals as well as book reviews, interviews, obituaries, original works of fiction, and reviews of plays, television, and radio programs.

Humanities International CompleteVCU VIVA
Indexing and abstracts for articles, essays, reviews, and original creative works in all aspects of the humanities, with full-text for select journal articles, books, and other materials. Includes all data from the Humanities International Index.

Independent VoicesVCU
Magazines, journals, and newspapers of the alternative press from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including feminists, anti-war groups, African-Americans, Native Americans and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community.

Index IslamicusVCU
Covers publications in European languages on all aspects of Islam and the Muslim world. Includes history, beliefs, societies, cultures, languages, and literature.

Index of Medieval ArtVCU
With works ranging from apostolic times to the 16th century, the Index of Medieval Art documents art found in a broadly-defined medieval context. This expansive archive contains images and full-text records.

International Bibliography of ArtVCU
Successor to the Bibliography of the History of Art, covering European art since late antiquity, American art since the colonial era, and global art since 1945. Indexes international journals, monographs, exhibition catalogues, and more.

Iter Gateway to the Middle Ages and RenaissanceVCU
Portal to resources including a bibliography of citations for books, articles, and essays on all aspects of medieval and Renaissance life. Also includes a directory of scholars, Iter Italicum, a collection of Capito letters, and more.

JSTORVCU
Searchable backfiles of core journals in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences. (Backfiles end typically 3 - 6 years prior to the current date).

LGBTQ + SourceVCU
Indexing, abstracts, and select full text for international scholarly and popular publications on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues, with historically important primary sources, including monographs, magazines, and newspapers.

Library StackVCU
Library Stack is an online archive of digital arts publications from the fields of contemporary art, graphic design, architecture, film and philosophy. Library Stack draws from diverse global platforms, and has a particular focus on hybrid works.

London Low LifeVCU
Insight into the teeming streets of Victorian London, including the vibrant culture of street literature. Images of rare books, ephemera, maps, and other materials relating to 18th, 19th, and early 20th century London. Includes Tallis' Street Views.

MLA International BibliographyVCU VIVA
The Modern Language Association of America's index of critical scholarship on literature, language, linguistics, folklore, and the dramatic arts.

New York Times via nytimes.comVCU
Important source of reporting information, and opinion on politics, finance, health, science, culture, the arts, sports, and fashion in the U.S. and abroad. See ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index for issues back to 1851.

Nineteenth Century Collections OnlineVCU
Digital archive of primary source collections from the "long" 19th century. Includes monographs, newspapers, manuscripts, diaries, letters, maps, statistics and more. Offers annotation and tagging tools.

Nineteenth-Century American Drama: Popular Culture and Entertainment, 1820-1900VCU
Virtually every play published in the United States from 1820-1900, including annotated copies of prompt books and manuscripts.

Oxford Art OnlineVCU
Cross-searchable access to Oxford's Grove Art Online, an encyclopedia of art.

Philosopher's IndexVCU
Indexes scholarly research in all major fields of philosophy. Covers journals, books, and book reviews.

PhilPapersVCU
PhilPapers is an online research hub for philosophy, with an index for journal articles and book reviews, an open access aggregator that locates content from thousands of archives, and an extensive bibliography.

Project MuseVCU VIVA
Database of peer-reviewed academic journals and electronic books in the humanities and social sciences from university presses and scholarly societies around the world.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with IndexVCU
Full image of articles published in The New York Times including illustrations and advertisements. Covers from the first issue in 1851 to three years prior to the current year.

Religion and Philosophy CollectionVCU
Full-text journals covering central topics in theology and philosophy research, including world religions, denominations, biblical studies, religious history, epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, and history of philosophy.

Shakespeare's Globe ArchiveVCU
Documents related to over 300 productions from 1997-2016 at Shakespeare's Globe, including architectural plans, photographs, prompt books, wardrobe notes, musical scores, oral histories, essays, and video interviews.

Virginia Company ArchivesVCU
Founding and economic development of Virginia as seen through the papers of the Virginia Company of London. Includes Ferrar papers of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Also includes information on London's economic history.

World's Fairs: A Global History of ExpositionsVCU
Digitized primary source material from world's fairs and exhibitions spanning 1851 to 2015. Documents include fair committee minutes and correspondences, catalogues and guide books, photographs, maps, souvenir artifacts, and audio interviews.

Yale Art and Architecture ePortalVCU
Authoritative scholarly eBooks by academic and museum publishers as well as unique peer-reviewed content, covering art history, architecture, decorative art, photography, and design. Includes searchable images along with supplemental audio and video.