Architecture and Interior Design Databases
(School of Architecture)

Gutman Library subscribes to online indexes to assist you in your research. These tools will help you find articles printed in magazines and journals published in architecture and design.  This page provides information on databases specifically for researching architecture, interior design and landscape architecture as well as the library catalog and other databases that may prove useful. You can connect to any of the databases directly from this page by clicking on the name of the database below. 

School of Architecture Database Information:

Art Index - The Art Index covers periodical articles from around the world including yearbooks and museum bulletins beginning around 1984. The Art Index covers a broad range of art topics including advertising art, antiques, archaeology, architecture & architectural history, art history, computers in art, crafts, decorative arts, fashion design, folk art, graphic arts, industrial design, interior design, landscape architecture, motion pictures, Non-Western art, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, television, textiles, and video. The Art Index is updated monthly. Art Index is not full-text. To find the full-text of the articles in Art Index, search the library's catalog and/or JournalList  to help you locate the periodical.

Avery Index - The Avery Index is put together by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University. The Avery Index covers over 1000 periodicals published worldwide from about 1930 to the present with selective coverage back to the 1860's. Coverage is not limited to architecture but also covers on archeology, city planning, interior design and historic preservation. The Avery Index is updated daily. Since Avery is an index to find the full text of the articles in Avery, search the library's catalog and/or JounralList to help you locate the periodical. Note: Since the Avery Index is put together by the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University, the location information provided in Avery refers to the Avery Library not the Gutman Library. 

Design and Applied Arts Index - According the their introduction, DAAI is a "comprehensive international index to current design and design-related journals."  It includes research material as well as material based on current interest and provides citations to major articles, short articles, news, conference and seminar reports, book and video reviews, and illustrations. Design and Applied Arts Index coverage begins in 1971, however most articles date from 1987 forward. Subject coverage is expansive and includes industrial design, architecture, interior design, and graphic design. The Design and Applied Arts Index is updated semiannually. Design and Applied Arts Index is not full-text. To find the full-text of the articles in Design and Applied Arts Index, search the library's catalog and/or JournalList  to help you located the periodical. 

Dissertations Abstracts - Dissertation Abstracts, with more than 1.6 million entries, is the single authoritative source for information about doctoral dissertations and master's theses. The database represents the work of authors from over 1,000 graduate schools and universities. Coverage begins in 1861 and is current to the previous semester. Once you locate a dissertation, you will need to fill out on ILL Book request to get a copy of the dissertation. Theses and Dissertations can be difficult to get through ILL so please allow enough time for the item to arrive and prepare for the possibility of the item not coming in.  NOTE: Recommended for upper level and thesis research. 

Garden Literature Index - The Garden Literature Index is the premier resource for access to articles about gardens and plants. Topics include horticulture, botany, garden and landscape design & history, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy. This index and abstract source is designed for gardening enthusiasts, professionals, and students of horticulture and of garden and landscape design & history. Indexed and abstracted are more than 300 core titles, the majority of which are published in English. Coverage for many titles extends back further than a decade. To find the full-text of the articles in Design and Applied Arts Index, search the library's catalog and/or JournalList  to help you located the periodical. 

Grove Art Online - The Grove Dictionary of Art is a good starting point for finding background information in the visual arts. Use it to find artist biographies, patrons (collectors and dealers), critics and theorists, civilizations and cultures, country surveys, towns and cities, styles and movements, major art forms, overviews of subject-matter and iconography , materials and techniques, conservation, as well as issues in art. The Grove Dictionary of Art contains articles on all aspects of the visual arts including painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, decorative arts and photography and covers Western and non-Western art from Prehistory to the present day. The Grove Dictionary of Art is full-text. 

Planet Architecture - Planet Architecture is a collection of CD-ROMs that profile architects and their work. The CDs include hours of interviews with the architect, an oral discussion of their works, a VR panorama of the buildings, photos, and floor plan drawings. Planet Architecture CDs are kept on reserve at Gutman Library.

WorldCat - WorldCat is one of the FirstSearch databases. WorldCat allows the user to search the holdings of libraries worldwide. Search this database as you would the Gutman Library Catalog or the Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals. Through WorldCat, you are able to place Interlibrary Loan requests.

CREDOReference - CREDOReference provides ten art and design dictionaries and encyclopedias and one architecture dictionary. The system has a robust search system, especially for the online dictionaries where it can be hard to find a term if you don't know the spelling. In that case use the XreferPlus tilde (~) to find variants on a root spelling of a word (e.g., ~psycologist will find psychologist). The eleven art and design dictionaries are: The Bloomsbury Guide to Art, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of 20th Century Architecture, The Thames & Hudson Encyclopedia of Impressionism, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of 20th Century Design and Designers, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance, The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of British Art, The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Fashion and Fashion Designers, and A Biographical Dictionary of Artists, Andromeda

Other Resources:

Art and Archaeology Technical Abstracts (AATA): The AATA comes from the Getty Conservation Institute and focuses on "the examination, investigation, analysis, restoration, preservation, and technical documentation of works of art, material culture, archaeological contexts and materials, and architecture." Coverage begins in 1932 and includes its predecessors and supplements. AATA is updated quarterly.  AATA is available FREE online. Philadelphia University does not pay for access to this resource. Each user is required to register before using the AATA. 

Library Catalog:  Browse the catalog for books, periodicals, and other library materials.  Not sure how to find a book or periodical?  See our guide.

Library Databases:  Some of the full-text databases cover art and architecture in addition to a broad range of subject areas.  Three good full-text options are ProQuest and Lexis-Nexis. For assistance using these databases, stop by or call the reference desk (215-951-2848) or try the HELP section of each database.