A keyword search will give you results where your search terms appear anywhere in the record (title, author, subject, description, etc.). This is usually the best option for searching.
Select title search if you are sure of the title you are looking for
Select author to see all titles in the FLO library collections by a specific person
A subject search will show all FLO titles on a given subject. The subject headings are defined by the Library of Congress; you might try finding a term in their subject headings database before plugging it into the FLO catalog.
Browse Books in the FLO Consortium
Browse these subject headings in the FLO catalog to see all consortium holdings on specific topics related to your curatorial project. In most cases you can place a request for print books that are not owned by the SMFA Library.
Browse Books on the SMFA Library Shelves
Take a look at the books in the following sections:
Art and society | NX180.S6 |
Earthworks | N6494.E27 |
History of sculpture | NB60 – 198 |
Installation art | N6494.I56 |
Public art | N8825 – 8846 |
Sculpture by country/region | NB205 – 1080 |
Sculpture by material | NB1202 – 1271 |
Sculpture technique | NB1170 – 1180 |
The following databases are recommended for finding scholarly articles, exhibition reviews, and book reviews. Searching databases is a great way to find a diversity of opinions and scholarly interpretations of a given topic.
Database searches are most successful when you use precise and specific terms ("public art," for example, would yield way too many results!). Try searching for people (artists, curators, scholars), conceptual terms, and object names.
Please feel free to get in touch with a librarian at any stage of your research process. Stop by the library (located on the third floor of the B side of the Fenway building), or get in touch directly with:
Ashley Peterson
Darin Murphy
Circulation Desk (evening and weekend contact)
If you can't find what you need at the SMFA Library, we may be able to obtain a copy for you elsewhere.
Visit our Interlibrary Loan page, or contact Lauren Kimball-Brown for more information: