DANC 232: Contemporary Dance II

Fall 2009

Sandy Mathern-Smith

solo choreographer and dancer merce cunningham 1973.jpg

Solo / choreographer and dancer (detail) - Merce Cunningham (1973) Image courtesy of ARTstor

Lareese Hall, Fine Arts Liaison Librarian

halll@denison.edu

x6688 


Research Basics

Information on citing resources (including images) is available on the library Citation Help page.


Reference materials are useful for finding a topic, narrowing an idea, and/or starting research.  In our library, reference materials can be found on the 3rd floor by the Learning Commons (they will also say "DEN Ref" in their call number) and online.  DEN Main books are in the stacks.

Dictionaries & Encyclopedias: Good for quick reference and starting research.  Encyclopedias are written by leading scholars and often have bibliographies for further reading and research.

You can search do a catalog search for dance dictionaries or encyclopedias for more titles. You can also browse the GV section of the reference area (or stacks!).


Databases and Web Resources

Databases are infinitely more organized than some random online searches.  Use indexes and databases to search for articles that appeared in periodicals.
After you find relevant articles, see if the database you are using has full text (usually PDF) files available for you to download.  If the full text is not available, use the CONSORT Catalog to see whether we subscribe to the journal. If we don't have the journal available make a request for the article using Interlibrary Loan.)

Academic Search Complete
General purpose database covering periodicals from many disciplines.

Dance in Video
Searchable database containing streaming video files of dance productions and documentaries by influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance. Videos can be browsed by people, role, ensemble, genre, and venue. Material types include documentaries, editorials, instructional, interviews, and performances. Database users may create their own custom playlists and video clips.

JSTOR
JSTOR contains full-text journal back issues from many subject areas

OhioLINK Electronic Journal Center
Provides full-text online access to journals purchased by OhioLINK for member libraries. The journals are listed alphabetically and by subject categories. A search interface is provided for searching articles.

Project Muse
Project Muse is online archive of 400 high quality humanities, arts, and social sciences journals from 100 scholarly publishers.

International Bibliiograpy of Theatre & Dance (Full Text)
Provides full text of journal articles on all aspects of theater and performance, plus indexing for books, book articles and dissertation abstracts. IBTD with Full Text is a multicultural and inter-disciplinary research tool for theater students, educators and professionals. IBTD was initiated by the American Society for Theatre Research and continued by the Theatre Research Data Center (TRDC) at Brooklyn College.

Image Databases

    ArtSTOR
    Images only; a collection of over 300,000 images from museums and cultural sites all over the world.
    VADS the online resource for visual arts
    A searchable catalog of image collections and other collections. Subject areas include fine arts, design, architecture, applied arts, history and theory, media, museum studies and conservation, and professional practice.

Web Resources

Five criteria for evaluating web pages is a useful guide from Cornell University for evaluating web resources.

New York Public Library Dance Links

Librarians' Internet Index


Finding Books, Journals, and other materials

Use the library catalog (CONSORT) in one of the following ways:

You can search by title, author, keyword, subject, or journal title.  The information you find as you do your research will lead you to additional keywords and subject headings.  Remember to look at the subject headings for the things you find that are useful - that will give you specific search terms to use as you continue with your research.


    Search Tips

    Searching by a personal name can be confusing with dance subjects as personal names are often the names of companies. Searching for "Bill T. Jones" as an AUTHOR yields work created by the company yet searching "Jones, Bill T" as an author yields results that list the individual as an author of that work (and he could be one of many).

    Search for periodicals or journals using the advanced search. Limit the location to "DEN Periodical Stacks".

    KEYWORD Search
    Use this type of search to combine several terms into one search,
    ... Use AND between terms to narrow your search (dance AND modern)
    ... Use OR between terms to expand your results (dance OR choreography)
    ... Use NOT between terms to eliminates words
    ... Use * to search for all forms of a word (danc* will search for dancers, dancing, dances, dance, etc.)
    ... Use "quotation marks" to search for a specific phrase ("contemporary dance")
    ... Use the "Modify Search" button to weed out videos and retrieve only books (or vice versa).

MAKE LISTS!!!      Save your catalog searches using  "Saved List" (the "save" button is listed under the number of each item)

  • You can continue to save items on your list throughout your search session
  • To get to the Saved List, click "View Saved Records" at the top of the screen
  • You can print the list or email it to yourself

If you cannot find something in the CONSORT catalog, check OhioLINK to see if there is a copy available.  You can "Request this item" if you find something in OhioLINK (follow the prompts on the screen).