Arts E-Reference Ratings

AP Photo Archive. Associated Pr. www.photoarchive.ap.org
A collection of AP photos dating back a century, along with images from 12 partner organizations, this extensive image reservoir is updated by the minute and now includes maps, charts, logos, and medical diagrams. While the explanatory text is pared down to essential descriptives and is sometimes marred by typos, it does provide vital documentary information. Elegantly designed and straightforward, this user-friendly resource is the most comprehensive photo archive currently available online. 
More: 2000 Best Reference Pick

Art Full Text. Wilson. www.hwwilson.com/databases/artindex.htm
From antiques and archaeology to fashion and folk art, this wide-ranging database draws from an international array of peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed publications. However, coverage is primarily postmodern: abstracts begin with 1994; full text for select periodicals starts in 1997. It plays well with other databases, linking researchers to RefWorks, Gale, EBSCOhost, SWETSWISE, SearchEric, and Smithsonian Institution Libraries' holdings. Though its design is spartan and requires time to master, its extensive subject range outweighs the imperfections. 

Art Index. Wilson. www.hwwilson.com/Databases/artindex.htm#Index0
This scaled-down version of Art Full Text is visually spare and initially difficult to navigate, but its range is equally phenomenal, offering access to bibliographic information from an international array of peer-reviewed publications from 1984 onward. Updated daily, it conveniently links to JSTOR Complete and SWETSWISE. As with Art Full Text (above), it encompasses subjects that lie on the hazy border between art and commerce but lacks the access to journal content that researchers may desire. 

Art Index Retrospective. Wilson. www.hwwilson.com/Databases/artretro.htm
From advertising to folk art, pottery to textiles, this in-depth record of primary source material covers modern art journalism published between 1929 and 1984. Users can research leading American, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch sources, including museum bulletins, interviews, contemporary criticism, and even viewer reception. Like Art Full Text (above), the database is a bit cumbersome. Like that, too, it permits the creation of email alerts and crosses over to Google, RefWorks, JSTOR, SWETSWISE, SearchEric, and Smithsonian holdings. 

ARTbibliographies Modern. ProQuest. www.csa.com/factsheets/artbm-set-c.php
Updated monthly, with over 365,000 records, this file offers full abstracts from publications dating back to the late 1960s. Covering subjects from the mid-19th century onward, it includes article topics as diverse as installation and performance, theory, video, body art, graffiti, woodworking, and applied arts. Pared down to practical essentials, the purpose-driven database does offer hyperlinked cross-references in each search listing and presents a full complement of subject-relevant web pages. 

AskArt Academic. AskArt. www.askart.com
Although a fount of important information, this database is partially driven by auctioneer and gallery advertising, with listings populated by regional artists seeking buyers. However, these decidedly commercial attributes offer details not easily accessible elsewhere, including recent auction prices. In addition to providing biographies of celebrated artists, the eye-catching site allows emerging artists to purchase space to post their own biographies and work. Highlights include digitized signature examples, lively subject-specific discussion boards, and email alerts. 

Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals. ProQuest. www.csa.com/factsheets/avery-set-c.php
With well over 600,000 citations from more than 700 publications, Avery offers bibliographic references on topics as diverse as archaeology and decorative arts, landscape architecture and urban planning. Updated weekly, the file includes indexed articles that date back to 1934, while select publications are indexed to 1741. Although austere in design and with mechanisms fairly opaque to new users, once mastered, Avery provides solid field-specific information, with a few Design and Applied Arts Index (below) overlaps. 

Bibliography of the History of Art. Ovid. ovidsp.ovid.com
Archiving bibliographic information on primary and secondary sources published between January 1990 and September 2007, this high yielding and user-friendly bibliography offers search interfaces in four European languages. Using multiple, clearly defined variables returns the most satisfactory results. Each detailed entry is followed by an extended list of hyperlinked cross-references. The file is slender in Paleolithic-related returns, but its breadth expands exponentially with ancient and Egyptian art. 

Catalog of Art Museum Images Online. OCLC. www.oclc.org/camio
Intended for research and teaching purposes only, this catalog's 95,000 first-rate reproductions obviate the necessity of travel for studying internationally dispersed artworks. Along with its digital magnification mechanisms, this ever-growing collection of high-resolution images from nearly 25 international museums and libraries allow even closer scrutiny than permitted by a museum environment. Complete object information is included, along with detailed critical descriptions and rights information. A straightforward and uncomplicated tool for researchers. 

Designed and Applied Arts Index. ProQuest. www.csa.com/factsheets/daai-set-c.php
Updated monthly, this abstract and bibliographic database tracks articles and reviews published in design and applied arts periodicals since 1973 and contains nearly 190,000 records. Because it is purpose-driven, researchers must have a subject in mind beforehand, which may inhibit casual discoveries. However, with access to additional ProQuest databases, “Community Trees” reveal connections among keywords as they are used in humanities and science. An expensive but versatile field-specific resource. 

Garden, Landscape & Horticulture Index. EBSCO. www.ebscohost.com
Touted as the premier resource for gardening, botany, ecology, and horticulture articles, this index—offering access to 430 international and regional serials—does not disappoint. Its broad scope encompasses both peer-reviewed and popular publications. Interface improvements now allow almost instantaneous conversion of bibliographic references to various citation formats. Recent searches are also tracked and hyperlinked for easy reference. The comprehensive, otherwise impressively packaged substance more than makes up for the lack of illustrations. 

Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts Online. Oxford Univ. www.oxford-decorativearts.com
Although intended to be expressly separate from Grove Art Online (GAO), of its 3000 entries only 1000 are unique to the database. It also omits several important movements, like De Stijl and, in contrast to GAO, fails to offer hyperlinked cross-references. Instead, A–Z “adjacent”—rather than thematically relevant—terms are highlighted. Though a specialist's tool, its content relies heavily on GAO, which seems, to date, the more cost-effective purchase. 

Oxford Art Online. Oxford Univ. www.oxfordartonline.com
This Oxford jewel is home to the well-known and respected Grove Art Online—which is rooted in The Dictionary of Art, a landmark 34-volume encyclopedia containing 45,000 entries—as well as three key titles: The Oxford Companion to Western Art, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms, and The Encyclopedia of Aesthetics. Entries are lengthy, incisive articles, accompanied by sidebar hyperlinks to essay subheadings. Tabs send researchers to relevant museum sites via pop-up windows. A well-written, modestly priced, and beautifully designed resource.